TOWARDS A COUNTRY AND A WORLD FREE OF PLASTIC POLLUTION SOUTH AFRICA

The document outlines a proposal to ban four unnecessary plastic products by 2025 and phase out six others by 2030 in South Africa. A macroeconomic model indicates that these interventions would lead to positive outcomes in real GDP, employment, and wages compared to a business-as-usual scenario, despite a slight increase in greenhouse gas emissions. The report advocates for the South African government to support these measures in the negotiations for a global treaty to end plastic pollution.

• The study identifies 10 high-risk plastic products for removal: four for immediate ban by 2024–2025 (plastic stirrers, straws except for medical use, oxo-degradable additives, and microbeads in personal care products) and six for phasing out by 2025–2030 (barrier bags, lollipop sticks, polystyrene fast-food/takeaway containers, sachets for takeout food items, single-use tableware, and cotton buds with plastic stems).
• Compared to a business-as-usual baseline, both the ban and phase-out scenarios project positive economic growth. The ban scenario predicts a 0.3% positive deviation in real GDP and a 0.3% increase in exports of goods and services up to 2030. The phase-out scenario predicts a more significant 3% positive deviation in real GDP, a 5% increase in exports, and a 2.8% increase in imports of goods and services by 2030.
• Employment and wages are expected to grow more rapidly under the intervention scenarios than the baseline. Total employment growth is projected at 3.5% for the ban scenario and 5.2% for the phase-out scenario, compared to 3.2% for the baseline. Cumulative wage increases are projected at 8.4% for the ban and 10.4% for the phase-out, versus 8% for the baseline.
• While the interventions reduce plastic leakage, they are projected to cause a slight increase in greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions across all sectors: 0.35% for the ban scenario and 0.55% for the phase-out scenario relative to the baseline.
• South Africa generates 41kg of plastic waste per capita annually, which is higher than the global average of 29kg. Approximately 488 kilotonnes of plastic pollute the environment each year, with 275 kt contributing to air pollution via open burning, 145 kt to land pollution, and 68 kt to aquatic pollution.

APA

Hobson, S. (n.d.). TOWARDS A COUNTRY AND A WORLD FREE OF PLASTIC POLLUTION SOUTH AFRICA. WWF South Africa. https://wwfafrica.awsassets.panda.org/downloads/wwf-plastic-phase_out-factsheet-7nov.pdf

Chicago

Hobson, Sam. TOWARDS A COUNTRY AND A WORLD FREE OF PLASTIC POLLUTION SOUTH AFRICA. WWF South Africa, n.d. https://wwfafrica.awsassets.panda.org/downloads/wwf-plastic-phase_out-factsheet-7nov.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Hobson |first1=Sam |title=TOWARDS A COUNTRY AND A WORLD FREE OF PLASTIC POLLUTION SOUTH AFRICA |publisher=WWF South Africa |url=https://wwfafrica.awsassets.panda.org/downloads/wwf-plastic-phase_out-factsheet-7nov.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{hobsonndtowards, author = {Hobson, Sam}, title = {{TOWARDS A COUNTRY AND A WORLD FREE OF PLASTIC POLLUTION SOUTH AFRICA}}, institution = {WWF South Africa}, url = {https://wwfafrica.awsassets.panda.org/downloads/wwf-plastic-phase_out-factsheet-7nov.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }