WESSA makes waves at Treasure Beach on coastal clean-up day

THE International Coastal Clean-up Campaign was initiated 32 years ago by the Ocean Conservancy when volunteers rallied together with the common goal of collecting marine debris from the world’s waterways.

During the cleanup, volunteers act as ‘citizen scientists’ to increase awareness about the threats of marine debris.

Some 32 years later, people across the planet who are passionate about caring for the Earth continue to do clean-ups along the shore, from watercraft or underwater.

WESSA hosted the International Coastal Clean-Up Day at Treasure Beach on the Bluff on Saturday, 15 September. The collaboration with eThekwini Municipality’s DSW, the Department of Environmental Affairs and more than 750 passionate volunteers saw clean-ups take place on Cuttings Beach in the South Durban Basin.

In her keynote address, Ethekwini Municipality Deputy Mayor Councillor Fawzia Peer said: “As a caring municipality, we understand the health of a city goes beyond the physical well-being of its residents, the city’s financial status and environmental policies. We have taken our environmental programmes and extended these to community involvement, to better serve environmental protection and conservation.”

WESSA thanks its sponsors and supporters for generously giving of their time and expertise. These include the United Nations Environment Programme, Plastics SA, Parks and Natural Resources, South Durban Basin, Sodurba, SAAMBR, Wild Oceans Trust, Plastics SA, RPC Astrapak, Ford, Engen, Defy, ID Logistics, Coca Cola, Capri Sun, WESSA Blue Flag, all the participating schools, universities and local residents who were present and contributed to addressing the capacity of the serious litter, waste and pollution challenges in the South Durban Basin. WESSA will continue to take this successful event forward as part of its environmental education through school and youth programmes.