MORE than 1.5 tonnes of rubbish was removed from the Beachwood Mangroves Nature Reserve beach on Saturday as part of the International Coastal Clean-up Day efforts.

Several clean-ups were held around South Africa’s coastline and across the world.

Recognised as the world’s biggest coastal clean-up, the event is held annually on the third Saturday of September.

The clean-up also sees volunteers gather environmental data on the types of litter they find on the beach. More than 200 bags of rubbish were removed from the beach bordering the reserve.

Basil Pather, conservation manager of the Umhlanga Lagoon Nature Reserve and Beachwood Mangroves Nature Reserve, said he was pleased with the turnout despite the weather.

“We had a great turnout with over 500 people participating, including schools, scout groups and other roleplayers. The North Durban Honorary Officers helped organise this clean-up and have done so for the past 25 years. The International Coastal Clean-up Day is a great way to sensitise our future generations to the threat of pollution and its impact on the environment.

“All the waste collected was weighed, sorted and there was data collected. The more data that is captured the better that we understand what items of litter are found in the environment, which is then used to inform policy,” he said.
Joining the efforts on the day were Wildlife and Environment Society of South Africa (WESSA), the Umgeni Estuary Conservancy, the eThekwini Municipality’s Waste Management Directorate (formerly known as DSW), Oricol Environmental Services, Riverside Hotel, as well as the Mangosuthu University of Technology.

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