Have you ever wondered why you need that thin plastic barrier bag around your tomatoes or apples when buying loose fruit and veg at the shops? Or how your kids might react when they no longer get a lollipop on a plastic stick?  

As our planet continues to give us signals that we need to change our ways in 2024, ask yourself how soon you could live without various single-use plastic items which, as we speak, are under the global spotlight to be removed or phased out by way of a global plastics treaty that is under negotiation. And in case you’re thinking the removal of these plastic items might put a major dent in South Africa’s economy, hot-off-the-press research says otherwise.  

Research commissioned by WWF South Africa, which looked at the socio-economic impacts of banning and phasing out ten problematic and unnecessary the list below, found that the proposed scenarios would produce positive economic outcomes - with both notable improvement in real gross domestic product (GDP) and an increase in job opportunities. 

 A few months before COVID-19 hit South Africa, I remember walking through Cape Town International Airport and witnessing scores of passengers with masks on their faces. Heads held high, they pulled their wheeled suitcases just like everybody else as they made their way across the precinct. 

I discovered they had arrived from various Asian countries where, even prior to COVID-19, masks had become an accepted norm. At that time, I couldn’t help wondering if South Africans would ever comply with such a requirement should the need arise. 

Lo’ and behold, by March 2020, the pandemic had struck on South African soil and masks quickly made their way onto the local scene - fabric masks, medical masks, even newly made shweshwe masks.  

I recall discussing it with a friend who told me about an interesting phenomenon that has been explored in social science: human beings are not prone to implementing change individually, but if change is imposed upon us, we adapt extremely quickly.  

So what does this have to do with problematic and unnecessary plastics? There are many single-use plastic items we use in our everyday lives, which are now being earmarked for a global outright ban or gradual phase-out. A global plastics treaty is under negotiation, due to be finalised by end of 2024, and it’s best to be prepared. 

If you imagine living without these plastic items when they’re still around, it might seem strange, maybe even impossible to get rid of them. However, there are many alternatives that are better for our planet – and the prosperity of our economy. Below is a cheat-sheet on how to get ahead of the curve. 

The research looked at banning these four plastic products between 2024 and 2025 because there are readily available alternatives, or we just don’t need them. If you say no to the following, you’re helping with the solution:  

The research looked at phasing out these six plastic products between 2025 and 2030 to make time for research and development on feasible alternatives that are readily available. Avoid these as far as possible too: 

5. Barrier bags:  Retailers often place products like detergents or personal care products inside a barrier bag before popping them into an actual shopping bag at the till. Or barrier bags are offered at the fruit and vegetable and bakery sections of the shop. If possible, bring your own bags for these items if you remember or in the case of uncut fruit and veg no bag is necessary at all.  Some retailers weight the fruit and veg at the till whereafter you just pop them into your reusable shopping bag – no additional barrier bag needed!