Johannesburg, South Africa - Sasol South Africa is partnering with the Alliance to End Plastic Waste (the Alliance) to extend its efforts to lessen the impact of litter on the environment. In celebration of World Cleanup Day 2020, Sasol South Africa will participate in the ALL_TOGETHER GLOBAL CLEANUP, a global initiative to remove litter, one piece at a time from the environment.
“We encourage Sasol South Africa employees, partners and individuals to participate and spread the word about ALL_TOGETHER GLOBAL CLEANUP. Our actions, bolstered by measurement over the two-week period, will help create positive change in the effort to rid the planet of litter,” said Thabiet Booley, Senior Vice President of Sasol’s Base Chemicals business. “Litter in the environment is a global challenge with local solutions, and we’re committed to safely joining together to reduce waste in our communities. Through the ALL_TOGETHER GLOBAL CLEANUP initiative participants may choose to clean up on their own, with a small group, or with family members. Whomever participants choose to participate with, everyone is encouraged to follow all local and regional COVID-19 guidelines to ensure the safest experience possible.
Beginning on World Cleanup Day 2020 (Saturday, September 19) and extending for the ensuing two weeks, volunteers from the Alliance, employees of participating member and non-member companies, partners and individuals around the world will rally to discover, identify, collect and dispose of any litter they find. Leveraging the global network of the Alliance’s nearly 50 members, the ALL_TOGETHER GLOBAL CLEANUP expects to educate more than one million individuals about the importance of litter clean up. The two-week window to participate in the ALL_TOGETHER GLOBAL CLEANUP gives participants the choice to take part when they are comfortable in doing so and physically distanced given their local communities’ COVID-19 safety guidance.
Litterati, winner of the Alliance and Plug and Play’s incubator program in the United States, developed the app that serves as the centerpiece to unite ALL_TOGETHER GLOBAL CLEANUP participants. The Litterati app allows for pickup efforts to be monitored with concrete data, which in turn makes it possible for changes of lasting impact—from behavioural shifts to corporate packaging changes and more. Litterati uses artificial intelligence technology to identify the litter captured in geo-tagged photos. All participants will use the app to upload photos of each piece of litter collected in order to measure and track participation throughout the two-week campaign.
In addition to Sasol South Africa employees, partners such as Plastics SA, which represents all sectors of the South African Plastics Industry including polymer producers and importers, converters, machine suppliers, fabricators and recyclers, will support the Litterati campaign for all inland clean-ups scheduled until end October 2020. In KwaZulu Natal, the Inkwazi Isu project, which is a collaboration between Sasol and various stakeholders aiming to holistically address the pollution problem in the Amanzimtoti Catchment area, will utilise the app in support of clean up campaigns planned for World Clean-Up day on 19 September. Sasol, as a member of the South African Initiative to End Plastic Waste which is aimed at value chain collaboration to end plastic waste in the environment will also be able to use the app.
Further supplementing these efforts, award-winning youth and education initiative TED-Ed has created virtual lesson plans and videos about the issue of litter in the environment. The video-based lessons will be available on TED-Ed’s free and award-winning educational platform and translated into several languages. Visit AllTogetherCleanup.org to access the TED-Ed lesson plans and videos.
“The scale of the global litter challenge can feel daunting, but growing participation in World Cleanup Day has demonstrated that individuals are eager to do their part,” said Jacob Duer, President and CEO, Alliance to End Plastic Waste. “Through the ALL_TOGETHER GLOBAL CLEANUP, the Alliance and our members are determined to further reduce litter in our mission to end plastic waste in the environment.”
Please visit the following links for more information about the Alliance to End Plastic Waste and the ALL_TOGETHER GLOBAL CLEANUP.
About the Alliance to End Plastic Waste
The Alliance to End Plastic Waste is an international nonprofit organization partnering with government, environmental and economic development NGOs and communities around the world to address the challenge to end plastic waste in the environment. Through programs and partnerships, the Alliance focuses on solutions in four strategic areas: infrastructure, innovation, education and engagement, and clean up. As of August 2020, the Alliance has nearly 50 member companies and supporters representing global companies and organizations across the plastic value chain. For more information, visit: www.endplasticwaste.org
About Litterati
Litterati is on a mission to eradicate litter. Now in 165 countries, the Litterati community identifies, maps, and collects waste, resulting in an Open Litter Database - the largest of its kind. They are backed by the National Science Foundation and have been highlighted at TED.
About TED-Ed
TED-Ed is TED’s youth and education initiative. TED-Ed’s mission is to spark and celebrate the ideas of teachers and students around the world. Everything we do supports learning — from producing a growing library of original animated videos, to providing an international platform for teachers to create their own interactive lessons, to helping curious students around the globe bring TED to their schools and gain presentation literacy skills, to celebrating innovative leadership within TED-Ed’s global network of over 600,000 teachers. TED-Ed has grown from an idea worth spreading into an award-winning education platform that serves millions of teachers and students around the world every week.
