New Analysis Identifies Way to Cut Plastic Pollution in South Africa by Almost Two-Thirds

Plastic pollution is one of the planet’s greatest environmental problems. In fact, plastic has been found from the highest peaks to the deepest seas, and even in the human bloodstream. The Pew Charitable Trusts’ 2020 report “Breaking the Plastic Wave” found that at least 11 million metric tons enter the ocean each year, and forecast that amount would triple by 2040 if nothing is done.

Humankind can reduce the amount of plastic entering the ocean by 80% in that same time frame with existing solutions, but only if all stakeholders play a part.

Many leaders around the world say they want to help tackle plastic pollution; for that ambition to have the greatest effect it is crucial that countries identify and take the best possible actions—which will vary depending on the local context. To help political, business and advocacy leaders make those decisions, Pew, in collaboration with Richard Bailey from the University of Oxford, created the Breaking the Plastic Wave Pathways Tool (“Pathways”).

Pathways enhances the analytical model used in “Breaking the Plastic Wave” and allows policymakers and other stakeholders to run scenarios, using their own data, to help them best reduce plastic pollution.

In order to ensure that the tool met the needs of those using it, Pew collaborated with the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), a leading research group in South Africa, and Kashtakari Panchayat, a nongovernmental organization supporting waste pickers in Pune, India, to pilot the program.

CSIR was the first partner to use Pathways, convening local stakeholders for a series of workshops to gather government and industry data and build support for the analysis of different policy scenarios.

The results of this work are detailed in a new report, “Reducing Plastic Pollution: A Comprehensive, Evidence-Based Strategy for South Africa,” which found that reducing plastic pollution in South Africa would require an all-hands-on-deck effort. The report found that South Africa could achieve a 63% reduction in plastic pollution by 2040 with interventions across the plastics value chain to reduce plastic demand, substitute alternative materials, increase waste collection and improve management of landfills.

This report should help South African government officials determine and implement the most effective waste management strategies and plastic-related targets going forward. The results could also help South Africa inform its position in the negotiations to develop a global treaty to end plastic pollution; the first meeting of the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee was held recently in Punta del Este, Uruguay, to discuss this agreement.

Through this pilot process, it quickly became clear that stakeholder engagement is vital to crafting workable solutions to the plastic pollution problem. Such engagement is needed to produce the quality data required for informed and accurate policy recommendations. In addition, the contribution of local organizations to facilitate this engagement, navigate local dynamics and build capacity for local ownership of monitoring and assessment is invaluable.

CSIR intends to build on its findings by using Pathways to work with additional African countries to help them understand and tackle their contribution to plastic pollution. This is a welcome outcome and Pew looks forward to ongoing collaboration as we continue to provide technical support to countries as they generate and implement the tailored solutions needed to play their part in solving this problem.

KerriLynn Miller works on The Pew Charitable Trusts’ preventing ocean plastics project.

To learn more about working with Pew, or for guidance on using Pathways, contact KerriLynn at [email protected].