Post on 03-Oct-2020
transcript
South Africa
2018 International Coastal Cleanup: South Africa.
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South Africa – 2018 International Coastal Cleanup Report.
Robben Island Cleanup. Jackie Wernberg.
For more than two decades, on every third Saturday in September, South Africans have joined
thousands of other volunteers globally with the common goal of collecting and documenting the
trash littering their coastlines.
Plastics|SA, as the South African plastics industry body, has proven throughout this period that its
concern for the leakage of plastics to the sea is not just an awareness project but transforming
actions into words.
The 2018 International Coastal Cleanup in South Africa.
The Marine Conservation Community lost a brilliant champion and
Kwazulu Natal ICC Coordinator, only a few weeks prior to the event, due
to a motorcycle accident. Caroline Reid was a generous individual with
an inquisitive mind and a caring soul. We will miss her and her infectious
laughter.
Apart from incredible individuals such as Caroline, what makes the ICC
successful?
Three quarters of the time spent on the
International Coastal Cleanup is dedicated to pre
event logistics. Logistics that consist of obtaining
bags, gloves and other support material to ensure
that the material reaches the 400 coordinators
nationwide.
The South African Coastline is 2 500km long and this report looks at clean-ups that took place
during September with the lion’s share of these activities occurring within the week prior and on
the 15th of the month.
2018 International Coastal Cleanup: South Africa.
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This paragraph is from the 2017 ICC report and it is just as
applicable this year.
“The maturity of coastal clean-ups, as measured in weekly
and monthly actions, is having a domino effect on clean-
ups away from waterways. Never before has there been
such a focus on the presence of waste material in the South
African environment by a swelling number of organisations
and individuals. It is wonderful to have so many more voices speaking out about the presence of
material littered and dumped, improper waste management and a lack of recycling facilities”.
Sadly, it is often the symptoms that are treated and not the cause!
Lack of infrastructure and irresponsible disposal of waste are unquestionably the primary reasons
for waste finding its way into the environment in South Africa.
4 300 Km covered to distribute material and arrange logistics over a four-week period.
50 000 Refuse bags distributed during the period of September.
10 800 Sets of gloves provided.
80 Buckets and 85 Garden Rakes provided by Addis.
Total of R 26 000 spent on chartering various vessels by PETCO.
R 30 000 worth of Pick n Pay Gift Cards distibuted.
R 30 000 Sponsorship of transport, branded clothing, etc. from Kelpak sponsorship provided.
2018 International Coastal Cleanup: South Africa.
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2018 Volunteer Numbers
Northern Cape 1 078
Audited Clean-ups
Non Audited Clean-ups
790
288
Western Cape 9 381
Audited Clean-ups
Non Audited Clean-ups
2 476
6 905
Eastern Cape 6 351
Audited Clean-ups
Non Audited Clean-ups
1 867
4 484
Kwazulu Natal More than 2 753
Audited Clean-Ups
Non Audited Clean-Ups
2 753
Not available due to death of Caroline
Total for South Africa – 19 563 volunteers.
RESULTS Some interesting observations from the 2018 data.
• 241 425 Items were collected nationally in audited clean-ups.
• Asthma pumps were the most prolific medical items found in the three Cape provinces. In
Kwazulu Natal, it was disposable syringes, especially in urban clean-ups.
• Looking at items collected per person, the Eastern Cape collected the most waste:
N Cape – 650 g per person, W Cape – 1,4 kg pp, E Cape – 2 kg pp and KZN – 1,2 Kg pp
• The improper disposal of single use diapers has increased. Disposable baby diapers dumped
outside informal settlements are on the increase. For example, in one roadside clean-up outside
the Mthata Airport, 48 diapers were collected. In the small town of Elim, 86 adult nappies were
collected in an area renowned for illegal dumping.
• Nationally we collected ± 2, 5 km of rope/string and 2, 8 km of monofilament line (fishing line).
Site data is available at
http://www.coastalcleanupdata.org/
2018 International Coastal Cleanup: South Africa.
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People, Kilograms and Kilometres
Land Clean-ups
Number of people 11 677 Non-audited clean-ups and 7 886 audited clean-ups. Total:
19 563. Weight of debris cleaned >9,532 Tons* Distance cleaned >204,7 Km* Number of bags filled >3 124* Underwater Clean-ups
Number of people 43* Weight of debris cleaned 186 Kg* Distance cleaned 500 Meter* Number of bags filled 47*
*Does not include non-audited clean-up data.
Top ten items collected in 2018 nationally.
Sponsors Without the commitment of our partners listed below, these initiatives would not have been
possible. In a time of harsh economic conditions, when companies find themselves having to
rethink supporting projects such as these, it is encouraging to see the continued commitment from
them.
Sponsored and Supported by: Plastics|SA, Dow, Sasol, Coca-Cola, Kelpak, Pick n Pay, Toyota Algoa Bay UNITRANS, PETCO (PET Recycling Company), POLYCO (Polyolefin Recycling Company), SAVA (SA Vinyls Association) and PSPC (Polystyrene Association of SA), Packaging, Tuffy Manufacturing, Woolworths, , National Recycling Forum, Glass Recycling Company, Paper Recycling Association of SA, Metpac-SA, Tetrapak, ROSE Foundation, Department of Environmental Affairs, Ocean Conservancy and African Marine Waste Network .
50257
33794
31643
17327
13744
10738
9071
9023
7873
6043
0 10000 20000 30000 40000 50000 60000
Plastic Pieces
Foam Pieces
Cigarette filters
Bottle Caps (Plastics)
Food wrappers (candy, chips, etc)
Beverage Bottles (Plastic)
Straws/plastic sticks
Glass pieces
Beverage bottles (glass)
Other plastic/foam packaging
2018 International Coastal Cleanup: South Africa.
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