Eco Minute 13:30

BULLETIN 19 September 1:30 pm

Good afternoon, here is your Eco Minute:

# Today is National Recycling Day South Africa, a day to raise awareness around recycling and waste reduction, with a particular focus on paper products. South Africa currently recycles 46-percent of plastic, which is higher than most countries. Paper is recycled at 70-percent, beverage cans/metal are recycled at 72-percent, and glass is recycled at 42-percent. Meanwhile, Saturday will mark World Cleanup Day, a global event that rallies millions of volunteers in 190 countries to combat plastic waste and pollution.

# Eskom says it notes the Supreme Court of Appeal ruling, setting aside the Environmental Authorisation granted for the proposed three-thousand-megawatt Combined Cycle Gas Power Plant in Richards Bay, KwaZulu-Natal. The court stated that there was inadequate public participation, and no consultation was conducted with vulnerable communities. It also cited a failure to assess renewable energy alternatives or cumulative environmental impacts. Eskom spokesperson, Daphne Mokwena, says they are studying the judgment and considering the next steps:

# And finally: Climate change is spurring increasingly erratic and extreme swings between deluge and drought globally, with cascading repercussions for societies. The UN’s World Meteorological Organisation said in a report that the world’s water cycle was becoming ever more unpredictable, with shrinking glaciers, droughts, unbalanced river basins and severe floods wreaking havoc. The agency’s annual report on the State of Global Water Resources shows quite clearly that the water cycle has become increasingly erratic and extreme, with cascading impacts on infrastructure, agriculture, energy, health, and economic activities.

Stay tuned for more news………….