FUTURE PLASTIC: How to make your plastic coffee cup biodegradable — most recycling bins won’t help
With roughly 440,000 tonnes of plastic leaking into South Africa’s environment every year, plant-based packaging is often championed as an eco-friendly cure-all. But as Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) scientists develop innovative biopolymers from local agricultural waste, an infrastructural deficit stands in the way.
By Lerato MutsilaSouth Africa
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With roughly 440,000 tonnes of plastic leaking into South Africa’s environment every year, plant-based packaging is often championed as an eco-friendly cure-all. But as Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) scientists develop innovative biopolymers from local agricultural waste, an infrastructural deficit stands in the way.
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About this article
- Length
- 46 words · 1 min read
- Published
- October 27, 2026
- Byline
- Lerato Mutsila
- Source
- Daily Maverick