Amanzimtoti message in a bottle denounces pollution
CSP is excited to hear people are showing interest and participation with regards to the fight against marine plastic pollution.
Sapphire Coast Tourism chairperson, Romy Wenzel, was delighted to stumble upon a message in a bottle during a Clean Surf Project (CSP) clean-up of Winklespruit Beach on 10 October.
“When I opened it, there was a letter from nine-year-old Corné Spang of Pretoria,” said Romy. After introducing himself, the message read: “I put this message in a bottle on 08/09/2019 at Scottburgh, South Africa – if you find my message, please let me know from where you found it.” And he shared his email address.
“It was amazing to see the bottle had travelled from Scottburgh to Winklespruit in a month. We were very excited to have found this little ‘treasure’ and made contact with the sender to find out a little more,” said Romy. She received Corne’s response on Monday, 21 October, and he said: “I was so glad to hear you found my bottle! I have been dropping messages every time we visit a coastal area since 2014, mostly on the South Coast.”
Another of his messages that was dropped at the Port Shepstone lighthouse was found in South Carolina, USA in 2016. “I have also dropped a bottle from the Symphonia, close to the Greek Islands, but have not had a founder. I usually drop glass bottles, but since they do not have cork tops anymore, it complicates things.
READ ALSO: New recycled plastic bins to line Amanzimtoti beaches
“Our whole family are massive scuba divers and very concerned about the plastic in the oceans. My major project while being home-schooled this year was to find a solution for the massive impact that Christmas decorations have on the oceans. I have gone through the testing phase of a number possible alternatives for one-time use, instead of very toxic Christmas decorations, and will present my proposals to my home school peers in November, and hopefully the buy-in will be big enough to have a small impact.”
Romy said CSP is excited to hear that many other people are showing interest and participation with regards to the fight against marine plastic pollution. “The more people get involved, the more can be achieved, locally, nationwide and globally,” said Romy. To contact the CSP team, call 082-802-3353 or email cleansurfproject@gmail.com.
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