Since its beginnings, Scouting has been enabling young people from every corner of the globe to create positive change in their communities, acting on challenges and needs at all levels of society. It uses an action-orientated, self-educational approach to contribute to the empowerment and holistic development of young people as autonomous individuals and active global citizens. SCOUTS South Africa has taken this initiative one step further and has incorporated addressing the SDGs as part of its formal programmes and projects offered to children and youth.

One person’s trash is another’s treasure!

As Scouts it is our duty to have the greenest footprint possible as we try to conserve our biodiversity and minimise the impact we have on this beautiful planet we share. Over the years we have been working hard at this through the Plastic Tide Turners Challenge , our Scouts4SDG initiatives and for the second time around, we are addressing sustainable consumption through our Litter Less partnership with the Foundation for Environmental Education (FEE) and the World Scout Bureau.

The Litter Less partnership allows us to empower and encourage Scouts and Scout leaders to learn, transfer their acquired knowledge, and take actions that address harmful behaviours, sustainable consumption and the circular economy model – reduce, reuse and recycle.

The circular economy model is a new way of thinking about how we use resources. In a linear economy, we take resources, make things, and then throw them away. In a circular economy, we try to use resources in a way that does not harm the environment.

Our Litter Less action plan

In the coming year we will be thinking differently about how we use our resources. Through our #LitterLess2025 partnership, we are encouraging our leadership, our youth, Scouting-in-Schools learners, and the communities in which we operate, to start thinking in a “circular economy”. This means that we will try to use resources in a way that does not harm the environment, where they can be recycled and reused.

Over 3600 learners from the Western Cape Scouting in Schools programme, and over 200 Yebo youth leaders from within the communities served, will be learning about circular economy. Through play, local clean-up actions and using waste to creating seating for their schools. The learners and youth will be contributing locally to the global Scouts for SDGs initiative. A specific term programme was developed to facilitate the implementation of the project. The implementation of the project is being supported by FEE through World Scouting and M&G Investments.

The Litter Less 2025 initiative will also see SCOUTS South Africa’s National Manco, Regional Commissioners, and the Regional Young Leader Representatives trained in sustainable consumption and the circular economy model.  They will further hear from experts in the field how to include sustainable consumption in the organisation’s new Triennial Strategic Plan to enable SCOUTS South Africa to achieve its objective of running zero waste Scouting properties and events.

By including sustainable consumption and zero-waste properties and events in our new Triennial Plan, as an organisation SCOUTS South Africa can continue to remain true to its ethos, and by example, lead the way for youth and communities to mitigate climate change and take preventative actions to create a better world for all.