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Sustainability Hub / Single-Use Plastics

Two Oceans
 Aquarium

Rethink the Bag campaign

Institution Name
Two Oceans Aquarium (Cape Town, South Africa)
Project Title
Rethink the Bag campaign
Summary
Since 2011, the Two Oceans Aquarium’s Rethink the Bag campaign worked to reduce society’s dependence on single-use plastic and achieve its vision of abundant, healthy oceans.
Over more than two decades, the variety of animals in my care taught me so much about the natural world that, in 2007, I found my voice as an advocate for the planet. Constantly observing unconscious and crass consumer behaviour spurred my desire to drive change in hideous plastic packaging trends and, so, Rethink the Bag was born – to ban plastic shopping bags in our country.
– McLellan, unpublished

Project Summary

Launched in 2011 as the Two Oceans Aquarium’s official environmental campaign, Rethink the Bag aimed to reduce society’s dependence on single-use plastic ‘convenience’ and achieve the Aquarium’s vision of abundant, healthy oceans. It became the flagship of six campaigns alongside: Balloon Busters, Straws Suck, Tap In, Bin your Butts, and Cut a Loop, supporting an ‘awareness to action’ focus. In 2016 staff agreed not to bring plastic shopping bags into the workplace. The Aquarium currently embeds single-use plastic messaging across exhibits, feed talks, outreach programmes, blogs, social media, and education, and holds beach clean-ups that gather scientific data. Impact followed: in 2017 a local book brand removed plastic bags from all 70 stores nationwide, two national retailers printed #rethinkthebag on reusable bags, and one major national retailer stopped issuing plastic bags from its food market stores in 2022.
ESMP Focus Area
  • Single-Use Plastics
Project Status
  • Completed
Project Timeline
Start Date: 2011
Completion Date: 2021
Metrics
  • South African per capita plastic consumption: 32–41kg, versus the global average of 29kg.
  • 2017: a local book brand removed plastic shopping bags from all 70 of its stores nationwide.
  • Two national retailers printed #rethinkthebag on their reusable bags.
  • One of South Africa's largest retailers phased out single-use plastic shopping bags completely.

Case Study Questions

The Why

In South Africa the single-use plastic shopping bag is referred to as the country’s ‘national flower’, as it is ubiquitous across terrestrial and aquatic, urban and rural environments. South Africa has high per capita plastic consumption (32–41kg versus the global average of 29kg). The Aquarium and its Foundation see firsthand the impact of plastic on marine life through work with turtles, seals, and seabirds. Stranded turtles in rehabilitation have consumed plastic, often fatally, and Cape fur seals are regularly rescued from plastic entanglements.

Goals

The goals followed the environmental campaigner’s job profile: increasing awareness of sustainability issues through developing a campaign strategy, implementing campaigns, and promoting them at shows and expos, but goals were not actively or formally tracked, only reviewed in performance discussions.

Resources and
 Key Partners

The most significant investment was the salary for a full-time campaigner, supported by other staff members’ time, plus budget for printing materials (stickers, booklets, signage) and attending expos and conferences.
Essential partners were buy-in and full support from the CEO and departmental heads, the full-time campaigner, and the sustainability manager who managed the campaigner. The campaign was fortunately incorporated into the Aquarium’s broader existing sustainability work.

Actions taken

In 2010 the Aquarium hosted the 5 Gyres Institute and collaborated with a local artist on a plastic awareness exhibit, the catalyst for its anti-plastic campaigning. In 2011 a staff member initiated Rethink the Bag in her personal capacity, aiming to ban the single-use plastic shopping bag in South Africa; single-use plastic bags were banned from Aquarium premises that year. In 2013 Rethink the Bag was adopted as an official campaign, and the Aquarium created a full-time environmental campaigner position to run it alongside other anti-plastic initiatives. Campaigns were integrated into the Aquarium’s signage, exhibits, feed talks, and education programmes.

The biggest challenge

Banning the single-use plastic shopping bag and getting producers and manufacturers to move away from single-use plastic packaging. This remains an ongoing challenge.

The biggest surprise

The push back from retailers, who said they would only implement changes such as not offering single-use plastic shopping bags, once consumers started asking for alternatives.
The anti-plastic movement had not gained traction when the campaign began, but it caught the public’s imagination and the groundswell was phenomenal once it got going. Several local retailers stopped offering single-use plastic shopping bags, plastic straws were phased out, and there was greater consciousness about plastic. One of South Africa’s largest retailers phased out single-use plastic shopping bags completely. The plastic bag has still not been banned in South Africa, so there is more work to be done.

Unexpected benefits

(although not unexpected) included enhanced credibility as an aquarium, public support, media exposure, and partnerships with conservation organisations, artists, and scientists. Others were inspired to start their own campaigns, e.g. Carry Your Own, encouraging runners to carry their own water instead of using single-use plastic sachets during races.

What you’d do differently
if starting again

If starting over, we would engage staff differently. The outright ban on staff bringing in plastic bags was authoritarian and top-down, and coming from staff via the Green Team would have built a more sustainable groundswell. We would offer alternatives collaboratively, recruit internal drivers within target companies rather than relying on one campaigner, and link the campaign to an iconic species (turtles).

Top advice

  • Support of the CEO, departmental heads and staff is essential
  • A strategy and implementation plan embedded in all relevant operations
  • A dedicated staff member with company-wide buy-in
  • A clear, simple message and call to action

How are you sustaining
 or expanding the initiative

The campaigner moved to the Aquarium’s Foundation in 2020 and left in 2021; the position was unfilled and focus declined, though plastic-pollution messaging continued across blog, social media, feed talks, signage, education, and publications. Reinvigoration steps this year (2026) include a written position statement, a strategy with monitoring for impact, staff-developed internal targets and actions, and clear messaging and calls to action, and the appointment of a new campaigner.
Learn more about our insights here.