Plastic pollution is a massive global challenge. While the media often focuses on consumer habits and beach clean-ups, driving real, long-term change requires a deeper understanding of international policies, the circular economy and the entire plastics supply chain.
The Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH, implementing the Global Sector Project on Marine Litter Prevention on behalf of the German Federal Ministry for the Environment (BMUKN), commissioned a three-day training programme for journalists and content creators in South Africa to help them unpack these complex issues and communicate them to their respective audiences.
Facilitated by Flow Communications, the workshop was held in Cape Town from 3 to 5 June 2026. The programme brought together 16 storytellers from diverse media platforms – ranging from major African news networks to local community outlets – who wanted to dig deeper into the facts around plastics and report with confidence.
Looking at the bigger picture
The main goal of the initiative was to move the media focus away from simply managing waste, and towards preventing it and holding the plastics industry accountable.
Over three interactive days, participants learned how to decode scientific data and interpret complex environmental policies. Experts guided the group to look beyond individual consumer habits and explore how to promote accountability across the entire plastics value chain, including holding producers responsible for the packaging they create.
The training also highlighted the human side of the crisis, examining the impact of plastic pollution on women and the difficult working conditions of waste pickers in developing nations.
From local streets to global treaties
To bridge theory and practice, the journalists went on site visits to see both sides of the coin, comparing a local zero-waste enterprise with a large-scale industrial packaging facility. This gave them a first-hand look at the real-world economic and infrastructure challenges posed by our reliance on plastic.
Back in the training session, participants connected these local observations to global policy developments, such as the ongoing international plastics treaty negotiations. They actively debated the practical and financial support that countries need to successfully transition to a circular economy.
Driving evidence-based storytelling
The initiative culminated in a Shark Tank-style pitching session where journalists presented new, fact-based story concepts. The proposals demonstrated a clear shift from generic environmental coverage to targeted, solutions-oriented journalism.
Instead of focusing on basic clean-up stories, journalists pitched ideas about tracking the collection and allocation of industry recycling fees to see whether they make a real-world difference. Other pitches highlighted the health, safety and economic contributions of women and youth in the informal waste sector. Some reporters chose to examine the links between nanoplastics and vascular diseases in the Global South, while others focused on evaluating alternatives to see if materials like bioplastics are genuinely sustainable.
A model for global impact
The response to the workshop was highly positive, with guest experts praising the exceptional talent of the participants and journalists expressing gratitude for the insights shared.
“The depth of research behind the programme, the seamless organisation and the calibre of speakers you assembled made for an engaging, insightful and genuinely valuable experience,” said one journalist, Carol Albertyn Christie.
“What stood out most was the quality and diversity of perspectives shared throughout the conference. The discussions felt relevant, well curated and intellectually rigorous, while still being accessible and engaging for attendees.”
Digital and visual storyteller Ulrich Janse van Vuuren agreed, noting the workshop’s relevance during Oceans Month.
“This session was such an eye-opening experience and a reminder of why this matters. Plastic pollution is not a simple story. It touches our homes, rivers, coastlines, cities, communities and the choices we all make every day, often without even thinking about them,” said Janse van Vuuren.
By investing in the professional development of these reporters, GIZ is helping to build a more informed, critical public conversation.
This initiative serves as a fantastic model for empowering the media to highlight real environmental solutions and drive better policymaking worldwide.
