CAPE TOWN, September 17 (ANA) – Research has shown that the amount of plastic waste entering the ocean from terrestrial sources exceeds 4.8 million tons on an annual basis, according to the environmental affairs department (DEA).
South Africa, under the leadership of the department, on Saturday joined the global community in observing International Coastal Clean-up Day (ICCD) 2016. Annually, on the third Saturday of September, volunteers around the world take part in the world’s biggest coastal clean-up event.
The information generated during the various coastal clean-up initiatives around the country would help the relevant departments and municipalities identify the sort of litter found on the coastline and how they could better manage its sources on land. This emphasised the importance of efficient waste management systems, the DEA said in a statement.
As South Africa sought to rapidly grow its oceans economy through Operation Phakisa, it had also become critical to strengthen management efforts to control negative human impacts on ocean resources. One of these human impacts was plastic marine pollution.
“Studies published in the Science Journal in 2015 show that the amount of plastic waste entering the ocean from terrestrial sources, land, exceed 4.8 million tons (mt) on an annual basis. With growing populations and plastic use the amount of plastic materials entering the ocean is increasing. Once in the ocean they do not biodegrade, but simply fragment into smaller bits,” the statement said.
Plastic marine litter was not only unsightly, thus impacting on tourism, but could also have a devastating impact on marine life through entanglement and ingestion. It had the potential to spread throughout the food web as marine animals consumed each other. Research also showed that the presence of plastics could affect both the number and type of marine organisms that inhabited a particular area. Plastics were also capable of absorbing and accumulating poison present in the water which could be transferred to living organisms once ingested.
Given the problems, there was an absolute need to raise awareness of both the impact of marine litter on ocean health as well as the potential revenue recyclables could generate. Last year, South Africa showed a three percent increase in mechanically recycled plastics – 292,917 tons of plastic was recycled – meaning that 20.8 percent of all plastic waste was diverted from landfills. Over the past five years the compounded growth in plastic recycling was 5.5 percent a year. There was huge potential in the green and recycling economy.
Consumers and households played an important role in the generation of waste from the products they consumed. As end users people needed to reduce, re-use, and recycle waste wherever feasible, and dispose of this waste responsibly. South Africans should be aware of the environmental impact of the products that they bought and pass on a sense of environmental responsibility to their families and communities, the DEA said.
– African News Agency (ANA)
