Clean Up Tomorrow!

Friday 18 September 2015 What are you doing for International Coastal Cleanup Day tomorrow? All around earth, millions of tons of trash will be picked up, with more than 300 cleanups earmarked for Cape Town alone, writes Spike.

According to the Two Oceans Aquarium, which hosts a cleanup of Melkbos beach tomorrow, more than 300 cleanups will take place around Cape Town, including beaches in Kommetjie, Milnerton, Muizenberg, and Fish Hoek, and with many more taking place up the coast, including Mossel Bay, East London, JBay, Knysna, PE and Durban.

The MSC (Marine Stewardship Council), SASSI and Woolworths are going to Woodbridge Island at Milnerton to pick up trash with school children. Pavs Pillay, who runs the SASSI programme, said that they were also sending people to PE and Durban to assist with a range of beach cleanups.

In Hermanus, the SA Shark Conservancy is in the middle of their #21Days for the ocean campaign with White Shark Projects. Shark activist Meaghan McCord Gray said they were cleaning Grotto Beach with 180 Grade R students from around Hermanus today (Friday).

"An amazing turnout by Hermanus Grade R students! Thanks to all the incredible kids & teachers and to White Shark Projects for supporting! 1hr, 14 bags, 993 pieces of garbage! Unidentified plastic fragments, bottle lids, straws and baby wipes were the most common items found," she posted on Facebook afterwards.

The Wildlife and Environmental Society of SA (Eden) is hosting a cleanup at the Great Brak River. The Mossel Bay shark initiative Keep Fin Alive (@FinHugger) are working with Mossel Bay tourism too. Meanwhile, in East London, Deputy Minister of Environmental Affairs Barbara Thomson leads a cleanup at Eastern Beach followed by a speech at the ICC.

Beach activist Stephen Cruikshank, who runs the Keeping Our Beaches Special group urged people to pick up trash every time they went to the beach. One of the members of the group, he said, "now takes two bags when he walks the dog on Fish Hoek each morning. One for dog poop and one for litter. We should all do that."

International Coastal Cleanup Day was started in 1986, and has since grown into a huge global initiative. And for good reason: our oceans have become the garbage dump for humans. I have just returned from a surf trip to the Maldives, and was shocked to see some surf boats throwing their black garbage bags straight into the sea.

Single use items such as plastic water bottles are a huge problem. See this art installation in Bristol, UK. http://www.takepart.com/article/2015/08/30/see-whales-swimming-ocean-of-70000-plastic-water-bottles?cmpid=tp-fb

“It is easy to think that our actions on land do not affect the oceans, but the exact opposite is true. According to Ocean Conservancy, between 5 and 12 million tonnes of plastic enter the ocean annually due to land-based activities” said Renée Leeuwner of the Two Oceans Aquarium. Not only is marine litter unsightly, but it also poses a danger to marine life.

“During our rehabilitation work with endangered sea turtles we have found plastic pieces, bits of balloons and pieces of plastic bags in the gastro-intestinal tracts, bladders and body cavities of hatchlings, sub-adults and adults,” said Leeuwner.

A new study led by researchers from Australia’s Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization has recently found that nine out of ten sea birds have ingested plastic. The study has also predicted that within the next 35 years, 99% of all seabirds will be victim to plastic ingestion.

International Coastal Cleanup Day volunteers are issued with data cards and each item collected is recorded on these cards. After this worldwide event, the global data is collated. Last year 560 000 volunteers in 91 countries picked up more than 7,2 million kilograms of trash during the event. As with last year, the number one item found was cigarette butts at more than 2,2 million. Enough bottle caps to cover seven tennis courts were collected. The weight of the plastic shopping bags collected equals that of three manatees. Some of the strange things picked up include bowling balls, a lawnmower and a wheelbarrow. South Africa had 3208 participants who contributed more than 11 000 kilograms of trash to these statistics.

Katja Rockstroh, Assistant to the Head of Education at the Two Oceans Aquarium and the organizer of the Aquarium’s cleanup, says: “We CAN all make a difference and help the environment. We all just need to take that first step and evolve from there. Participating in a beach cleanup is a great way to start.”

Another way of making a difference is to support the Aquarium’s environmental campaigns. These campaigns suggest easy things to do to make a positive difference to the environment. More information can be found here http://www.aquarium.co.za/content/page/environmental-campaigns-landing

Use thehashtags #2015CleanUp and #CleanUp2015 to follow the conversation on Twitter.

BEACH CLEANUP TOOLS
Bring garden gloves and /or braai tongs, sun protection, sanitizer, water or juice, snacks, and comfortable clothes and shoes that you don't mind getting wet or dirty.

ORGANISE YOUR OWN
Besides collecting vast amounts of rubbish from our waterways, this day is used to raise awareness around the issue and also to collect data on marine debris across the world, allowing researchers to better understand the sources of the trash and to provide informed strategies to combat the problem (http://www.oceanconservancy.org/our-work/international-coastal-cleanup/sign-up-to-clean-up.html)

WHERE TO GO

Muizenberg
Meet Sunrise Beach 9am.

Kommetjie
Sunset parking lot down Wireless road at 10am. Contact John Kieser at 012 591 5512

Gordons Bay
Harbour Island underwater cleanup with divers, 10am Gordons Bay.

Melkbos
Meet in front of the Oppiesee Cultural Centre on Otto Du Plessis Road at 10am. For further information contact Katja Rockstroh on +27 (21) 418 38 23 or education@aquarium.co.za.

Sedgefield
Meet at Myoli Beach in Sedgefield at 8am.

Durban
Meet 8.30am at Virginia Beach near Umhlanga with KZN Beach Cleanup
Meet 9am or earlier at North Pier, with Underwater Addicts, for underwater and shoreline cleanup. Have prizes to sponsor? Call Caroline Reid on 083 303 5995. Prizes for most rubbish include Dive Shop vouchers, caps, snorkel lesson, boat ride, etc

Hermanus
Meet at Grotto Beach 10am with SA Shark Conservancy Friday

East London
Deputy Minister of Environmental Affairs Barbara Thomson leads cleanup at Eastern Beach from 10am, followed by a speech at the ICC at 11.30am.
Coastal Cleanup from 2pm at Border Canoe Club (Playways). Contact 082 457 1135 for details

Jeffreys Bay
Kabeljouws River Mouth to Paradise Beach from 8.30 to 10.30am. Kouga Municipality involved. Afterwards, Braai and musicians in the parking area opposite the Spur

Mossel Bay
Wildlife and Environmental Society of SA (Eden) invites you to join them at end of Suiderkruis Road, 10am for a cleanup at Great Brak River mouth. Refuse bags provided and Mossel Bay Municipality will arrange for removal.

Port Elizabeth
The Algoa Bay Hope Spot team is organising a beach clean up at Maitland River Mouth from 10am. Join them for a fun morning at the beach to help.
Join the Unity in Africa Foundation at First Beach (corner of Marine Drive and University way) at 9am. Bags and gloves provided.
TRASH BASH - Cleanup at Sundays River at 9am at Sundays River slipway. Thanks to Bob Richards for organising.
Cleanup at Schoenies. Sacramento Restaurant will provide coffee for all cleaners and a R55 voucher for lunch after! Cleanup starts at 9.30am at the tanks.