RECORD NUMBERS OF VOLUNTEERS PARTICIPATE IN 2017 INTERNATIONAL COASTAL CLEAN-UP DAY
Johannesburg, 19 September 2017. This past
weekend saw the 21st year in which South Africa participated in the
International Coastal Clean-Up (ICC) – an annual event that has become the
biggest, global volunteer effort for ocean health.
“We coordinated more than 400 beach clean-up
points around the Cape and 40 in KZN in partnership with the KZN Marine Waste
Network members on Saturday alone. This excludes the various clean-ups that
took place during the course of last week as part of our “Clean-Up and
Recycle SA Week” and inland clean-ups that were held at rivers and streams,”
said Douw Steyn, Sustainability Director for Plastics|SA.
Despite inclement weather experienced in Cape
Town on the day, Steyn suggested that 2017 would be remembered for having one
of the best turn-outs of volunteers who freely offered up their time to
participate in picking up litter from our beaches.
“We will only have the official stats of the
amount and type of litter collected later this year once all the audit sheets
have been compiled and analysed, but we can definitely say that we saw an
increase in the number of community groups, schools and businesses who
participated in this year’s ICC,” he said.
Although extensive education and communication
campaigns have been taking place over the past few years, volunteers agreed
that they were shocked to see how much litter is still found on our country’s
beaches. Packaging continues to be a major culprit and items such as
straws, sweet wrappers, chips packets, earbuds and cigarette butts were found
strewn across our coastlines.
“Approximately 75% of ocean litter is derived
from land based waste. Without effective waste collection, an avalanche of
debris enters the ocean. Even a packet that is carelessly thrown out of a car
window thousands of kilometres inland, could eventually find its way to the
ocean. We need to address the importance of an effective waste management
system upstream and increase our efforts to educate the public about the
importance of recycling. Plastics is not the problem. People not discarding
their used plastics products properly or ensuring it gets recycled, is the
issue that needs to be addressed,” Steyn advocated.
“Effective methods for separation-at-source
and the collection of recyclable materials are vital if we are to find a long-term
and workable solution. To this end, we invite industry bodies, government and
communities to work together with us as we count down to the World Clean-Up Day
that will take place next year on the 15th of September as part of the global
“Let’s Do It” Campaign*. This worldwide wave of clean-ups will start in New
Zealand and follow the sun through 24 time zones, ending 36 hours later in
Hawaii. Volunteers from more than 150 countries will join the world’s biggest
positive civic collaboration in the fight against illegal waste.
“Our sincere thanks to everyone who was
involved in this year’s activities and helped to make a difference in their
environment. Without the support of our many sponsors and the help of every
volunteer, we would not have been able to collect the large amount of litter
that we did on Saturday. We are busy writing a success story that shows what
can be accomplished through teamwork and a commitment to save the environment
for future generations,” Steyn concluded.
For more information about the 2017
International Coastal Clean-Up, visit
www.cleanupandrecycle.co.za or www.plasticsinfo.co.za