Local beach clean-up team sets its sights on Cuttings Beach
The rockery and some 200m long natural pools that fringe Cuttings Beach, Isipingo gift it the potential for a future tourism attraction.
EARTH conscious NGO, Clean Surf Project is turning its attention to making a change to the state of Cuttings Beach, the coastal strip that straddles Isipingo and Merebank behind Sapref Refinery.
An organised clean-up will take place this Saturday, 30 September where the 5km strip of littered beach will be tackled in the start of a process that could take years to complete.
Watch the official Cuttings Beach clean-up video:
https://www.facebook.com/cleansurfproject/videos/171911606718633/
The beauty of the strip of beach that runs behind Sapref and the old airport in Prospecton is hidden in a mound of plastic and rubbish.
“This is the strip of beach fed by the canal from Umlazi,” explained CSP’s Denzil van der Westhuizen. “This canal feeds into the ocean between Mondi and the old airport.”
A devastating amount of rubbish has been deposited onto this once beautiful coastal stretch, destroying any aesthetic value that ever existed.
After the newly formed NGO’s recent three-phase clean up of the Warner Beach to Illovo stretch, where over 100 bags of rubbish were removed, CSP is now keen to reclaim this devastated stretch, hoping to restore it over time to the natural wonder it should be.
Read all about it: CSP’s three-phase clean-up netted over 100 bags of litter
The rockery and some 200m long natural pools that fringe Cutting Beach gift it the potential for a future tourism attraction.
“If we can restore this natural beauty this could become a major tourism attraction, create jobs and be an economic boost for our province,” said Denzil.
He said the extent of rubbish is unlike anything he’s seen before. In some areas the litter is at a depth of a metre beneath the sand.
“We noticed all the litter on the beach – mainly plastic bottles – are without their labels, meaning these are somewhere out in the ocean, causing harm to our ocean life,” said Denzil. “CSP has been looking to test different catchment mechanisms. This very canal serves as a great place to run these tests as we won’t be disturbing any wildlife in the process.”
Watch Denzil’s interview with one of the local fishermen:
The clean-up will commence at 8am at Cuttings Beach this Saturday, 30 September. Those interested in attending the clean-up are urged to arrive with their own pair of gumboots, as the beach is littered with all types of materials.
Gloves and bags will be supplied. CSP is in the process of organising security for volunteers and their vehicles.
“I know we won’t be able to tackle the whole stretch in a day,” said Denzil. “This will take time and we need not only many helping hands with the physical cleaning, but also innovative ideas to be put forward about ways in which the extreme amount of litter can be stopped before it reaches the ocean.”
For more information, visit the Clean Surf Project Facebook page or contact Denzil on 082-802-3353.
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