"Plastics SA was one of the signatories of the Global Declaration, which was co-signed by leaders from plastics organisations across the globe in March 2011 at the 5th International Marine Debris Conference in Honolulu, Hawaii," says Douw Steyn, director of sustainability at Plastics SA and chairman of the Outreach and Stakeholder Engagement of the Global Action Team on Marine Debris (GAT).
Since initiating the Global Declaration, signatories have identified numerous specific actions designed to fulfil these commitments and have agreed to track and report progress. According to the 2013 report, the international plastics industry's efforts boasts a 90 % increase in projects that combat marine debris.
"It was encouraging to see 60 plastics associations from 34 countries across the globe voluntarily sign the declaration in recognition of the important role they have to play in fighting marine litter," Steyn says, explaining that each of these associations launched and support projects in six key areas aimed at contributing to sustainable solutions. The six focus areas of the Global Declaration are education, research, public policy, sharing best practices, plastics recycling/recovery, and plastic pellet containment.
"This is a tremendous increase in participation, considering where we started," says Steyn. "As an industry, we have an important role in contributing sustainable solutions for marine litter. To this end, Plastics SA hosted the first African Marine Debris Summit last year, and is currently planning a second marine debris summit to take place in Cape Town in June 2015."
This umbrella body representing the South African plastics industry will also once again be coordinating the 29th International Coastal Clean Up day on Saturday, 20 September 2014 as part of its commitments to find tangible and workable solutions for the problem of marine litter found in South African oceans and around the continent.
"Across the globe and in a remarkably short amount of time, we've seen a ramp up of programmes that address marine debris, many of which involve cooperation with governments, non-governmental organisations, researchers, and other stakeholders. The cooperation between different stakeholders is crucial to tackle this very serious issue and we believe is the right path to follow," Steyn concludes.
