Plastic is not a plastic problem, it’s a people problem – how we use it and abuse it.

Romy Levy on
We believe that it’s time to start with what is within our control. Let’s be less consumer mad... let’s cultivate more sustainable habits for ourselves. Let’s make the switch to whole-earth products as best we can. Ultimately, the power really does lie in your hands. We’re doing our bit. Now you can too!
Plastic is not a plastic problem, it’s a people problem – how we use it and abuse it.

Looking at ourselves, our relationship with stuff and reflecting on the role we play.

Let’s start by owning that the plastic problem is real. Yes, plastic is choking our oceans, but it’s not really plastic’s fault. By blaming plastic as the problem, we ignore the root cause – a society dominated by overconsumption. We buy products with the sole intention of throwing them away, resulting in throwaway living and creating a disposable society .

Getting rid of plastics is also not the answer – we’ll simply replace it with something else. Perhaps glass, aluminium, or cardboard. All of which one would assume are highly recyclable. This sounds great, right?? But glass, aluminium and cardboard still require resources to create and are not always recycled. Producing more glass, aluminium and cardboard will still strain our environment. We’ll still extract valuable resources from the earth, harm habitats and ecosystems and send a lot of perfectly usable resources to landfills.

So let’s not vilify plastic just yet. Let’s remember its usefulness, its purpose and its benefits. Let’s remember that this article was written on a laptop made of plastic. Let’s remember that without plastic, our medical advancements would basically be non-existent. Let’s rather rethink our consumption habits and rethink our relationship with stuff.

Less is more and recycling is simple.

Reuse. Reuse. Reuse again.

According to a recent study as few as 7% of South African households recycle – not even a drop in the proverbial ocean, and less than 50% of all plastic used in sunny SA is recycled each year, with organic waste becoming a real contender in our landfills.

To really address our overarching problem with plastic waste we need to look beyond simply replacing one type of single-use packaging with a better one. Ultimately, we need to address our throw-away culture and move to reuse packaging as much as possible – eco-friendly or otherwise. While manufacturers work on creating convenient, more sustainable ways of packaging goods, we can get on with tackling the art of reuse and await the next generation of innovative “eco-plastic” packaging.

SoPure’s whole-earth approach

We know that our SoPure eco-savvy clients are now more environmentally considerate with their buying choices than ever. So, when they speak out, we listen.

POPPIN’ RECYCLABLE BOTTLES: SoPure bottles are made from the highest grade recycled PET (polyethylene terephthalate). We’re also upping our game to push single-use bottles by challenging our community to refill and reuse, rather than recycle, as this has a lower carbon footprint than virgin plastic. So yay us! Our bottles are reusable and together we’re reducing waste in a big way.

FILL ‘ER UP: The power of the refill is in your hands. You can now refill your bottles at select designations throughout SA. SoPure is also planning to partner up with like-minded stores to make refilling your bottles with our wholesome products more accessible.

BULKING UP: Bulk buying is always an eco-winner. Our 5 litre bottles are not only cost effective, but use less plastic. You only need to purchase our reusable 1 litre bottles once and then simply fill ‘em up at your discretion.

We believe that it’s time to start with what is within our control. Let’s be less consumer mad... let’s cultivate more sustainable habits for ourselves. Let’s make the switch to whole-earth products as best we can. Ultimately, the power really does lie in your hands.

We’re doing our bit. Now you can too!

Try SoPure.
You’ll be so glad you did.