Results of 2010 International Coastal Cleanup in South Africa

Nov. 26, 2010 - PRLog -- RESULTS OF 2010 INTERNATIONAL OCEAN CLEAN UP
SHOW LITTER CONTINUES TO BE A PROBLEM ON SA BEACHES AND WATERWAYS
The Plastics Federation of South Africa, who coordinated the 25th International Ocean Clean Up Day held earlier this year (Saturday, 18 September 2010), has just released the results of this year’s clean-up campaign.
1. Increase in number of volunteers
According to John Kieser, Environmental Manager for the Plastics Federation and the National Coordinator of the International Ocean Clean Up day, 20 000 volunteers this year helped to clear debris from the beaches, underwater areas and waterways of South Africa (8 120 volunteers participated in KZN and 11 867 in the Northern, Western and Eastern Cape this year, compared to 7 746 in 2009). “We have seen a marked increase in the number of volunteers this year – ranging from surfers, divers to schools and community groups”, Kieser says.
2. Increase in litter removed and areas covered
“This year we removed a total of 62.65 tons of litter (13.65 tons from Cape beaches and 49 512 kg’s / 49 tons from KZN beaches), covering a total distance of more than 1 000 km along the country’s coastlines, estuaries and rivers, inland water sources and even underwater in our cleanup operation”, Kieser says.
As in 2009, there was an increase in the number of cleanups taking place in informal settlements. Thanks to increased marketing of the event and greater public participation, cleanups also took place further away from the coastal zone areas, such as river mouths, streams and waterways throughout the country.
According to Kieser, this year’s results reflect the positive impact made by the bigger, urban municipalities that have been making a concerted effort throughout the year to clean their beaches and coastlines on a daily basis.
3. The litter bugs on our beaches
For the third year running, plastic caps from bottles continued to be the item collected the most on our beaches. Despite this problem, however, the audited results have shown a steady decrease in the amount of all litter collected over the past three years. Plastic beverage bottles have dropped from the number 2 spot in 2009 to 4th in this year’s cleanup, but the amount of individual numbers have not reduced significantly. The amount of food wrappers and containers collected during the beach cleanups have increased and is now the second biggest litter problem.
Other items that have increased noticeably are the amount of plastic shopping bags, plastic straws, and lollypop sticks. “A new item on this year’s list was plastic cutlery”, Kieser says. The number of beverage cans being removed has dropped to the 12th position, but the number of clothing and shoes collected from cleanups have increased when compared with previous years.
4. It’s up to us to make a difference
The 2010 International Coastal Cleanup has shown again that between 80 % and 90 % of all waste found on our beaches originate from the land and not the sea. “Plastics don’t litter, people do”, John Kieser says. Even litter that falls from our hands hundreds of kilometers away eventually finds its way to the ocean, making it more vulnerable to impacts from climate change, coastal development, and overfishing. Litter isn’t just ugly, but it also negatively impacts our economy and our own wellbeing.
“We should see the results of this year’s cleanup beach efforts as a plea for humans to change their behaviour and to stop littering. If we want to keep our country and beaches beautiful for generations to come, we have to change our behaviour now.
3 Things you can do to stop marine litter:
1. Volunteer for the Coastal Cleanup on the third Saturday in September every year
- Your contribution makes a difference!
- Diarize next year’s event now! Saturday, 17 September is when the big clean up takes place!
2. Put your litter in a secure bin.
- If one is not provided keep it with you until one is found
3. Start recycling everything you can.
- 28% of packaging waste is currently being recycled in South Africa, with more than 240 plastic recycling companies operating in South Africa

Note to the editor: The following organizations sponsored the 2010 International Ocean Clean Up:
 Plastics Federation of South Africa – 70 000 Refuse bags for Western, Southern and Northern Cape and 30 000 for Eastern Cape.
 Pick ‘n Pay - R10 000 in vouchers and support of cleanup in Cape Town V & A Waterfront. The vouchers were distributed to most of the local coordinators and were used as either prizes in the cleanups or to buy support material for their cleanups. Pick n Pay has since the inception of the International Coastal Cleanup in the Cape Provinces been very active in their support and their support is one of the corner stone’s of the event.
 Ripcurl – T-shirts for all 50 coordinators, large amount of prizes for their Banner Cleanups and 3 banners. This is the first time that the clothing company has come on board with our efforts and unfortunately the material arrived too late for proper distribution to the 3 planned Banner Cleanups was reduced to cover only the underwater cleanup in the Cape Town Harbour and the bulk of the prizes have been sealed and stored for the 2011 cleanup.
 Fortune Bottlers of Coca Cola – Soft drinks for various cleanups in the Eastern and Southern Cape areas, 10 Banners. Fortune Bottlers is apart from IBA Bottlers in the Kwazulu Natal area an organization that has adhered to the call from Coca Cola as International sponsor to support the International Coastal Cleanup in South Africa. Soft drinks, as cleanups can be thirsty work, is one of the items that we need at all cleanups and with their support we were able to support most of the cleanups with adequate material.
 Kelppak – R15 000 for support of cleanups within the False Bay, Cape Point, Kommetjie to Hout Bay areas. Transport of school and community groups is always a need for many of the cleanups. Kelppak is a live kelp harvester in the Soetwater area and we used their funding for the following:
i. Transport and catering for school from Khayalitsha to Integrated Maritime Technologies in Simon’s town for cleanup at Boulders beach and have educational presentations on marine science.
ii. Transport and catering for Ocean View Schools to the Soetwater Environmental Education Centre for cleanup on that coastline.
iii. Transport and catering for group from various schools to Robben Island.
iv. Payment for T-shirts of Underwater dive by OMSAC in Murray’s Harbour on Robben Island.
v. Small payment for transport of school group to beaches in George area under WESSA supervision.
 Fima Films – R15 000 for support of cleanups within the Overstrand area.
 City of Cape Town – The Environmental Capacity Building, Training & Education Section of the Environmental Resource Management Department sponsored some of the cleanups in Cape Town and surroundings.
 USABCO – 40 Buckets for use with cleanups in Eastern Cape of great quantities of small pieces of glass.
 Irvin and Johnson – supported cleanups by the University of Stellenbosch.
 Transnet – supported cleanups in and around their harbours.
 Reef – supported a cleanup by the Save our Seas Centre in Kalk Bay.
 International Coastal Cleanup 2010 report for West, East and North Cape provinces – South Africa.
 Peninsula Bottlers of Coca Cola – donation of soft drinks for various cleanups in the Cape Peninsula.
 Toyota South Africa – four Toyota dealers supported cleanups on the coast

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About the Plastics Federation of South Africa. The PFSA represents the Plastics Industry of South Africa. The Federation members represent all sectors of the SA Plastics Industry including polymer producers and importers, converters, machine suppliers and recyclers. The plastics chain in South Africa employs over 40 000 people, and is defined as a priority sector by Government. The combined turnover of the industry is some R 35 billion per annum and consumption is approx 1,5 million ton per annum. The Federation provides industry training and drives the Plastics Industry Environmental initiative. It operates from three centres: the Head Office in Midrand, Gauteng and the two regional centres located in Pinetown KZN and in Cape Town.