South Africa Plastic Pollution USAGM
Metadata
- South Africa Plastic Pollution USAGM
- June 13, 2022
- Content Type Program
- Language English
- Transcript/Script English USAGM SHARE ((PLAYBOOK SLUG: SOUTH AFRICA PLASTIC POLLUTION HEADLINE: South African Entrepreneur Transforms Plastic Waste Into Playgrounds TEASER: The country's recyclers look for new ways to tackle plastic pollution as plastic consumption is set to rise PUBLISHED AT: Monday 06/13/2022 at 1:18p BYLINE: Linda Givetash, Zaheer Cassim DATELINE: JOHANNESBURG VIDEOGRAPHER: Zaheer Cassim VIDEO EDITOR: SCRIPT EDITORS: Salem Solomon, MAS VIDEO SOURCE (S): Original, Zoom PLATFORMS (mark with X): WEB __ TV X RADIO __ TRT: 2:59 VID APPROVED BY: Reifenrath TYPE: TVPKG EDITOR NOTES: There is a radio story accompanying this piece.)) ((INTRO)) [[Despite global efforts to curb plastic use, sub-Saharan Africa is predicted to see a sixfold increase by 2060, says the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. In South Africa, one man is trying to make a difference by creating jobs and transforming plastic waste into outdoor furniture and playgrounds. Linda Givetash reports from Johannesburg.]] ((NARRATOR)) It may look like timber, but these planks used for this dining set are made of recycled plastic. Hudson Diphofa started his business building with these planks at his home in the township of Katlehong, after he lost his job during the coronavirus pandemic. He says it’s created employment for himself and two other staff, and contributes to environmental protection. ((Hudson Diphofa, Structural Poly Plastic & Project Founder (English, 19 sec)) “It is safe to do the recycling so that we can save our environment because the animals, they won’t die from those plastics and everything, our dams they won’t be dirty, so I think that’s the way to save our community.” ((NARRATOR)) The 34-year-old now gets regular orders for outdoor furniture and playgrounds. South Africa is one of the world’s top countries for recycling plastic, capturing about 45 percent of plastic waste. This recycling plant makes durable and sustainable timber with plastics that are too low in quality to be reused for packaging or other materials. Recyclers say it’s extending the lifespan of plastic used in everyday life. ((FOR RADIO: Charles Muller is with Tufflex Plastic Products.)) ((Charles Muller, Tufflex Plastic Products Managing Director, (English, 18 sec)) “When you wake up in the morning, you will touch or interact with plastic more than 100 times before you get into the office. And that’s from turning on the light switch to your toothpaste. (5:37) The problem we have with plastic is it’s visible and it pollutes — not plastic pollutes — people pollute.” ((NARRATOR)) The economic incentive for recycling plastic has given rise to an informal waste picking industry. People gather and separate materials to sell to recyclers, providing them with income. But the informality of the business means waste pickers don’t have access to all neighborhoods or industrial areas, so the material ends up as litter or in landfills. [[FOR RADIO: Luyanda Hlatshwayo reclaims waste.]] ((Luyanda Hlatshwayo, Waste Reclaimer (English, 15 sec)) “Because South Africa is such a disposing country, there’s plastic everywhere for us to collect.” (6:13) “There’s no proper structures that fight against the redirecting of plastic from going to the environment.” ((NARRATOR)) Globally, 460 million metric tons of plastic are used annually, half of which are for packaging. That’s set to triple by 2060, with a sixfold increase in sub-Saharan Africa, according to a new report by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. And recycling is not keeping up, capturing only 9 percent of plastic waste globally. Which is why environmentalists say reducing plastic consumption — especially non-essential packaging — is necessary. ((FOR RADIO: Lorren de Kock is with the World Wildlife Fund)) ((MANDATORY COURTESY: Zoom)) ((Lorren de Kock, World Wildlife Fund, (English, 23 sec)) “In Africa, there’s lack of financial capacity, human capacity to collect this waste efficiently, and so recycling is a problem. // This needs to be looked at from businesses and government, because we need to change the default and the normalization of just offering consumers plastic continuously.” ((NARRATOR)) Even with a reduction in plastic use, there would still be plenty of recycled material for creators like Diphofa to transform for new uses. ((Linda Givetash, for VOA News, Johannesburg))
- Transcript/Script USAGM SHARE ((PLAYBOOK SLUG: SOUTH AFRICA PLASTIC POLLUTION HEADLINE: South African Entrepreneur Transforms Plastic Waste Into Playgrounds TEASER: The country's recyclers look for new ways to tackle plastic pollution as plastic consumption is set to rise PUBLISHED AT: Monday 06/13/2022 at 1:18p BYLINE: Linda Givetash, Zaheer Cassim DATELINE: JOHANNESBURG VIDEOGRAPHER: Zaheer Cassim VIDEO EDITOR: SCRIPT EDITORS: Salem Solomon, MAS VIDEO SOURCE (S): Original, Zoom PLATFORMS (mark with X): WEB __ TV X RADIO __ TRT: 2:59 VID APPROVED BY: Reifenrath TYPE: TVPKG EDITOR NOTES: There is a radio story accompanying this piece.)) ((INTRO)) [[Despite global efforts to curb plastic use, sub-Saharan Africa is predicted to see a sixfold increase by 2060, says the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. In South Africa, one man is trying to make a difference by creating jobs and transforming plastic waste into outdoor furniture and playgrounds. Linda Givetash reports from Johannesburg.]] ((NARRATOR)) It may look like timber, but these planks used for this dining set are made of recycled plastic. Hudson Diphofa started his business building with these planks at his home in the township of Katlehong, after he lost his job during the coronavirus pandemic. He says it’s created employment for himself and two other staff, and contributes to environmental protection. ((Hudson Diphofa, Structural Poly Plastic & Project Founder (English, 19 sec)) “It is safe to do the recycling so that we can save our environment because the animals, they won’t die from those plastics and everything, our dams they won’t be dirty, so I think that’s the way to save our community.” ((NARRATOR)) The 34-year-old now gets regular orders for outdoor furniture and playgrounds. South Africa is one of the world’s top countries for recycling plastic, capturing about 45 percent of plastic waste. This recycling plant makes durable and sustainable timber with plastics that are too low in quality to be reused for packaging or other materials. Recyclers say it’s extending the lifespan of plastic used in everyday life. ((FOR RADIO: Charles Muller is with Tufflex Plastic Products.)) ((Charles Muller, Tufflex Plastic Products Managing Director, (English, 18 sec)) “When you wake up in the morning, you will touch or interact with plastic more than 100 times before you get into the office. And that’s from turning on the light switch to your toothpaste. (5:37) The problem we have with plastic is it’s visible and it pollutes — not plastic pollutes — people pollute.” ((NARRATOR)) The economic incentive for recycling plastic has given rise to an informal waste picking industry. People gather and separate materials to sell to recyclers, providing them with income. But the informality of the business means waste pickers don’t have access to all neighborhoods or industrial areas, so the material ends up as litter or in landfills. [[FOR RADIO: Luyanda Hlatshwayo reclaims waste.]] ((Luyanda Hlatshwayo, Waste Reclaimer (English, 15 sec)) “Because South Africa is such a disposing country, there’s plastic everywhere for us to collect.” (6:13) “There’s no proper structures that fight against the redirecting of plastic from going to the environment.” ((NARRATOR)) Globally, 460 million metric tons of plastic are used annually, half of which are for packaging. That’s set to triple by 2060, with a sixfold increase in sub-Saharan Africa, according to a new report by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. And recycling is not keeping up, capturing only 9 percent of plastic waste globally. Which is why environmentalists say reducing plastic consumption — especially non-essential packaging — is necessary. ((FOR RADIO: Lorren de Kock is with the World Wildlife Fund)) ((MANDATORY COURTESY: Zoom)) ((Lorren de Kock, World Wildlife Fund, (English, 23 sec)) “In Africa, there’s lack of financial capacity, human capacity to collect this waste efficiently, and so recycling is a problem. // This needs to be looked at from businesses and government, because we need to change the default and the normalization of just offering consumers plastic continuously.” ((NARRATOR)) Even with a reduction in plastic use, there would still be plenty of recycled material for creators like Diphofa to transform for new uses. ((Linda Givetash, for VOA News, Johannesburg))
- NewsML Media Topics Arts, Culture, Entertainment and Media
- Network VOA
- Embargo Date June 13, 2022 14:24 EDT
- Byline Linda Givetash
- Brand / Language Service Voice of America