The Problem With Plastic

By Anwynn Louw –Online Marketing Assistant

A Plastic Problem

What do you see when you look at the below image? An adorable leopard cub or a piece of plastic that has made it into the wild?

Photo credits: Anjali Bhamania

Earlier this year, one of our guests captured these images of two leopardcubs playing with a discarded plastic bottle in the Masai Mara close to Rekero Camp. While these images are heart-breaking, they show exactly how the use of plastics has a direct, and negative, impact on our wildlife as well as our environment.

During April 2017 Kenya announced a ban on single-use plastic bags. The Guardian has reported that; “it’s clear that there have been significant knock-on effects on businesses, consumers and even jobs as a result of removing a once-ubiquitous feature of Kenyan life.”

Photo credits: Anjali Bhamania

But what about the use of other plastic items, such as plastic bottles? Plastic bottles are used widely and are quite popular with consumers and manufacturers due to their lightweight nature, and their lower production/transportation costs compared to glass. These bottles are produced using polypropylene, which is not biodegradable and will live on for hundreds of years to come.

It seems almost impossible to escape plastic in our daily lives, and sadly, we cannot escape plastic pollution, either. Just as these images have shown.

Elle Magazine UK recently published an edition which wasdedicated to sustainability and even printed on recycled paper. Elle UK had the following to say about Asilia Africa –“The well-run lodges and camps in Africa could show the rest of the world a thing or two about reducing plastic use. Most good safari companies provide reusable water bottles, and many, such as the upmarket Asilia Africa group, use biodegradable lunch containers and ban plastic straws.’’

Asilia’s Commitment

As Asilia, our main commitment is to empower crucial wilderness areas in East Africa, benefitting people and nature alike. Part of this entails doing all we can to reduceour plastic usage.

Asilia Africa has also been Fair Trade certified and rated asThe Most Committed Safari Group to Responsible Tourism Standards in Africa.

The post The Problem With Plastic appeared first on Asilia Africa.