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The world harbours many natural wonders yet so many children do not get to see this beauty around them. Instead they live in communities that have little or no service delivery and mountains of trash are a common sight. This offers a raw, first hand experience of how waste degrades and pollutes our environment. Eventually it ends up in the sea affecting our oceans and livelihoods. This waste conundrum and lack of environmental awareness was an issue Ruben Hazelzet (founder of SoapboxSA) eagerly wanted to find a solution for. But how do you change the deeply rooted behaviour that causes the environment to be trashed? One word: Education.

In 2018 SoapboxSA conducted several focus groups with primary school learners in Khayelitsha (Cape Town) to test their knowledge about plastic pollution in order to develop a relevant story that could change human behaviour for the better. Captain Fanplastic was born. It incorporates storytelling, gamification, technology and action to create a wholesome programme that invites learners into a world of learning and doing. With this programme we hope to help Generation Alpha (born from 2010 onwards) to become environmental custodians of a clean and flourishing planet.

Captain Fanplastic has since November 2022, developed into an NPC and a Public Beneficiary Organisation in January 2024. Currently the programme is active in 11 countries in Europe, Africa & Asia. However, our compass is set to explore more countries that struggle with plastic pollution and reach our Big Hairy Audacious Pirate Goal: One Million Plastic Pirates by 2030 .

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