By Annisa Essack

There’s no denying that our world is drowning in plastic, and as people are starting to realise the real extent of damage, thankfully moves are being made to save the environment.

Recently a dead whale was found to have 40kg of plastic bags in its stomach, and last year a report by Credit Suisse, warned ‘there will be more plastic than fish in the ocean, by weight, in 2050’.

South Africa has implemented laws to stop the use of single-use plastic to an extent but it has become of vital importance to the planet that we stop using so much plastic all the time. It’s poisoning our seas and the creatures in it and in the process causing us to poison ourselves.

Supermarkets in Vietnam and Thailand are leading the fight against single-use plastics by doing away with plastic bags altogether and replacing them with banana leaves.
And it all started after a shopper at Rimping Supermarket in Chiangmai, Thailand posted the amazing packaging on Facebook and, of course, it all went viral with people globally loving the idea.

Other supermarkets then got in on the innovation train in the Vietnamese capital, Hanoi, as well as Saigon and Ho Chi Minh City. For now, though, it’s a test, but they plan to extend the initiative nationwide and hope to be able to use the leaves for meat as well as vegetables before too long.

It’s all a step in the right direction, and we need it. Vietnam is currently fourth on the global list of ocean plastic polluting nations.

With South Africa implementing the carbon tax, is it not time for us to look at more innovative ways to reduce our carbon footprint whilst saving money?

In Thailand, there are other plans in place, too. Big C supermarket has already started using biodegradable bags made from corn.  South Korea recently banned single-use plastic bags and packaging. That means that – instead of the small charge that we pay in South Africa – shops need to provide an alternative, whether that is a recyclable container or a non-plastic bag.

China has seen a massive drop of 66 per cent after banning the use of super thin plastic bags since 2008. Since then, they’ve kept more than 40 billion bags out of the ocean.