Join a Dolphin Coast beach clean-up this weekend

A total of 12 694 kilograms of waste was picked up along our South African coastline during last year’s International Coastal Cleanup weekend, with food wrappers taking the top spot for the most items collected.

More than 16 000 people participated, of which 4 755 recorded what they picked up.

The Dolphin Coast is famous for its beautiful, golden beaches, but falls victim to the continuous litter and debris that washes up on our shores on a daily basis.

Also read: Beaches of the Dolphin Coast

This weekend’s coastal cleanup is the perfect opportunity for you to play your role in keeping our beaches clean and pristine, by joining the Uvemvane Tugela Honorary officers at Blythedale, Zinkwazi and Tugela South Bank beaches on Saturday, 15 September from 8am – noon.

For Ballito residents, Tidal Tao is encouraging everyone to head down to any beach between Ballito and Christmas Bay this weekend, and snap a picture of the litter you collected, to stand a chance of winning two brilliant books on South African marine life.

The biggest looking pile of litter, with a preference for the little things like ear-bud sticks, small pieces of plastic, cigarette butts and old fishing line will win.

Be sure to upload your photos on Facebook or Instagram before Monday, 17 September and use the #Tidaltao so they can find your photos.

“While the beauty of our coastlines attracts people from far and wide, the high volumes of waste that is produced poses a major threat to our precious coastal environments,” says Leon Grobbelaar, president of the Institute of Waste Management of Southern Africa (IWMSA).

“Addressing marine pollution has become imperative to protect these ecologically sensitive areas and the many threatened and endangered species that inhabit these coastal marine environments.”

The data collected from these coastal cleanups helps to identify trends and highlight culprit waste materials that are prominent in our coastal environments.

Food wrappers, especially chip packets, made from multi-layered plastics have been increasing in numbers on a yearly basis. It was the fourth highest item collected in 2016.

In the 2017 cleanup, food wrappers were the prolific item collected. Asthma pumps are the most prolific item found out of the medicinal items.

A concern is the fact that disposable syringes have been recorded in larger numbers in the 2017 clean up.

Single use baby diapers have become more prominent each year. This is of a great concern as diapers can take up to 500 years to decompose.

The global statistics from last year’s International Coastal Cleanup Day efforts show that 789 thousand people collected 9, 285 tonnes of waste over 30, 472 kilometres of coastline.

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