CSIR honoured for championing plastics pollution research
The Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) is proud to have been named one of the 2023 United Nations Environment Programme’s (UNEP) Champions of the Earth, for its contribution to the fight against plastic pollution.
On 30 October 2023, UNEP announced that the CSIR had been selected as a 2023 Champion of the Earth, honoured in the Science and Innovation category. The annual Champions of the Earth award is the UN’s highest environmental honour. The Science and Innovation category recognises individuals or organisations whose groundbreaking work pushes the boundaries of human knowledge and technology, with positive impacts on the environment.
Project funded by the Global Environment Facility (GEF) to implement and scale circular solutions to plastic pollution in South Africa
The United Nations Industrial Development Organisation (UNIDO) and WWF South Africa are spearheading a five-year project to support the development of circular plastic packaging and systems to reduce plastic pollution from the food and beverage industry.
It is widely acknowledged that plastic pollution is not only an environmental challenge, but it also includes socio-economic and potential human health and human rights challenges. Yet, while much of the attention has focused on improved waste management, this project will focus exclusively on upstream and midstream interventions in the plastic packaging value chain – looking at how to turn off the tap on problem plastics at source. Read more...