PROJECTS

• World Environment Day 2009 CELEBRATIONS
• PFSA exhibits at the SABC Careers Exhibition
• Kruger National Park
• Big Events
• Are you ready to Recycle - new Education Programme from NRF
• Take Nothing but Photos, leave nothing but bubbles...

FOR THE EDUCATOR

Fantastic Plastics Competition 2010: Contact dianne.blumberg@plasfed.co.za for entry forms and a poster outlining the 2010 Competition! Put it up in the classroom and make sure that you and one of your pupils win that weekend in Knysna!

What happens to the baled waste plastics? Download our latest poster on recycling *New

What do you really know about plastics? *New

Download the 2010 Calendar of special days.

How to go green: Visit planetgreen.discovery.com/go-green/school-teachers/index.html for tips.

Booklet - Its All about Plastics (PDF file: size - 1.5Mb)

• The Enviromark initiative has not forgotten about the Educators and learners. A 24-page A4 poster booklet, "It's all about Plastics – Material of choice" is available at no charge. This booklet is used as a source of reference for the essay competition, and formed part of The National Education Department's external assessment (CTA – Common Task Assessment) for Grade 9 in the November 2007 (Technology) examinations. Emphasis has been placed on plastics identification, processes and recycling.

• If you require a poster booklet to be posted to you, please send a request e-mail to Delanie Bezuidenhout.

• Plastics Identification Code - what are the various polymer logos?

• 10 Facts about Plastics

• Householder's Guide to Recycling

• Are you ready to recycle? Why throw your waste away? Waste can actually be useful. It can be re-used or recycled. Collect waste for recycling and thereby win with waste. Download the leaflet "Win with Waste" and find out how to set up a drop off/buy back centre.

• An Educator's guide and lesson guides. A new outcomes-based education programme for intermediate phase learners (grades 4–6) on making wise choices about waste and thereby reducing the amount of litter lying around on the streets and veld, reducing the harmful effect of waste that is not handled correctly and reducing the amount of waste that needs to be disposed of.” The programme, based on the life cycle of products made from steel, glass, paper and plastics, includes an Educator’s Guide and lesson guides consisting of illustrations and activities with the following themes:

• TAKE (raw materials from the environment)
• MAKE (products)
• BUY (products)
• USE AND RE-USE (products)
• RECYCLE (resulting in fewer raw materials required from the environment)
• THROW AWAY (waste products)

The programme is available as a free download from the NRF website http://www.recycling.co.za/educator.htm

Carbon Footprint - Where does one start?

For more, visit our webpage.

Download the Happy Household Map by clicking here. Courtesy of City of Cape Town - Solid Waste Management Department

• Poster / Advert - Do not litter? Think Twice. Take the Step.

PlasticEurope's "Energy is our Future" Programme

In its second year, Plastic Europe's “Energy is our Future” school programme continues to focus on enhancing and supporting energy education across the curriculum in schools. The programme is intended to raise awareness on how energy consumption might affect climate change and how advanced materials such as plastics can help save energy and create a sustainable future. For more on this programme visit their website at www.Futurenergia.org

PFSA at the SABC Careers Exhibition

The Plastics Federation regularly participates in the annual SABC Careers Exhibition, held in various provinces.

We are very proud to announce that the Federation's stand won "Award for the Best Stand" at this year’s Faire in Polokwane.

The Faire included a career cinema and various exhibitions - from corporate companies to institutions of higher learning. With “Plastics” being part of the school syllabus in the subject field of “Technology”, learners and teachers alike were attracted to the Federation’s stand by its interactive “organic” nature where they got to feel the different plastic materials exhibited in our “laboratory-like fish tanks”. At the stand, learners were taught how to differentiate between the various plastics by using the polymer identifying logos; the importance of plastics as the MATERIAL OF CHOICE, and the necessity for recycling plastics materials.

The Faires visited four provinces namely KZN (Durban), Limpopo (Polokwane), W/Cape (Cape Town) & Gauteng (Roodepoort). The first stop this year was at the Greyville Racecourse in Durban.

Enviromark supports BIG EVENTS

One of the Enviromark's "Plastics Litter Strategies" for the future is to identify and support BIG EVENTS such as sports, concerts and rallies and to gear up for a world event such as the 2010 World Cup Soccer. To read more about the Enviromark Team's activities visit our "Litter Awareness " page.

“Congratulations to the Plastic Federation of South Africa for taking the first step in educating the South African public about the realities of litter on our country's roads.  As runners we have first hand knowledge of the slobs that South Africans are. All sorts of rubbish is flung from cars on roads across our beautiful country. While running next to the road, it is difficult to ignore this fact, and an aggressive litter awareness campaign is the only solution.”  (Bruce Fordyce – 9 times Comrades Marathon winner)

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World Environment Day 2009 - Your Planet Needs You - Unite to combat Climate Change! World Environment Day, commemorated each year on 5 June, is one of the principal vehicles through which the worldwide awareness of the environment and enhanced political attention and action can be stimulated. The theme for WED 2009 was 'Your Planet Needs You! Unite to Combat Climate Change.' It reflects the urgency for nations to 'seal the deal' at the crucial climate convention meeting in Copenhagen some 180 days later in the year. It also raises a call for everyone to get involved, rethink actions and ways that result in wastage and heavy greenhouse gas emissions, and adopt a greener lifestyle. Recognising that climate change is becoming the defining issue of our era, UNEP asks countries, companies and communities to focus on greenhouse gas emissions and to reduce them. The World Environment Day highlights resources and initiatives that promote low carbon economies and life-styles, such as improved energy efficiency, alternative energy sources, forest conservation and eco-friendly consumption (for more information, visit http://www.plasticsinfo.co.za/industry-issues.asp.)   These are useful ideas on how to easily green your daily routine, and once posted to your website, will link to a page on the WED 2009 website that lists daily tips in the countdown to WED. We request you to post this or the Use Less / Act More flash animation banner on your website to help promote World Environment Day to your stakeholders. http://www.unep.org/wed/2009/english/content/tips.asp Furthermore, a global online tree-planting campaign was started for WED on Twitter. UNEP pledged to plant 100,000 trees for 100,000 followers --or one for every follower if they achieved more than 100,000 followers by 5 June 2009. This effort supports the Billion Tree Campaign's goal to plant a total of seven billion trees- one for every person on the planet- by year's end. We ask that supporters start following at www.twitter.com/UNEPandYou. Add your voice and twitter loudly! As the WED slogan says, 'Your Planet Needs You!' Our planet counts on our valuable support to help spread the message and mobilize action on this important day for the environment. If you have any questions or requests, please email rajinder.sian@unep.org or emmakate.young@unep.org. Contact:       Joyce Sang       Programme Assistant - Outreach Unit       United Nations Environment Programme (DCPI)       Division of Communication and Public Information (DCPI)       web: http://www.unep.org When did it all begin? World Environment Day was established by the United Nations General Assembly in 1972 to mark the opening of the Stockholm Conference on the Human Environment. Another resolution, adopted by the General Assembly the same day, led to the creation of UNEP. How can you celebrate World Environment Day? World Environment Day can be celebrated in many ways, including street rallies, bicycles parades, green concerts, essay and poster competitions in schools, tree planting, recycling efforts, clean-up campaigns and much more. Heads of State, Prime Ministers and Ministers of Environment deliver statements and commit themselves to care for the Earth. Serious pledges are made which lead to the establishment of permanent governmental structures dealing with environmental management and economic planning. This observance also provides an opportunity to sign or ratify international environmental conventions. Let us consider carefully the actions which each of us must take to address the task of preserving all life on earth.

Kruger National Park

One of the PFSA's most recent projects in the Kruger Park has been a Recycling Project, in association with the Packaging Industry, Collect-a-can, The Glass Recycling Company, PETco and Buyisa-e-Bag.

Did you know that since July 2007, 2,85 million PET bottles, 2.28 million glass bottles, and 12.4 million cans have been recycled? Visitors to the Kruger National Park are greeted with information posters and brochures, reminding them to make a difference by recycling, and educating them on how to identify the various plastics and what to do with them. Special "monkey proof" receptacles have been designed, and placed in tourist areas, to collect waste, which is then sorted and baled in the Park.

The disposal of waste created by the human race will always be a major challenge in big cities and populated centres. But how does South Africa’s largest game sanctuary, the Kruger National Park, cope with tons of waste produced by its more than a million visitors annually?

Thanks to the commitment of industry players such as Petco, Buyisa-e-Bag and the Plastics Federation of South Africa, a baling machine was donated to the Park, as part of our environmental responsibility to “protect our national heritage”. The machine was unveiled at Skukuza’s Waste Disposal Site recently.

Historically, the Kruger National Park used to burn all its rubbish – which was not an ideal solution, for obvious reasons, but now, thanks to the new baling machine and various other recycling projects, burning has been reduced by 70%. An agreement between the Kruger National Park and the Plastics Federation of South Africa has now been signed, marking an end to all plastic rubbish burning in South Africa’s most famous national park.

Sack-loads of plastic bottles and containers are fed into the baler's wide mouth, and with a touch of a button, the blue machine shakes into life, building up the power that grinds and bales the waste. A bale of tightly packed plastics emerges, ready to be loaded on a truck and taken to plastics recycling plants outside the Park.

“We don’t see plastic bottles as mere rubbish,” says Mr Syd Carter from Petco, “but as a valuable resource that can be recycled into carpet fibres, synthetics and other commercially viable products.”

Mr Hennie Neethling from Buyisa-e-Bag explained further:

“The problem with recycling is that mass is required, not volume. Recycling plants pay very little for a truckload of plastic bottles if they are simply dumped into the load area of the vehicle and driven to the plant. However, with a baling machine, you are able to compress at least six large bags of plastic into one compact bale which certainly does have a significant value.”

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Education Programme: Are you ready to recycle?

Mr Ray Lombard, Chairman of the National Recycling Forum (NRF), announces the publication of “Are you Ready to Recycle?”, an outcomes-based education programme for intermediate phase learners (grades 4–6) on making wise choices about waste.

The programme, based on the life cycle of products made from steel, glass, paper and plastics, includes an Educator’s Guide and lesson guides consisting of illustrations and activities with the following themes:

• TAKE (raw materials from the environment)
• MAKE (products)
• BUY (products)
• USE AND RE-USE (products)
• RECYCLE (resulting in fewer raw materials required from the environment)
• THROW AWAY (waste products)

The National Recycling Forum (NRF) is a non-profit organisation created to promote the recovery and recycling of recyclable materials in South Africa. Members of the NRF include representatives of the formal recycling industry in South Africa and all levels of government.

“In publishing this programme,” states Lombard, “the NRF aims to educate learners on how to handle waste correctly, how to avoid creating unnecessary waste and how to reduce waste already created. The learners will be able to make informed choices about waste, and thereby reduce the amount of litter lying around on the streets and veld, reduce the harmful effect of waste that is not handled correctly and reduce the amount of waste that needs to be disposed of.”

"We invite all Grade 4–6 educators to use “Are You Ready to Recycle?” to help you to meet the requirements of the curriculum,” says Lombard.

The programme is available as a free download from the NRF website http://www.recycling.co.za/educator.htm

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Take Nothing but Photos, leave nothing but bubbles...

Did you know....
That Aliwal Shoal has been declared a Marine Protected Area and decreed a "pristine reef"...

Aliwal Dive Charters have been and always will be protective of Aliwal shoal and its marine environment. It is not only part of their life but also an integral part of their livelihood. Diving here reveals a phenomenal diversity of life. In order to demonstrate to visitors and fellow divers, just how seriously they take their marine environmental responsibility, they came up with an innovative idea. All litter collected over a 6 month period is placed in a glass tank, so that the guilty litterbugs become more obvious. Some of the haul is diving equipment which has been accidentally dropped. Unfortunately the rest seems to be fishing line and beer cans, the responsibility for which lies squarely with the fishermen (fishing on the reef is also now against the law).

The most important aspect is that, besides this, there is very little rubbish or litter, demonstrating what a good condition the reef is in despite the huge volume of industrial effluent discharged near the reef every day. Unfortunately they have no control over this aspect .

Thankfully, Nampak are as passionate about Aliwal as they are and every year an international beach clean up day organised. It bodes well to know that even with a dedicated team of cleaners this year there was so little rubbish it didn’t even fill one bag. Well done all! Long may it last!

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