#Plastics

July 2020

Many of our favourite restaurants are overrun with single-use plastics. The drinks come with plastic straws, the food comes with plastic cutlery, and our leftovers are placed in styrofoam boxes…

July 2020

Since the beginning of the pandemic, many companies have rightly taken steps to limit contamination in their restaurants and stores. In an emergency, they chose to ban the use of…

June 2020

 More than 125 health experts, including virologists, epidemiologists, emergency room doctors, and specialists in public health and food packaging safety, have signed a statement on the safety of reusables during…

June 2020

Greenpeace Africa volunteer Chemitei Janet shows us how to make a cloth reusable face mask to protect ourselves during the COVID-19 pandemic 

June 2020

While the world is rightly preoccupied with tackling COVID-19, oil companies are pushing to produce more single-use plastic than ever before. So what do we need to know about plastic…

June 2020

Nairobi/Johannesburg, 22 June 2020 – Over 100 health experts from eighteen countries, several of them from Africa signed onto a statement today assuring retailers and consumers that reusables are safe…

June 2020

Durban, 03 June 2020 – The need for masks, latex gloves, and other single-use PPEs to reduce the spread of COVID-19 has increased but they are not being properly disposed of. 

June 2020

Johannesburg, 2 June 2020 – This World Environment Day, Greenpeace Africa will be screening The Story of Plastic, a new documentary directed and produced by Deia Schlosberg. This documentary exposes…

June 2020

Nairobi, 2 June 2020 – This World Environment Day,  Greenpeace Africa will be screening The Story of Plastic, a new documentary directed and produced by Deia Schlosberg. This documentary exposes…

June 2020

What does an anti-oil & gas activist in Houston, Texas, have in common with a lawyer advocating for plastic bag bans in Jakarta, Indonesia, and a waste picker in Delhi,…

May 2020

Africa has come a long way on the journey to creating a single-use plastic-free world with many victorious milestones to celebrate across the continent. We’ve been said to be leading…

May 2020

ROSEMARY NYAMBURA SPENDS her weekends collecting plastic with her aunt Miriam in the Dandora dump in Nairobi. Because the bottles they sell to other plastics traders are mixed in with discarded…

April 2020

20 April 2020, Dakar Greenpeace Africa welcomes the implementation of Senegal’s ban on plastic water sachets as a step in the right direction to tackle the plastic pollution crisis.  “It’s…

April 2020

A Blog Series with Tips, Tools, and Reflections In recent weeks, the coronavirus pandemic has sparked a wider conversation about how people who want to continue to avoid disposables, support…

February 2020

Last week, an important decision was taken by the Senegalese Ministry of Environment and Sustainable Development. Starting April this year, all water sachets and plastic cups will be banned in…

September 2019

A shoal of surreal, plastic-pollution monsters seized Nelson Mandela University (NMU) campus on 28 August. The anti-plastic-pollution performance was born out of a desire to raise awareness about the plastic…

July 2019

The April floods in KwaZulu Natal caused the unnecessary loss of over 70 lives. It was a tragic moment for the province, and the country, as we mourned lost family…

July 2019

Vevey, Switzerland – Nestlé announced today it has switched from plastic packaging to paper wrappers for its YES! snack bars, and that it plans to roll this out for other…

June 2019

Nairobi 7 June 2019 – Responding to president Uhuru Kenyatta’s pronouncement to ban single-use plastic products including plastic bottles and straws in all protected areas effective June 5  2020, Greenpeace…

June 2019

“We celebrate when we see blue sky and share pictures with each other on WeChat” (China). “Little kids with chronic respiratory illnesses are the norm here, not the rarity” (India).…

June 2019

Nairobi, 4 June 2019 – Tanzania has announced a nationwide ban on the use of plastic bags starting from June 1, 2019. Tanzania follows similar steps by Kenya and Rwanda;…

May 2019

Nairobi 30 May 2019 – Responding to the news that the National Environment Management Authority (NEMA) has issued a warning over the return of plastic bags in the country, Greenpeace…

April 2019

27 April 2019, South Africa – Greenpeace Africa volunteers from across South Africa visited the head offices of each of South Africa’s top political parties to deliver a petition calling…

April 2019

Something amazing happened this past month. Plastic monsters came to life around the world, rising up from dirty landfills, climbing over piles of trash, and even swimming up and out…

April 2019

Nairobi, 16 April 2019 – Greenpeace Africa activists and volunteers delivered a #PlasticMonster partly covered with Nestlé branded plastic packaging right back to its source: the Nestlé factory servicing Kenya…

March 2019

By Fredrick Njehu, Greenpeace Africa’s Senior Political Advisor  Urban consumers in Nairobi have started warming up to the reality that single-use plastic is harmful to the environment and are taking…

March 2019

Nairobi, 27 March 2019 – Nestlé, Unilever, The Coca Cola Company and Diageo announced plans today to improve the collection and recycling of plastics across Africa by launching the Africa Plastics…

March 2019

5 March 2019, Cape Town – A group of Greenpeace Africa volunteers in Cape Town has started an ambitious campaign calling on South Africa’s top political parties to adopt a…

November 2018

A world that is safe and healthy with vibrant oceans, is possible. And that’s why we are campaigning to end the flow of plastic into our oceans, ensuring stricter measures…

October 2018

Dakar, Senegal, 18 October 2018 – Over 90% of sampled salt brands globally were found to contain microplastics, with the highest number coming from salt sourced in Asia, according to…

October 2018

Volunteers collected and catalogued more than 187,000 pieces of trash from beach cleanups around the world to find out who’s flooding our planet with plastic. The equivalent of one truckload…

September 2018

There is no disputing the critical environmental situation resulting from our excessive and unnecessary use of plastic. There is currently enough plastic in the ocean to circle the Earth over…

September 2018

Nairobi, 19th September 2018 – Reacting to the news that 80% of single use plastic carrier bags are still in circulation in most parts of the country despite being outlawed…

August 2018

Over the past few weeks, images have been flooding in from Greenpeace offices around the world, documenting our current “hothouse” state. In Africa, Japan, Germany, Denmark, Switzerland and Korea temperatures…

August 2018

Last year the National Environment Complaints committee released a report which indicated that every month an average of 24 million plastic bags were being used in Kenya. This led to…

July 2018

Plastics continue to haunt us long after we have used them[1] because during the degradation process, they break down into microparticles, which then contaminate our water systems. We know that…

July 2018

The Kenyan government’s single-use plastic carrier bag ban came into effect on 28 August, 2017. However, there are still a number of unregulated suppliers in Nairobi’s informal settlements supplying smuggled…

June 2018

Nairobi, 7th June 2018 - In a statement read on his behalf on World environment day 2018, President Museveni noted that the continued manufacture, use and poor disposal practices associated…

June 2018

We live in a contemporary society where technology, innovation, globalisation and human interconnectedness define us - overconsumption is the norm. Now, imagine yourself on vacation along the sandy beaches of…

April 2018

18 April 2018, Johannesburg – In the wake of Day Zero, plastic was a major concern for those donating water to the water stricken city of Cape Town. Plastics are…

April 2018

Nairobi, 18 April 2018 - Ahead of this year’s Earth Day (April 22), youths from Kenya are urging Coca-Cola Central East & West Africa Limited, Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC) and…

February 2018

Plastic bags - what's not to love about them. They are cheap and lightweight enough for us to put anything in them, from food to clothes and so much more.…

February 2018

The #StrawsSuck movement is gaining momentum the world over. Aiming to curb usage of single-use plastics, the campaign urges all individuals and businesses to stop using plastic straws – and…

February 2018

Nairobi, 22nd February 2018 - Single use plastic carrier bags were banned in Kenya in August 28th last year, but six months later plastic bags in grocery stores and small…

September 2017

Let’s grab lunch!

January 2017

This very smart 4 year old inspired me to think differently of fulfilling the sometimes scary “new year’s resolutions”. With a new year, most of us feel inspired and empowered…

May 2016

The diary of a Solar Lover - Part 1

April 2016

More than 45 years ago – on the very first Earth Day – tens of millions of people decided to do something about environmental destruction. They rallied against pollution, oil spills, pesticides…

January 2016

The New Year’s storms have brought a lurid, unmissable reminder to UK beaches, with thousands of bright pink detergent bottles being churned up by the sea. As waves of highly-visible plastic trash…