Ilze Ueckermann charts the rise of plastic usage, interventions to mitigate its effects and questions where South Africa stands on single-use plastic.

World Earth Day is celebrated annually on 22 April to raise awareness of the need to protect our planet’s natural resources and look after our environment. This year’s theme is ‘Planet vs Plastics’.

Typically, plastic is derived from fossil fuels like natural gas or petroleum. During the process of polymerisation or polycondensation, raw materials such as cellulose, coal, natural gas, salt and crude oil are converted into plastics. The polymers in plastics are long chains of molecules made up of long chains of carbon atoms.

The first synthetic plastic was invented in 1907 by Belgian chemist Leo Baekeland. His invention, which he would christen Bakelite, combined two chemicals, formaldehyde and phenol, under heat and pressure. Bakelite sparked a consumer boom for affordable yet highly desirable products. It had a dark brown, wood-like appearance, but could be easily mass-produced, making it ideal for bringing new design trends such as art deco to the broader public.

Plastic’s success would also herald its demise: because plastic is easily disposable, it is also designed to last forever. In the 1960s, the incoming tide of plastic pollution and litter was first being noticed in the oceans, an era during which people became increasingly aware of environmental issues. As awareness and concern about pollution spread throughout the 1970s and 1980s, plastic debris and its persistence began to trouble observers.

Some types of plastic take thousands, even tens of thousands, of years to degrade in landfills because of their chemical properties. Many of the world’s plastic problems began after World War 2, when plastic replaced more expensive materials – like paper, glass and metal – for throwaway items like consumer packaging. A single-use culture has developed as a result of cheap, mass-produced plastic products. Efforts are underway to address these issues through innovations in material science, increased recycling efforts and the development of more sustainable alternatives to traditional plastics.

In 2019, Plastics SA – which represents all sectors of the South African plastics industry – asked the government to take urgent steps to ringfence the levy for plastic bags, so that the revenue can be used for recycling. Almost R2 billion has been raised since the plastic bag retail levy was introduced 15 years ago. However, only half of this amount has gone to recycling, as the Treasury has allocated the rest to other departments.

The Minister of the Department of Environment, Forestry and Fisheries said on 1 December 2023: “I am pleased to say that the SA Plastic Pact industry partners have identified unnecessary and problematic plastic products, and are committed to eliminating unnecessary and problematic plastics, ensuring that 100% of plastic packaging is reusable, recyclable or compostable –70% of plastic packaging should be effectively recycled and 30% of average post-consumer recycled content should be used in plastic packaging.”

In 2019, the question was raised as to whether South Africa is planning to ban single-use plastics. The government’s response was that this would entail policy review and an intensive public participation process. However, is it effective to change policy and legislation if this is not implemented? Are the government’s actions as they relate to single-use plastics enough? Policies and legislation related to single-use plastics need to be enforced, and the South African government is not known for strict enforcement. The single-use plastic policy and legislation need to be strengthened with measurable penalties and law enforcement.

Is it time for South Africans to stand up and act against plastic? Is there a South African version of Greta Thunberg at our universities? What is the University of Pretoria’s opinion on single-use plastic, and what are we as a university community doing to minimise single-use plastic use on our campuses?