In response to my post about SUP’s and wondering if it is possible to live plastic free, our mum has written something about her thoughts and experiences from the early days of recycling in South Africa.
The ‘Conserve Our Resources’ path started for me in South Africa back in 2003 or thereabouts. Until then there was a bit of a problem with plastic bag trees, with a Use it, Drop it, Let the wind take it approach in rural areas and townships.

I remember a sunny day driving to Pinetown through a squatter camp type township when Bronni remarked (aged about 8 years) that it was such a pity these people needed to live with such a lot of rubbish around them – even in the trees! She immediately proposed that she would ask her teacher (being at a private school where social responsibility was part of everyday life) whether they could have a project where they could take black rubbish bags into this area and help the locals clean up.
Suddenly, like a light globe proverbially coming on, she said – but these people could surely do that for themselves – we all get rubbish bags to put it all in!
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