Page 38 - Plastics News April 2019

internAtionAL news

South Africa is looking at introducing a national plastic straw ban

he Department of Environmental Affairs is currently we are working really closely with the industry.“In all of
Tin talks with the industry bodies to phase out them, the status is that we are still in consultation with
or completely ban plastic products like straws and the industry, consumer groups and the retailers on how
microbeads in South Africa. we could phase out or ban these products and what would
According to Mark Gordon, be the replacement and alternatives for them,” he said.
the department’s deputy
director-general for chemical
and waste management, SC Senate moves with bill that
the single-use products are
considered to be unfriendly would ban 'plastic bag bans'
to the environment. He
added that single-use plastic he Alabama Senate's
products like earbuds, straws, TGovernmental Affairs
stirrers, table cups, tableware Committee has voted to
and polystyrene packaging advance legislation to
were especially harmful to the marine sector. “We have stop cities in the state
started a discussion document that we have shared with banning plastic grocery
a number of stakeholders and we are in the process bags. According to a report
of inviting comments around it,” he said.“I think we by WKRG, the committee
presented previously around this on what would be their voted 9-2 to send the
replacements. “We know that to some extent there has bill to the Senate floor.
been a replacement of plastic straws with paper straws The bill, by Republican Senator Steve Livingston of
and I am not sure if everybody likes it. There are bamboo Scottsboro, would stop local governments in Alabama
straws, there are stainless steel reusable straws,” he said. from banning the use of plastic bags, foam cups and
Gordon said that the department has also introduced other single-use bags and containers. Furthermore, it
a number of consumer awareness campaigns aimed at would stop fees being charged to customers for the use
encouraging members of the public to avoid using plastic of single-use containers. This policy is controversial;
straws. He said while the process unfolds, there has been a U.N. report says packaging accounts for about half
heightened consumer awareness campaigns that are aimed of the plastic waste in the world. The U.S. is one of
at encouraging members of the public to refuse the straw. the world's largest producers of plastic packaging
Gordon said a number of restaurant chains have stopped waste per capita. "If current consumption patterns
giving out straws to patrons completely, while others and waste management practices continue, then by
would ask a customer if they wanted a straw. He said 2050 there will be around 12 billion tonnes of plastic
whenever the department does beach clean-ups, earbuds litter in landfills and the environment," says the report,
and plastic stirrers featured high up on the list of the waste "Single-Use Plastics – A Roadmap for Sustainability."The
and added that these posed a great danger to marine ban on plastics bags, which has been passed by several
species.“We are prioritising this. We have identified the local municipalities in South Carolina United States ,
priority products that we need to address and we are may soon be at risk. A bill that would ban those local
doing this in a matrix where we look at these products bans took one step forward Thursday, now moving to
– what are the compostable alternative availability, the the Senate floor. Folly Beach, Isle of Palms, and Mount
cost of the alternative, the market readiness in terms of Pleasant are just a few places that have passed plastic
availability in South Africa – and we are really quantifying bag bans. This bill would dissolve the local bans, only
every aspect of this to look at its market readiness.“We allowing the state legislature to make the decision.
don’t want to unnecessarily (intervene) where we were Several local mayors have vocalized their opposition
going to really skew markets and people will be out of to the bill. Those in favor of the bill say the different
work and there are issues around jobs and all of that and regulations make it confusing for business in the state.

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