Circle

circle Renewing our Energy

Edition 1 - May 2019

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Warden for enviromental awareness

Children of the Soil

Sustainable, Saucy Woodz

Makhanda down in the dumps

Editorial - Meet the team

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Ditch single-use plastic

The Spekboom and carbon

The future of agriculture

An argument for profitable sustainability

The life of a sustainable student

Boganvillers engulfing a wall.

By Kane Hodgen

CONTENTS

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The team Daniele van der Merwe Kane Hodgen Mila Hangana Nathan Maimba Tristan Cooke

FarmBo veggies, grown at an aquaponics farm

By Kane Hodgen

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By Nathan Maimba

Editorial H

live in a town that strug-

in Makhanda, but waste is

umans are

gles with water, electricity

in abundance. With the mu-

leaving their

and waste problems on

nicipal strike in full swing,

mark on the

a daily basis. As those

Makhanda Municipality

planet and as years pass

privileged enough to

is looking to enforce once

it becomes more and

attend such a University,

more the IWARS, Integrated

more visible. Yet not all

students have the respon-

Waste Recycling Service

is lost, with this visible

sibility to take action and

programme. IWARS is, an

change to our planet

raise awareness as to

Environmental and Waste

how Makhanda can run

Management Service. They

effectively. By doing so

also Control sorting, bailing

other, towns or universi-

& processing of waste. And

ties may be compelled to

Setting up pilot projects &

leave their own impact

securing funding job cre-

and like falling dominos,

ation. It should not take a

slowly but surely tackling

municipal strike for officials

the issue of global dev-

to start thinking about

astation will become a

sustainable ways of living.

reality. But as we see it

Recycling should not be a

today, Makhanda is faced

second option but rather

with a serious water

at the forefront of waste

sanitation problem that

removal.

there are numerous local and global organisations fighting the good fight against pollution and preserving all life on Earth.

These local Organisations would include WESSA, the Wildlife and Environmental Society of South Africa as well as initiatives like Children Emersed in Makhanda Botanical Gardens

By Kane Hodgen

of the Soil which seek to educate the youth on agricultural practices that would not only enrich the community but also the environment as they would become self-sufficient. As humans sharing this planet there should be a collective move to save it.

Rhodes students can very easily get caught in their academic and social bubble, forgetting that they

has been an ongoing saga.

GroundUp posted article

There are various differ-

in June 2018 that stated

ent approaches that can

that the municipality, due

be taken to change the

to a lack of money, were

environmental climate

struggling to purify water.

in Makhanda. The Horti-

However as residents of

culture Society at Rhodes

this town, the responsi-

University are one of the

bility doesn’t entirely fall

few taking the first steps to

on the municipality but

providing skills, resources

on everyone using this

and knowledge to residents

natural resource.

in the town. Hopefully

Not only is water a problem

this will act as the building

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Makhanda down

By Mila Hangana

A

s one enters the town, the sidewalks are flooded with KFC carton boxes, Lays packets and other rubbish. Though it is fairly usual to see this sort of scenery in many urban cities and towns, it is only once entering the actual township, that you can see the full story of the issue of littering and dumping in Makhanda.

The initial story meant to be about minor littering in the area, only when entering the township, the realization came that the issue needed more attention as dumping was prevalent in nearly every location.

When approached about the issue of dumping, a few gentleman in the area of Extension 7 said that, “We guard over the kids, making sure that they don’t play near the dumping site”. They also pointed out the smell becomes putrid, especially on a hot day.

“It’s been here for years, I can’t even remember when people only started to throw their rubbish away here”. When asked about if they had been approached about recycling or maybe if they knew about recycling, they responded by saying that they have no knowledge of it.

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A local taxi driver, Vuyo Nekile, also offered to give his perspective on this issue. He said that the organization, CWP (Community Work Programme), was supposed to work at, maintaining the dumping sites but they were completely ineffective.

Although, the many residents complain saying the municipality is at fault for this issue, he takes a different view by saying that the community is at fault even more so than the municipality.

“Trucks do come to pick up the rubbish at the dumping sites, but within two weeks, it feels like nothing was done as people immediately dump again.” says Nekile. He also mentions that, “People generally don’t care so they just throw their rubbish wherever there is open land, as long as it is out of their house, it’s out of their mind”. Even at sites clearly stipulated that there should be no dumping, rubbish is piled up, as the sign overlooks them.

At a recycling station in Makhanda, a former worker, Andre Routenbach, said that, “There used to be a lot of people who would come with plastics and cardboards but these days, there just isn’t that many anymore.” The reason for this being that they used to sell their plastics and cardboards to Johannesburg but because many people supply them they aren’t in demand anymore, so they pay less for it.

n in the dumps

Trash sprewn along the outskirts of Extensuions

By Mila Hangana

Philasande Thomas, working for Masihlule since 2012, picks up trash from the various residences and offices on campus. Masihlule collects cardboards, plastics, cans, paper and glass and sort them into a machine called the Baler.

This machine compresses the trash and then they sell the balers to Cape Town and Port Elizabeth.

He feels that the problem this problem would be resolved if the residents of the area were to be educated on the importance of recycling. “I would opt for there being hall meetings for each area in the township in which recycling is spoken about on a large platform and the municipality gives the residents resources to manage their waste, like black bags and large trash containers�.

This will aid to educate the new generation as well as to not add to the pile of trash at the dumps and use alternative means. He also suggests opening recycling stations at various locations in the township so it will be easily accessible for people in the township.

What was a crisis, is now a common thread of their lives that they choose to live by. Maybe through the use of education and empowering the ordinary members of the township, they could see the benefits behind recycling for their good and the whole community as a whole

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McGee’s pieces are based off African designs

by Daniele van der Merwe

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He often sports his own works of art

by Daniele van der Merwe

Sustainable Saucy Woodz

By Daniele van der Merwe

W

ith his blonde, shoulder length dreadlocks, wearing his bright green, Boston basketball vest and black shorts, Galen Eaton McGee doesn’t exactly fit the conventional stereotype of an entrepreneur. The artistic aspect of his business is a lot more fitting to his aesthetic. But regardless of the stereotypes, McGee is leaving his mark on his community, without leaving a big carbon footprint.

McGee collects and uses broken skateboards to create unique pieces of jewellery. “I took a board and hand carved my first pendant in the shape of Africa and that’s when I knew that recycling skateboards is my other passion”

very environmentally friendly company. Because at the end of the day a tree gave his/her life to make a skateboard, so I don’t think it’s right to just throw a skateboard away like that.”

2 to 3 metres of the bottom of a 60 to 80 year old, 30 metre tall trees is used to make a quality skateboard.

McGee is all about helping the environment and is proud that his company is promoting sustainable living. “My company supports sustainable living, not only by recycling, cleaning up, making my carbon footprint smaller but also by creating [indoor] décor, and with wood it has a certain feeling to it”

Born and raised in Strandfontein, Cape Town, McGee has been through a lot of trauma in his 26 years. “I grew up as the baby of three children, but then with life’s ups and downs, I became the only child.” But he says that he realised that it’s because of these hardships in his life that he found his way and purpose.

“Through all this, my life has been moulded into an exceptional experience that I have come to love and actually live. It’s sad that it took the hardest part of life in order for me to realize that, but if that never happened, I probably would have still been a loose cannon and not really know where I’m going with life.”

Even his process of making these works of art does not have any effect on the environment. “I don’t use any tools that pollute the environment.” According to McGee this sets his jewellery apart from the rest. “Today I see loads of people recycling skateboards, whether it be in Africa or other countries, but one thing I know is that they use a lot of power tools which makes life easier, but it removes the craft. What separates me from the rest is that I don’t use any power tools and do everything by hand and the designs and style of my product speaks louder. You can immediately tell the difference between my product and the product of the rest.”

Being an adrenaline junkie, McGee plays a lot of sports. His favourite sport, however, is skateboarding.

“About a year and a half ago, I was just relaxing and thinking of ways to start recycling skateboards after they broke. To have more than one use for them and [give them] a life after they broke. That’s when it all began.”

His future hopes and plans are to hopefully take Saucy Woodz international one day and also to open a workshop where he can share and teach his craft to others.McGee believes he is making a difference in his community by inspiring others to share their talents and opening their minds to all kinds of possibilities all through Saucy Woodz.

“When I saw how beautiful and ‘saucy’ the pieces were, I came up with the brand name, Saucy Woodz” According to Urban Dictionary, ‘saucy’ means to be cool or stylish. Earrings, rings, necklaces, keychains, you name it, Saucy Woodz produces them all. But the best part about the company to an environmentally-conscious McGee is that it reuses something that would have been thrown away. “Saucy Woodz is a

“To all my fellow creatives, just know that if you take that first step to becoming an entrepreneur, that it is one huge step. With that comes a lot of thinking, planning and ups and downs, but please don’t let that change your mind and know that you have strength to overcome any obstacle thrown your way.”

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Children of the S

Eagrly anticipated, a young Fikizolo student runs to greet the volunteers.

By Kane Hodgen

Fikizolo students cleaning a ploot for a veggy patch

By Kane Hodgen

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Soil

By Kane Hodgen

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r. Nosiphiwe Ngwala states, “Catch them while they young, and let them grow up with sustainability as a mentality”.

Ngwala, the founder of Children of the Soil, an organisation that looks to raise awareness about sustainable living in township schools in both Makhanda and East London.

Children of the Soil was founded in 2015, and since then has made great progress bringing a new and innovative form of community engagement, with the emphasis on engagement. The Children of the Soil strive to create a learning environment for primary school students that’s interactive and practical. To stray away from a structured learning process and rather opting for a more hands on approach.

Fikizolo, one of the organisations main primary schools, just last week was ranked number two in South Africa for nutrition, making them first in the province. Which just emphasises the importance of these weekly interactions.

Not all is smooth sailing, due to Makhanda’s water crisis the organisations gardening strategies have drawn to a halt. With the heightened environmental climate of Makhanda, Children of the Soil this year are looking at setting up a colloquium where they can discuss the SDGs, sustainable development goals, for the year.

Ngwala stated, “majority of the manpower comes from Rhodes students”, more than half the volunteers are made up of Rhodes students. Not only do they make up the man power they generate the ideas that will be put into practice.

Ngwala formed this idea through Activate Innovation Leaderships, an organisation that gives birth to leaders who look to improve the lives of others. By identifying the problem, townships neglecting their environment, Children of the Soil was born to generate an environmentally conscious narrative among the youth living in these areas.

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Warden for environmental awareness

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Ellen Kuzwayo is one of Rhodes newest residences

by Daniele van der Merwe

By Daniele van der Merwe

T

he vibrant colours of her dress are the first thing that catches your eye as soon as she wisps into the room. Rushing in breathlessly, she apologises for being late, even though she is right on time. “So, what do you want to know?” she asks, before breaking into a girlish, contagious smile that takes over her whole face, exposing the slight gap between her two front teeth.

A few years back, we [residences of the upper campus] went without water for a solid few days and I personally do not wish to go through that again!” she says as she lets out a snort. “That was a rough period.”

“She has a very strong personality, which some may find intimidating, but I think that’s what you end up admiring about her. Her tenacity and how she Clarris Magadza is the warden the Ellen Kuzwayo sticks to her opinion. She also genuinely cares about residence and a pharmacy lecturer at Rhodes unipeople and the environment. She just has different versity and she now tries to advocate better living ways of showing it,” says Hlubilihle Mtimkulu, the that benefits the environment instead of abusing environmental representative of the Ellen Kuzwayo it. Born and raised in Zimbabwe, she had a fairly house committee, who works along-side Magadza normal upbringing. “Growing up, I was never really to spread environmental awareness in the resiaware of my impact on the environment. Like a lot dence. Chandre Cox, who was a resident of Ellen of children I was taught that littering is wrong and Kuzwayo last year says that she ruled the house that you shouldn’t be with an iron fist. “She made wasteful with your food. sure everyone was doing what “She also genuinely cares But now I’m a lot more they were supposed to do, but aware of what I throw she was really nice about it.” about people and the away and I try to make environment.” sure that my family and Urging all students to abide by I are conscious about the regulations, Magadza says what we throw away and separating plastic from that she feels a sense of responsibility as a warden everything else.” to uphold all the “Obviously all the wardens are briefed on how to handle things during a crisis such Although, she’s not part of any specific group, she as this one, but it’s also common knowledge what does sit in on talks that are aimed to better underwe all need to do to help out where we can. I try stand how to protect the environment, especially to make it clear to the girls in the residence that now that Makhanda is experiencing such a severe the wastage of water will not be tolerated and I drought. encourage them to follow the necessary regimes to save water.”

Magadza stays on campus with her husband and her son, in a flat, attached to the Ellen Kuzwayo She flashes her contagious smile as she is thanked residence, so any issues that affect the residences, for her time. Rest assured that with wardens like she experiences directly as well. “I try to lead by Clarris Magadza on our side, we can overcome any example. As a warden I have to set the precedent. kind of hardship.

Magadza runs a tight ship at the Ellen Kuzwayo residence

by Daniele van der Merwe

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The life of a sustainable Rhodes student

By Tristan Cooke

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s students, in our everyday lives, we practice sustainable living. From using a shower basin to store grey water used to flush toilets. To adopting animals from the shelters in order to reduce the number of homeless pets. In the quest for environmental sustainability eco products are a fast-growing business and companies aim to avoid taking unnecessary environ-mental risks as they focus more on producing green. Recycling is another way in which we as students may be more sustainable. Even Smoking an eco-conscious cigarette is a small way where we as students can do more! Every small step that a person takes is one more step in the right direction.

Image showing Nienke Botha visiting The Mustard Seed, Peppergrove, Makhanda, South Africa.

by Tristan Cooke

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Nienke Botha looking at the various sustainable products offered by the Mustard Seed. Peppergrove, Makhanda, South Africa.

by Tristan Cooke

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Nienke Botha with her cat Titania, she was adopted from The Feral Cat Project.

by Tristan Cooke

Nienke Botha dispensing shower water into her toilet water closet at home.

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Nienke Botha displaying her eco-friendly, biodegradable Woodland Craft cigarettes.

Nienke Botha enjoying a quiet moment in her garden whilst smoking her eco-friendly, biodegradable cigarettes.

by Tristan Cooke

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An argument for profitable sustainability

By Tristan Cooke

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n the midst of one of Makhanda’s darkest hours, a water crisis worse than it has ever been in the city and Makana Municipality staff striking for the extended future (predicted to be until June), it takes certain members of the community to stand up and provide services that are not currently being provided by the local government body. One such person is entrepreneur Pieter Burger. Formerly Zimbabwean, Burger left Zimbabwe after his family lost their farm due to land reform. Two truckloads of kit were what the family left the farm with and Burger moved to Grahamstown in the 1990s to start a new life, “I left Zimbabwe when my parents passed, I had nothing keeping me there” he said.

A man short in stature but not in character, Burger brought stories alive with his passion especially when talking about Makhanda and its mismanagement. Able to laugh at himself Burger told stories of his six kilometre walk that he did for cancer and how it was not an easy feat for someone with a belly like his. A respected member of the Makhanda community he was invited by Pick ‘n’ Pay to be in the front of the cancer walk where he paraded his banner promoting his refuse collection business. When asked about Burger, Nathan Heggie (one of Burger’s customers), stated that “he is a to the point man, always busy but he is getting the right job done at the right time”.

A man of many trades, Burger ran Mr Burger in Makhanda for five years where he tapped into the student market and sold fast food to students making their way between The Rat and Parrot, Friar Tucks and other clubs in Makhanda. When running this business, he realised that refuse he left outside his shop to be collected by municipality was not being done so efficiently and as a result was resulting in the build-up of maggots and bad smells around his place of work. This was the case with restaurants and other businesses across town.

After burger sold his fast food business due to personal matters he set up a refuse removal business and a moving business (digs to digs – house to house) which moved peoples kit across Makhanda. Currently these businesses are 12 years old and Burger’s refuse removal business has gained increasing popularity with the current strikes that are taking place within Makana which leaves businesses and homes across Makhanda with trash building up. “I planned to help out the community by collecting from houses for a couple of weeks, but I am now doing this for an extended period of time as the municipality is not doing their part to remove this refuse, what choice do I have?” Burger said. This has pushed him to purchase a recycling plant in the Makhanda industrial area which he has brought under his business GHT movers. When asked why he bought a recycling business Burger said, “someone needs to remove this trash and the Makhanda dump is a mess, I couldn’t afford to run this as a non-profit organisation, but I do my part to keep Makhanda clean”.

A part-time worker not appreciating the smell resonating from a black bag.

by Tristan Cooke

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What is important to note about Burger is his ambition, currently in a comfortable situation running three businesses in Makhanda Burger is not satisfied. Burger stated “I aim to ex-

pand this business across Makhanda and into nently at checkers (Shortie), other than this Port Alfred” all who accompany him this will allow on his rounds collecting him to grow trash are temporary staff.

“I couldn’t afford to run this When asked Shortie was his recycling plant which enthusiastic and stated as a non-profit organisation, currently has that he loved his job. “I but I do my part to keep one mechaniwork at the sorting dock cal bailer and here at checkers and help Grahamstown clean” 10 permanent collect trash when Pieter staff. As staff cannot find enough peoare hard to come-by Burger currently has a ple to work”, said Shortie. mechanic and his manager who is on perma-

When people picture sustainability, too often people envision a person doing non-profit community service to aid a non-profit organisation, too often I pictured that same thing, but Pieter Burger has made a statement to the community. Yes, he charges fifty rand per trash pick-up but when he is doing everything to ensure that this trash is sustainably dealt with one cannot dispute his vision. If you do not have the funds to set up a non-profit sustainable organisation, then set up a business that feeds off sustainability as Burger has done.

Image below, Pieter Burger showing off the catch of the day.

By Tristan Cooke

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The future of

agriculture

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By Kane Hodgen

H

umans have managed to reach the highest forms of productivity as well as technological progress globally thus far. Despite this, there are still over 20 million people who are suffering from famine. With population predicted to increase over the years, traditional forms of agriculture are taking strain. A new and creative substitute to these methods is aquaponics.

John Davies has lived in Makhanda for 26 years, during this time he has, with the help of Martin Fick, established a fully functional aquaponics system that provides goods to FarmBox, a local distributor in Makhanda.

Davies explains the system stating that this is “aquaponics for dummies”. Aqua, of course referring to water, is harnessed and pumped through tanks filled with fish. These fish are pivotal in the process as they produce waste that is essential for plant growth. This water is then pumped into hydroponic beds, these beds act as filters that remove nitrate and phosphorus. It is then moved into soilless beds were seed are placed, and finally back into the fish tanks. The nutrients removal improves the quality of water as well as water consumption as it limits the amount released as effluent. The process is a cycle and is repeated roughly 60 times a day.

Davies clears the air by explaining, “I don’t grow plants, I grow bacteria”. This bacterium he generates through the fish and the hydroponic beds provides the nutrients needed for plant growth. Not only is this a soilless system, it needs less land for construction, consumes minimal water, accelerates plant growth and produces all year round in controlled environments.

Davies lives on the outskirts of Makhanda. Here, away from the bustle of the town, Davies has built a life that has a minimal footprint and a big reward. He utilises his large property growing vegetables through permaculture and aquaponics. This isn’t hard to miss as you walk past numerous fruit trees and beds filled with herbs and vegetables.

Hydroponic beds acting as a safe place for lettuce to flourish

By Kane Hodgen

Davies warm and caring nature doesn’t only reside in the environment. I left his home with a bag filled of vegetables, fruits and herbs. The produce is fresh with no pesticides used. When visiting the FarmBox, Janice, a resident and frequent customer raved about the quality and taste of their products. Janice stated “aquaponics farmers are revolutionising the agricultural systems in place, I am just happy I am buying wholesome and ethical products”.

The system doesn’t need large amounts of labour, Davies works with his grandson, Peter who acts as supervisor when John is not present. Davies has a few other workers that help him produce a monthly supply of produce. “The work isn’t difficult, but is hugely rewarding in the end” explains Peter. Davies knows that the environment of Makhanda and the world needs new solutions. Therefore he holds courses for locals and those that are interested in the processes. He teaches locals how, as ordinary citizens, they can set up their own home aquaponics systems. Highlighting how easy it is to build your own system and reap the rewards it provides, at the same time living with a good conscience.

Davies stated that he can’t change the systems in place on his own, he urges those that are eager to make a difference to research this new process, he also hopes in the near future Rhodes University can come to the forefront in Makhanda and set an example.

The benefits are clear and factual, the future of agriculture is changing and with this change there is a move to producing ethical and wholesome foods. As humans of our planet we should encapsulate this collective mindset that Davies has and push out traditional means of farming, to be substituted for aquaponics. With the population exponentially growing it is essential for our planet and as a human race.

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The Spekboom and carbon

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Chelsea Botha and the Spekboom which she will be researching for months to come

by Nathan Maimba

Spekboom found decorating a Makhanda residence

by Nathan Maimba

By Nathan Maimba

T

he minutes passed, there she sat, sitting by a bench with a few other Post-graduates. In such a relaxing setting she was having a meeting with their supervisor, each one of them listening intently. What a scene, no loud conversations from people walking by, very few to no people just sitting around, despite the open space and the natural atmosphere, surrounded by greenery and the sounds of birds. Almost as if I had just walked through the closet to Narnia I felt transported to a new Rhodes. Chelsea Botha is an honours student in environmental studies, who also majored in Law and is still thinking of getting her LLB at UCT. Botha explains, “I’ve always been environmentally conscious and over the years I decided to include Environmental studies with my law degree.” It is with her awareness to the current local and global situation concerning our carbon footprints that she chose her thesis on the Spekboom.

The Spekboom, according to Botha’s research has the natural ability to absorb carbon from the soil and store it in its various structures likes the stem and the leaves for example. Such a function can be important because each nation leaves a carbon footprint, which is the process of carbon dioxide being released into the air through the activities of humans and results in unpredictable climate change.

When talking about her past and what trials and tribulations she had to go through, she looks off in the distance not really staring at anything specific but brings herself back to late nights of studying and work. leaving the set structure of living in residence and moving into a house with others, having to juggle working all day and having energy to cook her own meals, the episodes of her univeristy life.

But then she is brought back to the present by sudden gust of wind which not only made the air much colder but also blew her hair into her face, thus snapping her out of her self-induced trance.

Botha, is trying to gain an understanding of how much carbon is being absorbed by the different sections of the Spekboom. An example of climate change would be what Makhanda is currently going through, resulting in the extreme draughting that has plagued the small area.

The Spekboom is a potential long term solution, that over time, could be used to decrease the carbon concentration in Makhanda and the greater Eastern Cape which could have its own positive effects on the climate for the future.

“It’s quite inspiring, I think we need to think of any method we can use to reverse the impact of humans, not only for us but the planet as a whole.” says housemate Joseph Baker, James van Niekerk, classmate and friend of Botha’s since first year describes her as a hard worker, someone who can enjoy what Rhodes has to offer both academically and socially.

But the process of researching has been anything but smooth sailing for Chelsea, in fact in addition to the large amounts of reading required, she actually had to change her topic three weeks ago after her supervisor had to leave on sabbatical which left her playing catch up.

After the interview Botha still has a long process regarding her final thesis submission and taking her environmental goals going forward. She still wants to get her LLB and so academics still seem to dominate her future. However her friends agree on the fact that they see her doing great things going forward not only for herself but the environemnt too.

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Ditch single-use plastic

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What you can find right under your nose

By Nathan Maimba

By Kane Hodgen

T

he term “single use plastic” has made its way into every shop, restaurant, business and even household. Humans are starting to realise the unnecessary and destructive nature of these plastics and here is a wave that looks to dismantle the use of them that stretches across the globe.

However, this is only the tip of the plastic iceberg, we are faced with a much larger problem. The sheer amount of plastic that consumes our planet is killing marine life as we speak. Yes, cutting down on our plastic consumption will help, but dealing with the fact that we are heavily tied to this product is something that needs to be overcome in the near future.

We have created plastic, we depend on it hugely and now we are drowning in it. There are 300 million tons of plastic produced every year, but only half of this is disposable. On top of this only one fifth of this plastic is recycled, 10 percent of the USA’s plastic is recycled the rest blows into our oceans or ravages our streets.

Plastic is cheap and accessible, but is it really a necessity? A major task is providing alternatives for single use plastic.

Shop owners in Makhanda are experimenting with new forms of packaging for their products. When speaking to the owner of FarmBox, a local grocer, he stated that, “more and more businesses are

moving away from single use plastic”. The FarmBox prides itself on using minimal packaging and providing customers with paper bags.

A large part of the problem is not small businesses owners but rather big corporations who are sticking to their ways due to affordability. Duncan Haynes, an environmental figure in Makhanda stated, “Our planet is priceless, to use money as an excuse is just not on”.

Haynes, runs a gardening society at Rhodes, where he provides students with a hands-on approach to gardening.

Plastic bags use far more energy and man power to make, where as a paper bag is cheaper and far more environmentally friendly. Yet we still see large businesses turning a blind eye to the fact that their plastic plays a major role on our landscapes.

By starting at a grass roots level, by encouraging local and small businesses to ditch this destructive material. Hopefully in turn bigger businesses will be forced to move away from plastic in their shops.

In order to overcome the swarm of single use plastic there has to be a collective move to raise awareness, set an example and ultimately say no to single use plastic. Creating a cleaner and more environmentally friendly approach to packaging.

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