Mountains of waste are arising in our country, while the bulk of our nation is not recycling their waste yet, let alone minimising it.

Collection of breadtags and yoghurt tubs made from high impact polystyrene will now be co-ordinated with a click of a button, with collection of expanded polystyrene soon to follow.

Ocean conservation pioneer Dr. Carl Safina and an international team of scientists, artists and educators recently set forth on a marine debris expedition to the giant rotating ocean current that is the North Pacific Gyre.

An oil spill from Ecuador's Trans-Andean pipeline last weekend has reached Amazonian tributaries and is wreaking havoc on local communities and ecosystems downstream.

The quintessential three R’s of waste management – Reduce, Reuse, Recycle – have been given a makeover. ‘Rethink’ has been added to the popular slogan.

On Saturday 22 June 2013 at 09h00 the Two Oceans Aquarium will launch the first puppet story book titled “Keep the beach clean.” It is based on the popular puppet show by the same name which is performed daily in the AfriSam Children’s Play Centre in the Aquarium.

The Wastewant Youth Recycling Co-Operative Limited is a youth owned operation that aims to keep youth off the street and facilitate their development by creating jobs for disadvantaged young people.

Considering that we produce about 300 million tons of plastic per year, the bulk of which is not being reused or recycled, reports of disturbingly polluted oceans are bound to only get more shocking in time.

Ensure that glass doesn’t end up in the waste stream at landfills can only be achieved through education, marketing and capacity building.

To say our growing stockpiles of non-degradable plastic waste are an environmental headache has to be the understatement of the century. However, thanks to Somerset West inventor William Graham, this highly problematic waste has just become a valuable resource.

The first-ever summit to focus specifically on the issue of marine debris around the African continent will be taking place during World Environmental Week and World Ocean Day, 6-8 June 2013, in Cape Town, South Africa.

According to avid Green Times reader Maurice Britten, the powers that be have not been very receptive to attempts to bring recycling depots and initiatives to the beautiful tourist town of Parys in the Free State.

Currently in its fifth year, the hugely successful 'Bread Tags for Wheelchairs' project encourages people around the country to collect their breadtags which are then used to “purchase” wheelchairs for people who need them.

“The issue is not about ‘sustainable packaging,’ but about the role of packaging in sustainability," said Sheryl Ozinsky of POLYCO at the ‘Smart Design for Recycling' workshop held recently.

Michael Baretta and Camilla Howard received a warm welcome at their Kosi Bay destination following seven months trekking across and cleaning South Africa’s shoreline. They collected 7 155kg of litter, and educated locals along the way about the importance of looking after the environment.

Public hearings to discuss the Proposed Listed Atmospheric Emission Activities Amendments, published by the Department of Environmental Affairs in November last year, will most likely start later this month.

An exciting announcement was made last week of new technology to turn recycled scrap polystyrene into building material for houses. Now is the time to see to it that all your used polystyrene is recycled as loads will be needed to build one million houses.

Of 1,3 million tons of plastic manufactured in our country, only 250 000 tons was recycled in 2011 – and most of that was post-consumer waste. This means that a big chunk more could have been recycled, according to Jacques Lightfoot, Sustainability Manager of Plastics SA.

Climate change and sustainable development are two of the biggest issues facing society today. It is increasingly important for companies to reduce the environmental impacts of products and services through their entire life cycle.

Earlier this month, Cape Town-based adventurer Ray Chaplin began a 2 300km source-to-sea expedition.