Can the world wean itself off plastics?

Can you imagine life without plastic?

It’s cheap and convenient – but makes up an estimated 400 million tonnes of waste every year, of which only 10% is recycled.

It’s hoped ongoing negotiations could lead to an internationally legally binding treaty on ending plastic pollution by end of this year.

But calls for a reduction in the production of plastics is being strongly opposed by the plastics industry as well as oil and petrochemical exporting countries like Saudi Arabia. They insist the best solution to plastic waste is recycling. In this episode of Africa Daily, Peter Musembi speaks to Dr Tiwonge Mzumara-Gawa from the Malawi University of Science and Technology, who is also a campaigner against plastic pollution. She says she's a conservation biologist by training; and an activist by passion.