Volunteers tackle litter at Mangroves Beach
The public has been urged to support the #CleanBlueLagoon initiative at the Mangroves Beach tomorrow.
APPROXIMATELY 300 bags – or ten cubic metres – of waste were collected along the Mangroves Beach on Saturday as part of the #CleanBlueLagoon initiative. Shockingly, an additional 1 200 bags of waste had already been amassed by the Dusi uMngeni Conservation Trust (DUCT) and the eThekwini Municipality during the week.
Organisers of the event, Dale Johnson and Luc Quevauvilliers, said they were driven to launch the initiative after the massive floods in March, which carried tons of litter down the uMgeni River.
“We realised that there was a huge problem and decided to start the initiative with a few friends and it just grew from there. Sadly, since then the most recent rains have brought us straight back to square one and so we organised the Emergency Clean-Up on the weekend. We had the biggest turnout so far, with about 70 people attending throughout the two-hour event,” said Johnson.
According to the Durban North resident, plastic bottles are one of the most common forms of waste that can be found scattered along the beaches. Other regular finds include shoes, unused condoms and polystyrene.
Ironically, Bart Fokkens of DUCT said that 80 per cent of the waste found on beaches is recyclable. As such, the volunteers of the #CleanBlueLagoon initiative have been collecting the litter in such a way as to facilitate recycling in support of DUCT.
For every kilogram of plastic collected during the clean-ups, DUCT receives R1. “It benefits the community in five ways,” he said.
“The environment receives some much-needed improvement, it provides employment for the DUCT staff, it finances the DUCT initiatives, Durban Solid Waste doesn’t have to transport the waste and less rubbish ends up at the landfill sites,” added Fokkens.
A second clean-up will be hosted on Saturday, 21 May at the Beachwood Mangroves from 9.30am to 11.30am. The public is urged to take along gloves, plastic bags as well as drinking water. For more information, visit the group’s Facebook page, #Clean BlueLagoon.
Following Saturday’s clean-up the city closed several Durban North beaches after medical waste has washed up along the shores.
Check out Saturday’s gallery here.
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