End Plastic Pollution Crisis in South Africa

South Africa is facing an escalating plastic pollution crisis that has reached a breaking point. Every year, South Africans consume a staggering 8 billion plastic carrier bags. Despite being told that these bags would be managed under the 2004 plastic bag levy, the reality is that less than 1% are recycled.

The vast majority of these 8 billion bags end up clogging our landfills, incinerators, rivers, and oceans. This is not just an eyesore; it is a public health and ecological emergency. As these plastics break down, they leach toxic chemicals and transform into microplastics that infiltrate our food chains, our precious water supplies, and have even been detected in human bloodstreams.

The acts of these corporate polluters are poisoning our own ecosystems and citizens for the sake of a convenience that lasts mere minutes.

It's time for a future where our environment and our health are protected, not sacrificed for corporate profit and short-term convenience.

Add your name now to demand that South Africa implement a total ban on unnecessary single-use plastic and invest in refill-and-reuse systems.

To the Minister of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment, our demands are:

Implement a total ban on single-use plastic carrier bags: move beyond ineffective levies and institute a comprehensive, nationwide ban on single-use plastic carrier bags by December 2026.
Invest in sustainable solutions: actively support, incentivise, and invest in refill-and-reuse systems that eliminate the need for single-use plastics.
Hold plastic producers and polluters accountable: enforce effective, transparent and rigorously enforced compliance with existing Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) regulations to ensure that producers bear the full environmental and health costs of the plastic packaging they push into the market.

End the plastic pollution crisis in South Africa