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Plastic Waste Disposal in South African Townships: Comparison
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Please note this is a comparison between Version 3 by Vicky Zhou and Version 2 by Vicky Zhou.

Twenty-first century human behaviour continues to escalate activities that result in environmental damage. This calls for environmentally friendly solutions, such as waste recycling and handling, to deal with the increased amount of waste, especially plastics. The plastic materials manufacturing sector is booming, particularly packaging; while only a fraction of its waste is recycled, another fraction is destroyed, and the larger part continues to pollute the environment. In addition to other waste disposal activities, destroying plastic or incineration (which could be for energy recovery) is usually subjected to strict legal requirements because of its effect on the environment. However plastic is destroyed or disposed of, it poses a serious challenge in both the short term and the long term to humans and their natural environment if the process is not efficiently managed.

  • environmental impact
  • waste
  • plastic
  • recycling
  • dumping
  • incineration

1. Introduction

Plastics are categorised in line with their composition, and the materials used in their production are presented in Table 1 according to types and their properties, health effects and applications [1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8].
Table 1. Types of plastics, their properties and common uses.
Symbols Types of Plastics Common Uses Properties Negative Health Effect Recycled Into
Ijerph 19 00779 i001 Polyethylene terephthalates Water bottles, soft drinks, salad dressing and domes, containers and biscuit trays Tough, clear, solvent resistant, a barrier to moisture and gas softens at 80 °C Causes carcinogens, vomiting, diarrhoea [2] Sleeping bag and pillow filling, carpeting, clothing, soft drink bottles, building insulation
Ijerph 19 00779 i002 High-density polyethylene (HDPE) Freezer and shopping bags, buckets, shampoo, ice cream and milk containers, juice bottles, chemical and detergent bottles, rigid agricultural pipe, crates Hard to semi-flexible, resistant to chemicals and moisture, waxy surface, opaque, softens at 75 °C, easily coloured, processed and formed Stomach ulcers [3] Recycling bins, compost bins,
Ijerph 19 00779 i003 i. Polyvinyl chloride (PVC)

ii. Plasticized polyvinyl chloride PVC-P		 Cosmetic containers, plumbing pipes and fittings, electrical conduct, blister packs, wall cladding, roof sheeting, bottles, garden hose, shoe soles, cable sheathing, blood bags and tubing i. Strong, tough, softens at 80 °C, can be solvent welded and clear.

ii. Flexible, clear, elastic, can be solvent welded		 Interferes with hormonal development [4] Compost bins
Ijerph 19 00779 i004 Low-density polyethylene (LDPE) Refuse bags, irrigation tubings, mulch film, cling wrap, garbage bags, squeeze bottles Soft flexible, waxy surface, translucent, softens at 70 °C, scratches easily Not recyclable [5] Bin liners, pallet sheets
Ijerph 19 00779 i005 Polypropylene (PP) Lunch boxes, microwave dishes, garden furniture, kettles, bottles and ice cream tubs, potato chip bags, straws and packaging tape Hard and translucent, softens at 140 °C, withstands solvents, versatile No known effects [6] Pegs, bins, pipes, pallet sheets
Ijerph 19 00779 i006 i. Polysterene (PS)

ii. Expanded polysterene (PS)		 CD cases, plastic cutlery, imitation glassware, low-cost brittle toys, video cases/foamed polystyrene cups, protective packaging, building and food insulation i. Semi-tough glassy rigid clear or opaque, material, it softens at 95 °C, affected by fat, acids and solvents, but resistant to salt solutions and alkalis, low water absorption, when not pigmented it is clear, odour- and taste-free.

ii. Special types PS are available for special applications		 Takes a thousand years to degrade [7] Recycle bins
Ijerph 19 00779 i007 Polycarbonate and others Automotive and appliance components, computers,

electronics, cooler bottles,

packaging		 Includes all resins and multi-materials (e.g., laminates) properties dependent on plastic or combination of plastics Obesity, cancer, endocrine problems in foetuses and children [8] Recycle bins
Approximately 2% of general waste in South Africa is plastic (Figure 1) [9] and mostly ends up in landfills as it is the widespread waste management conventional approach globally; however, the dearth of landfill spaces is becoming a major problem [10][11]. As a result of the types and quantities of harmful compounds present in landfills, as well as their potential for leaching, there is growing public health and environmental concern about landfill effects [12]. Government and other stakeholders worldwide aim to minimise the quantity of waste that is landfilled, but this has been difficult to achieve because approximately 90% of South Africa’s municipal waste is still landfilled [10], compared to 20%, 37% and 60% in Germany, France and England, respectively [13]. Although there is a risk of groundwater and soil contamination from disintegrating plastic additives and leftovers that can linger in the environment for a long time [14], public health and environmental pollution hazards can be mitigated if landfills are effectively managed.
Ijerph 19 00779 g001
Figure 1. Breakdown of general waste generated in South Africa in 2017.
Incineration is a practical alternative to landfilling plastic waste. However, there are increasing concerns about the possibility of hazardous chemicals, such as halogenated additives and polyvinyl chloridebecause the combustion of plastics releases dioxins, furans and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) into the atmosphere during the process [15]. Gilpin et al. [16] highlighted some compounds released during PVC incineration, including acetaldehyde, benzaldehyde, formaldehyde, phosgene, polychlorinated dibenzo-dioxin, hydrochloric acid, propylene and vinyl chloride, among others. Some of the health effects of these compounds include damaging the nervous system, causing lesions, eye and respiratory tract irritation and carcinogenic effects adversely affecting the bone marrow, the liver and the immune system [16]. In addition, the released substances settle on the soil and plants as black carbon, ashes, and many powders, with the potency to drift to the marine environment and when rain falls, some of these toxic composites permeate the soil, pollute the aquifers, or plants cultivated around this soil absorb them and further integrate them into the food chain [17].
Contrary to recycling and landfilling, incineration of plastic is less commonly used for waste management due to its higher immediate possibility for pollution. The only benefit from plastic incineration is the recovery of energy [18] but plastics can be recycled by converting recovered scraps into usable materials. However, since most plastics are non-biodegradable, the best effort will be to reduce waste productions, effectively reuse waste and then recycle [19].
Plastic recycling is an essential part of the global effort toward the reduction of the 8 million tons of plastic debris that empties into the ocean yearly [20], although the plastic recycling terminology is complicated due to its recycling and recovery systems [21]. There are four types of recycling techniques, and the primary technique is one which mechanically reprocesses plastics into an equally strong new product. The next one is called the secondary technique, and it is the mechanical reprocessing of plastics into a product with lesser qualities. The third, which is called the tertiary technique, revolves around the recovery of the chemical elements of the plastics, and the last recovers the chemical constituents of the plastics. Whatever method is used to recycle plastic, the smelting of various sorts of materials often results in phase separation like that of oil and water, and the result is the reason for the structural weakness in the finished product(s), which is accountable for the limited use of these polymer sequences [22]. This is the situation with polypropylene and polyethylene, the two most regularly produced plastics, which has reduced their recycling potential [23]. Despite this, the volume of post-consumer recycled plastics has grown since 1990, albeit it is low in comparison to other products, such as corrugated fiberboard (about 70%) and newspaper (nearly 80%) [24]. As documented by Geyer et al. [25] in 2015, about 9% of the world’s 6.3 billion tonnes of plastic garbage were recycled, while the other 12% and 79% were burnt and landfilled, respectively. The global rate of recycling in 2016, however, increased to over 14% of total plastic waste [26], with countries such as Japan, a major contributor, increasing waste recycling from 39% in 1996 to 83% in 2014 [27][28].

2. The Environmental and Health Impact of Plastic Waste Disposal in South African Townships

This section discusses the environmental and health impact of plastic waste disposal in South African townships as retrieved from secondary sources.

2.1. Environmental Impact

The increased human population impacts the distribution of plastic waste, and this can ultimately lead to pollution of the environment, which is evident in the decline of the natural environment [29], mortality of aquatic organisms [30] and blockage of sewage systems, especially in third world countries [31], thereby resulting in breeding grounds for mosquitoes and other disease-causing vectors as well as foul odours [32], reduced aeration and water percolation, causing reduced productivity in agricultural lands [33][34].

2.2. Health Impact

Plastic polymers are commonly assumed to be harmless, yet they pose little risk to society; however, diverse types of additives, as well as residual monomers presumably preserved from these polymers, are speculated to be the source of the health risks. [28]. Most of the plastic additives are known endocrine disruptors and carcinogens [35], and these chemicals harm humans primarily through skin contact (linked to dermatitis), ingestion and inhalation [36]. Microplastics are vital toxins that can form complexes in the food chain after being consumed by a variety of marine and freshwater life, resulting in a variety of health problems [37]. When and if consumed, animals exposed to plastic additives and microplastics can be harmful to humans, and through the detection of environmental contaminants, biomonitoring investigations on human tissues have indicated that plastic elements are found in the human species [38]. All the above are not just localised but global issues and hence applicable to South African townships.
Between 1994 and 2009, consumption of fish in South Africa increased by over 26%, posing human health risks because the ingestion of some aquatic species might trigger the transmission of microplastics, toxins and microorganisms to humans [39]. Ref. [40] research conducted for the World Health Organization (WHO) regarding the risk of microplastics to humans showed that there is inadequate data to draw firm conclusions on nanoparticle toxicity as no reliable evidence suggests it is a concern. However, subject to the dependence of the population on seafood, a varied amount of plastics has been quantified to have been ingested from such food groups as mussels and shrimp in fifty countries in Europe, the Persian Gulf and China [41]. These food groups are taken whole, unlike fish, which is normally cleaned first to eliminate microplastics from the digestive system. For South Africa, edible marine organisms that have been researched for microplastics are brown mussels [42] and four species of estuarial fish [43], but data on levels of transferal of microplastics from edible aquatic species to humans were unavailable for South Africa. [44] discovered that people who ingest a variety of marine species, including filter feeders(e.g., mussels and oysters), may be exposed to microplastics.
Microplastics have been found in human faeces in several investigations, with most particles (90 per cent) being expelled [45]. Some particles may go from the stomach to the lymphatic and circulatory systems, whereas others are more likely to pass through cell tissues, the blood-brain barrier and the placenta [46]. The human body reacts to these particles by triggering immunosuppression, immunological activation and aberrant inflammatory responses [47]. Unfortunately, there is a void in the literature in South Africa at the time of this study, but considering the level of dietary seafood content of a significant section of the country’s population, this area should be prioritised for future research. In humans, however, air inhalation and drinking water appear to be the primary pathways of microplastic uptake, with ingestion as a secondary route [40]. Waste (including plastic) burning is identified in townships by Mngomezulu [48], Nkosi [49] and Muchapondwa [50], and the particles produced by this can be inhaled or ingested when they settle on the water. Microplastics are classified as harmful vectors because they may enable chemical transfer in food types consumed by humans; hence, the chemical ingestion related to microplastics may be a greater concern than the intake of the plastics themselves.

3. Recommendations

With the ongoing concerns over global warming, countries are working to reduce environmental and health challenges caused by plastic waste by lowering the manufacture of plastics and plastic products, prohibiting excessive packaging, litter collection and recycling. In contributing to this, herein recommends the need to enforce realistic policies. It is also essential for the government to implement and enforce regulations that will check processes of manufacturing, consuming, using and the final disposal of plastics. To prevent zero diversion to landfills and indiscriminate disposal to the environment, the 3Rs, reduce, reuse, and recycle must be employed at all stages. Waste management plays a major role in reducing the toxic effects of plastic wastes on public health and the environment, and hence there is a necessity for the advancement of practices that will ensure proper plastic waste collection, treatment and disposal.
Furthermore, the general populace must be educated on the potential health and environmental effects of plastic waste pollution as this will help towards reducing the pollution rate and conserve the quality of the natural environment. Also, bioplastics is a plastic produced from cellulose that is made of wood pulp by a British chemist in the 1850s, and if manufacturers can embrace its use, the problem of plastic waste generation and the accompanying environmental and public health effects can be handled. Furthermore, biodegradability with little or no toxic residue will also aid in protecting the ecosystem from the dangers of traditional plastic wastes.

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