GEORGE NEWS - George municipal environmental officials, tourism officials and a bunch of greenies braved the cold last week to take part in the annual International Coastal Cleanup at Wilderness Beach and the Schaapkop river in Thembalethu.
About 30 people took part in the beach cleanup, an initiative of the Ocean Conservancy. The event was coordinated by PlasticSA and Wessa's Eden Branch, and supported by members of the Girl Guides from George, 350.org, Green Zandla and the Wilderness artist community.
The Green Campus Initiative of the Nelson Mandela University were incidentally cleaning on the same stretch of beach.
The group set out in different directions on Wilderness beach to see what refuse they could find. The documentation of the finds is sent to the Ocean Conservancy who create annual cleanup reports that give a clear indication of the extent of ocean pollution (read more at oceanconservancy.org).
Even though the beach in front of the NSRI station looked clean at first glance, the group collected a lot of rubbish. This included 394 cigarette butts, 682 small pieces of plastic, 47 straws, 79 plastic bottle caps and 16 pieces of fishing line which could easily entangle or strangle marine animals.
Officials from George Municipality participated in the cleanup of the Schaapkop river: From left are Lubabalo Counter, Thembakazi Adams, Iviwe Maboza and Marawayne Williams.
The group that cleaned the Schaapkop river in Thembalethu. INSET: Officials from George Municipality participated in the cleanup of the Schaapkop river: From left are Lubabalo Counter, Thembakazi Adams, Iviwe Maboza and Marawayne Williams. Photos: Pierre Bezuidenhout
About 30 people took part in the beach cleanup, an initiative of the Ocean Conservancy.
The data was tallied and submitted via the Ocean Conservancy's Cleanswell App - an app that anyone can download and use to document trash collected on beaches, rivers and other waterways, and in this way contribute to the research. The group also collected under the Touw river bridge and next to the highway.
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