Minister, it is time that South Africa rethinks our horrific approach to waste disposal. Our landfill sites are truly in a state. They are overflowing and not regulated properly, if at all.

It is time that we adopt and nourish a pro-recycling mind-set within our society and starve our bloated landfills.

A great start, would be the example of a wonderful little town right here in the Western Cape, called Greyton. Last year Greyton phased out single use plastic shopping bags.

Due to their ability to become airborne, plastic bags have led to a multitude of problems across the country, including littering the streets, being ingested by livestock and leaking toxins into the environment.

They are also a significant threat to marine life and have wreaked havoc on our coastline’s ecosystem. Every year it’s estimated that millions of marine creatures suffer from plastic ingestion or entrapment.

Minister, there is also a need to educate our citizens and to incentivise recycling in SA, but that is not enough.

The government needs to set an example by pursuing and implementing innovative recycling practices and sustainable energy-related policies and programmes.

For instance, one of our international trade partners, Sweden’s waste-to-energy program, generates 20% of the nation’s district heating and generates electricity for a quarter-million homes.

The Scandinavian country has actually run out of waste, and now has gone into ‘trash for cash’ partnerships with neighbouring countries such as Norway.

Considering our electricity crisis and overflowing landfill sites, this could be the perfect solution to help both problems currently plaguing South Africa, Minister.

I implore you, your department and colleagues in the Energy Portfolio to heed my words and consider this proposal – if not for your sake, then for the sake of a sustainable future for our nation.