Creecy revealed in the parliament that South Africa will be importing plastic waste in order to meet the plastic industry’s needs.
- He said that applications are being invited for the plastic waste import.
The Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment (DFFE) Minister Barbra Creecy revealed in the parliament that South Africa will be importing plastic waste in order to meet the plastic industry’s needs. He said that applications are being invited for the plastic waste import.
The import of plastic waste will be regulated by the Basel Convention, which addresses the movement of hazardous waste between nations and all imported plastic waste will be recycled, the Minister said. According to Creecy, South Africa has an effective system in place to reduce plastic waste, especially going into the ocean.
South Africa is not a signatory to the international treaty that addressed the life cycle of plastic. The country uses the Basel Convention, which does not clearly address the issue of plastic waste and its life cycle to defend it for not joining the treaty. According to Greenpeace, the non-governmental environmental organisation, South Africa is the third-worst offender of plastic waste production on the continent. Greenpeace accused that the South African environment department is captured by corporate interests when it comes to the plastic waste issue in the country while about 34 African states have environmental laws that include the banning of plastic bags along with single-use water sachets along and coffee cups.
