Estate Living Magazine Invest SA - Issue 41 May 2019 | Page 38

D E V E L O P M E N T
policy, is a drop-off point for eco-bricks (two-litre plastic beverage
bottles stuffed full of non-recyclable plastic, which are used to build
houses and other structures). Many restaurant outlets have banned
plastic straws, and either offer their patrons paper straws or suggest
they bring their own bamboo or stainless steel ones. And some
coffee shops are ditching the idea of disposable takeaway coffee
cups in favour of eco-cups that can be reused time and again.
Even the manufacturing giants are joining the party – Unilever’s
Sunlight dishwashing liquid, a household brand, has recently
launched its 100% ‘recycled and recyclable’ bottle, and as a brand
Unilever has committed to reducing its environmental impact by
half by 2030. It doesn’t sound like much, but when you consider
the volume of waste that users of the brand generate, this will have
a huge impact. Clothing manufacturers are jumping onto the
bandwagon with fabric created from recycled PET bottles – back in
2007, Billabong created board shorts from this recycled fabric, and
have recently committed to making all their board shorts from 100%
recycled PET bottles. The 2019 Splashy Fen Music Festival in KZN
decided to go plastic-free this year, and no longer will you receive
your new Vodacom smartphone in slick plastic packaging – the
plastic is being phased out and replaced with paper bags.
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I N V E S T M E N T