Petrochemicals giant Sasol on June 9 released a baseline assessment report after it commissioned a study to understand the challenges around waste pollution at the KwaZulu-Natal South Coast, specifically in the Amanzimtoti and Umbogintwini rivers.

These rivers flow directly into the Indian Ocean, just south of Durban. Both rivers are critical to the local economy and tourism industry, but also host several informal settlements next to them.

The study was initiated after Sasol became a founding member of the KwaZulu-Natal Marine Waste Network South Coast, which comprises a number of stakeholders that are concerned about marine waste pollution on the South Coast.

The study, conducted by the South African Healthcare Foundation (SAHF), finds that, owing to inadequate waste management in the area, pollution is carried downstream and waste, particularly plastic waste, is introduced to beaches and into the Indian Ocean.

The company finds the main contributors to plastic waste pollution within the study area to be inadequate and ineffective waste management in communities, lack of environmental education within schools and among communities, a lack of the general public’s contribution to clean-ups and litter booms and traps in various locations along the rivers.

To gather information for the study, SAHF and Sasol collaborated with the eThekwini municipality, Sapphire Coast Tourism, a local recycler called MMKH Recycling, the Clean Surf Project, local buyback centre Social Waste Management South Africa and the Toti Conservancy Forum.

Sasol base chemical business senior VP Thabiet Booley says plastic waste in the environment is unacceptable and producers and other parties – from resin producers to consumers and governments – in the value chain have to play their part in finding a solution.

Sasol itself is a polymer producer and is a member of the international Alliance to End Plastic Waste, which is a CEO-led cross-sector nonprofit organisation driven to end plastic waste ending up in the environment.

In South Africa, Sasol is a long-standing member of sector association Plastics South Africa.

Booley notes that plastics are among the world’s greatest innovations and demand is expected to grow on the back of more urbanisation and middle-class growth globally, but only through a collaborative and inclusive approach can it be effectively dealt with from a waste perspective.

Following the release of the Sasol-sponsored baseline study, the KwaZulu-Natal Marine Waste Network South Coast team has named the project Project Inkwazi Isu, after the African fish eagle, and started hosting solution workshops toward implementation programmes.

The implementation programmes will, in due course, help to eliminate plastic waste pollution in the Umbogintwini and Amanzimtoti rivers.