South Africas Deputy Minister of Environmental Affairs, Barbara Thomson opened Unilevers biomass boiler and signed the companys "Sustainable Packaging Commitment " on World Environment Day
The company's boiler, which uses sustainable fuel, will reduce electricity and CO2 emissions by more than 30 per cent, according to a statement from the government.
South Africa's environment minister, Edna Molewa encouraged citizens to make small changes to eradicate plastic pollution by avoiding single-use plastic products and recycling existing ones.
The country's Department of Environmental Affairs (DEA) is reportedly considering measures to curb plastic pollution.
UN Secretary-General António Guterres urged people to reject single-use plastic items and that "more than 8 million tonnes end up in the oceans".
Non-profit group Greenpeace Africa launched an online tool called VUMA. EARTH to help citizens run environmental petitions.
The group said that it is also running a campaign to urge local food retailers in Kenya and South Africa to abandon single-use plastic items.
“Many people think it is hard to get involved in protecting the environment because they feel that they can only do that by showing up at protests and clean-ups. While it would be amazing for people to commit to environmentalism at that level, taking a stand for the environment is as simple as signing and sharing an online petition," Angelo C Louw, Greenpeace Africa digital mobilisation officer, said in a statement.
