A critique of the legal and policy framework for plastic waste management in South Africa

Abstract

Plastic was has become a global scourge, with the United Nations Environment Assembly declaring plastic a “hazardous substance” in 2019. On a local level, the South Africa African public also seems to have an unhealthy and unsustainable reliance on plastic products, particularly “single use” plastic products. With a history that shows attempts at regulating plastic bags for example, it is unclear if the state of plastic waste in South Africa is a result of the country’s not having sufficient laws and policies in place, or whether the plastic waste scourge is caused by other reasons, like regulatory gaps, for example. The study proceeds from the premise that because of the direct link between plastic waste generation and human activity, there is more than just a legal obligation to deal with the problematic aspects of plastic waste, but one could even argue that there is a moral duty. As such, if government and industry are to meet section 24 of the Constitution’s lofty ideals of securing an environment not harmful to health and well-being, then there is a need to evaluate the extent to which the legal and policy framework on plastic waste management qualifies as “reasonable legislative and other measures” sufficient to “secure ecologically sustainable development and use of natural resources” in the country. Consequently, in an attempt to reconcile these issues, this thesis offers a critique of the national laws and polices applicable to plastic waste management.