I live only a few feet from a public park. One morning, after a night of strong wind, I noticed plastic scattered across the ground. The park bins had no lids, and the waste had been blown out and spread across the open space. For the first time, I decided to clean the park. I brought black plastic bags, gathered the rubbish, and placed it back into the park bins.
Later that morning, I accompanied an elderly neighbour to the veterinary clinic with her unwell dog. As we passed another polluted park, we discussed the plastic pollution in South Africa. She suggested that residents should organise themselves to clean the area since the city only cleans it after months. I then told her that I had already cleaned the park that morning. She reacted positively but immediately asked an unexpected question: had I taken the rubbish with me? When I said no, she explained that people come from disadvantaged areas, often collect black plastic bags for reuse, and, in doing so, remove the bags and scatter the rubbish back onto the ground. I found this difficult to believe.
When we returned from the vet and approached the park, the reality was visible. Plastic and paper were once again spread everywhere. The rubbish I had collected earlier had been disturbed, not to clean the space, but to retrieve the plastic bag itself. I had to clean the park again, this time taking the waste home and placing it in my own dustbin. This experience revealed something deeper than littering; it exposed the complexity of plastic pollution as a social and economic issue rather than a simple matter of carelessness.
Pollution is one of the major challenges facing the world today. Increased production to meet the demands of a growing population has led to the widespread introduction of waste into the environment. In South Africa, plastic pollution is especially visible in townships and informal settlements, where it accumulates in open spaces, streets, and waterways. Pollution, broadly defined, refers to the introduction of harmful substances into the environment, threatening ecosystems and human health. Plastic pollution, more specifically, refers to the accumulation of plastic waste in natural environments, where it persists for decades, or the buildup of plastic waste in ecosystems, disrupting both ecological balance and social well-being.
However, plastic pollution cannot be understood only through definitions and statistics. It raises fundamental questions about responsibility. When everyone is said to be responsible, responsibility often becomes so widely distributed that it effectively belongs to no one.
Plastic pollution is not only an environmental issue; it is also a social and moral one. Addressing it requires cooperation among producers, consumers, governments, and waste management operators. In South Africa, however, responsibility is frequently shifted almost entirely onto the government. Waste management operators are often observed collecting bins while allowing plastic to spill onto the streets. Consumers dispose of waste carelessly, assuming it will be someone else’s problem. Producers continue to prioritise profit, increasing plastic packaging with little concern for its afterlife. In this context, blaming the government alone oversimplifies the problem. Responsibility must align with all participants in the cycle of production, consumption, and disposal.
Power plays a critical role in this cycle. Men continue to dominate economic and industrial spaces, including manufacturing, logistics, construction, and policy-making. This does not suggest that plastic pollution is a “male problem” or that women are excluded from responsibility. Rather, it highlights that men often occupy positions where structural decisions are made. These positions carry a form of responsibility that extends beyond personal behaviour. Leadership, by its nature, shapes systems. Those who control production methods, packaging standards, and waste policies influence how plastic enters and moves through society. In this sense, men’s role in addressing plastic pollution is tied not to moral superiority or blame, but to authority and influence.
Plastic pollution is also shaped by inequality. In many South African suburbs, waste is managed efficiently. Refuse is collected weekly, public spaces are maintained, and private labour fills gaps left by municipal services. In contrast, townships and informal settlements often lack reliable waste collection, adequate sewage systems, and recycling infrastructure. Illegal dumping becomes an alternative not because residents are ignorant or indifferent, but because options are limited. When waste is not collected, it accumulates.
These spaces are frequently populated by Black South Africans, a reality that raises difficult questions. The presence of pollution in these areas is sometimes misinterpreted as a reflection of cultural attitudes. Yet race alone does not explain pollution. The roots lie in historical spatial planning, economic exclusion, and ongoing inequality. When people face unemployment, food insecurity, and unstable housing, environmental protection becomes secondary to survival. One cannot reasonably prioritise the environment while struggling to protect oneself.
At the same time, inequality does not remain contained. People move across spaces. Individuals search through bins in wealthier suburbs for recyclable materials, often leaving waste scattered behind. This is not simply a matter of irresponsibility; it reflects economic desperation intersecting with environmental neglect. Inequality has a way of crossing boundaries. High fences, gated communities, and distance do not eliminate its effects. Once inequality exists, it becomes a shared reality, encountered directly or indirectly by all.
Plastic pollution, therefore, is not merely about waste in the environment. It reflects deeper questions about power, responsibility, and social structure. It reveals how leadership decisions, economic systems, and inequality shape everyday realities. Addressing plastic pollution requires more than clean-up efforts or awareness campaigns. It requires an honest examination of who has the power to design systems, who bears the consequences of those systems, and how responsibility is assigned.
In reconsidering plastic pollution through this lens, men’s role becomes clearer. It is not a matter of blame, but of accountability aligned with influence. Where power exists, responsibility must follow. Only when responsibility is recognised as both individual and structural can plastic pollution be meaningfully addressed in a society marked by inequality.
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