Spills of pills and packets on Garden Route beaches

Update

GARDEN ROUTE NEWS - Medicine and other products have found their way onto the Garden Route coast due to cargo containers lost overboard from vessels in the Indian Ocean over the past month during storms at sea.

Earlier this month, plastic bottles of pills started washing up in their thousands on the Eastern Cape coast, and since Thursday 19 September, packets of biscuits, medical supplies and other items were also found on Garden Route beaches.

The Strandloper Project's Mark Dixon says he got a call from the NSRI in Sedgefield asking him and his volunteers for help to clean up the beaches.

"Judging by the small barnacles growing on the packets, they have been drifting in the ocean for a while," said Dixon. "Our big concern was to get them off the beach as soon as possible as they are not fit for human consumption and we didn't want people picking them up and eating the contents."

Since then, several teams have been working hard at removing the items from our beaches from Wilderness to Buffalo Bay. The South African Maritime Safety Authority (Samsa), as well as the Garden Route District Municipality, SANParks, CapeNature and various non-profit organisations, have jumped in to clean up our coastline.

Head of Garden Route Disaster Management Gerhard Otto says the washed-up items, including pill bottles, blister packs and small packets with biscuits, have been spotted from Buffalo Bay right through to Gouritsmond in Hessequa.

In the Eastern Cape, thousands of plastic pill bottles have been retrieved in clean-up operations, but to date, only a sprinkling has been detected on the Southern Cape's beaches.

"The teams from Spilltech conduct daily surveys on our beaches and will continue to clean up as the items wash up. They are currently conducting reconnaissance from the air over areas that cannot normally be reached on foot. First in the Eastern Cape then they will come down to the Western Cape. Everything is currently under control," Otto said this week.

Similar products were also seen at Die Punt in Mossel Bay over the weekend. Resident Michael de Nobrega came across the items between the tidal pool and Beacon Point and reported them to the relevant channels. Last week, Mossel Bay Municipality asked residents to report products should they come across them.

• Otto asks the public not to remove the washed-up pills and other products, but to contact Spilltech, the environmental emergency response company appointed to clear the Southern Cape coastline, on 063 404 2128 to report any items washing ashore.

People are also asked to provide a pin location to make it easy for Spilltech to find the exact spot for speedy retrieval. The containment and recovery effort of the containers still adrift at sea or lying on the ocean bed is the responsibility of Samsa and the search continues.

Mark Dixon was interviewed by Jeff Ayliffe from Group Editors Live on Kleinkrantz Beach last week. Photo: Kristy Kolberg