LITTERBOOM PROJECT WINS CHALLENGE

More than eight million tons of plastic waste ends up in oceans, to the detriment of marine life and the environment. More than 99% of plastics are produced from oil, natural gas and coal, and around 4% of all greenhouse gasses produced can be attributed to plastic production.

The Plastics Innovation and Circularity Challenge is a part of a movement to reduce the demand for plastics and to change human behaviour. It is a joint venture of SOLVE@Waterfront, the UK-South Africa Tech Hub and Ocean Hub Africa, who invited applications from enterprises working in the plastics circularity space. Forty entries were received, and five candidates were shortlisted, pitching their innovations to Ocean Innovation Africa. The Litterboom Project, a waste reclamation innovation training people from communities with severe plastic waste problems, was the winning candidate.

Alexis Grosskopf, founder of Ocean Hub Africa, said the best way to implement change and curb the plastics issue is through business, through people working in communities, and through leveraging technology in creating circularity. The V & A Waterfront has long been committed to addressing the plastics problem, and aspires to be a plastic-free precinct by working to find cost-effective, achievable alternatives. CEO David Green says they welcome the collaboration with UK-South Africa Tech Hub and Ocean Hub Africa as a step towards achieving this goal.

www.solve.waterfront.co.za

www.unep.org/interactive/beat-plastic-pollution