The University of Cape Town (UCT) is committed to environmental sustainability and aligned with its Vision 2030 to foster a responsible, inclusive, and sustainable campus ecosystem. Recognising that plastic pollution poses a significant threat to marine and terrestrial environments, UCT has developed a coordinated approach to reducing plastic waste across its estate, supporting both infrastructure changes and behaviour-change programmes. As such, the university has embedded plastic-waste reduction into its campus operations, student engagement structures and procurement processes.

1. Sustainability Strategy

 UCT’s Environmental Sustainability Strategy includes targets for waste reduction, recycling and resource efficiency, within which waste minimisation (including plastic waste) is a core focus. The target for the reduction of waste-to-landfill to a net zero state is 2050.

2. Partnerships with students and staff to reduce plastic use and foster recycling behaviours

The colour-coded bin system has been in place for nearly two decades and helps to keep our campuses clean. The two most important colours are:

• Green – recyclables: glass, paper, plastic, cardboard and tin
• Yellow – non-recyclables: dirty food containers, cigarette butts, polystyrene, etc

Other colours that are used in operations/administration are:

• Blue – left-over food from the kitchens that is recycled into agri-protein
• White – office paper

3. Ditch the plastics

A 2024 campaign reminded students “We all know that plastics harm the environment when they end up in landfills or in the ocean, but the damage starts during the manufacturing process, which releases pollutants into the atmosphere. Single-use plastic products (think straws, earbuds, product packaging) are a particularly big problem, so avoid them wherever possible.”