GARDEN ROUTE NEWS - Small quantities of plastic pellet particles, also known as nurdles, have been found on the beaches of the Goukamma Nature Reserve, which borders Sedgefield and Knysna.
Nurdles were also seen on Herold's Bay beach.
CapeNature is now in the process of making plans to deal with the invasive pollution and SANParks say they too are formulating plans how to deal with this threat along the coastal section of the Garden Route National Park.
The disastrous spill, which poses a threat to marine life, took place on 10 October during a storm.
Over 49 tons of the little pellets, housed in two shipping containers, pitched off a Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC) vessel after it broke its moorings and collided with another vessel in Durban Harbour.
The containers and packaging ruptured, ejecting hundreds of millions of nurdles into the sea. It is not clear why the plastic spill was not immediately contained in the harbour.
In the weeks thereafter tons of nurdles cargo washed up on KwaZulu-Natal and Eastern Cape beaches and then spread further along the coast carried by the warm off-shore Mozambique and Agulhas currents.
Marine life
Nurdles have frequently been found in the digestive tracts of various marine creatures, causing physiological damage by leaching plasticisers such as phthalates.
Fish die after ingesting nurdles that they mistake for food.
Volunteers needed
Nurdles were discovered on Mossel Bay and Gourits beaches on 19 November, and the volunteer organisation Stranded Marine Animal Rescue Team (Smart) immediately set to work to clean it up.
But this back-breaking work is slow and the voluntary organisation is in dire need of help.
This week, Smart coordinator Tersia Marais said, "There are currently between 10 and 15 people actively picking up the particles which, though they weigh only 20mg each, pose a real threat to our marine life. This despite all our public appeal for help." Marais said cleaning up efforts that began on 20 November have exhausted the handful of volunteers. "It is an ongoing process as nurdles wash up all the time." For more information, go to Smart's Facebook page.
For advice on how to set about cleaning up nurdles and set up a group of volunteers, Marais can be contacted on 072 227 4715.
Goukamma Nature Reserve
Wayne Meyer, marine ranger at CapeNature Goukamma Marine Protected Area, requested SANParks to set up a public collection point.
A concerned environmentalist suggested that bins be placed at exit points from the beaches along the Garden Route National Park so that if the public picks up the plastic they can safely dispose of it.
Meyer said Goukamma is still closed to the public due to fire damages. This unfortunately rules out public participation in this area.
SANParks Regional Communications Manager for the Garden Route National Park, Nandi Mgwadlamba, said they are still in the process of formulating a reaction plan. A clean-up was begun by three volunteer organisations and the Hessequa Municipality's team of 45 cleaners were set to work on the beaches of Gourits.
Knysna
Mgwadlamba said that, to date, no nurdles have been found inside the beaches managed by SANParks. In Knysna, people can possibly take collected nurdles to the Knysna jetty office where there'll be bins for nurdles. If they pick them up in Sedgefield, it can be sent to the Rondevlei office and if in Wilderness, to Ebb & Flow gate entrance.
"Pollution should also be approached with stakeholders, so, depending on how many wash out, we might need to change collection points. But we will keep members of the public abreast of all developments," she said.
- What to do about the nurdle threat
- Nurdles: Stille dood op strande
- Nurdles op Gouritsmond
- Opvolg: 'Nurdles' bereik Mosselbaai
ARTICLE: PAULINE LOURENS, GEORGE HERALD JOURNALIST
'We bring you the latest Garden Route, Hessequa, Karoo news'
