FOLLOWING the October storm in 2017, which saw about two-million plastic pellets or nurdles leak into the ocean from a container in the harbour, clean-up operations are still underway.
Some 20 weeks after the disaster, the department of environmental affairs (DEA) reported that only 11.7 tons have been recovered – about 24% of the total which was spilled.
This despite the collective efforts of the Drizit, civil society and DEA Working for the Coast (WFTC) teams.
READ: #Nurdle spill spreads as clean-up continues
The DEA has committed to long-term support and coastal clean-up efforts still continue to clear nurdles from KZN’s shores. “There is no doubt that the nurdle clean-up efforts will need to continue for months, if not years to come,” said Luvuyo Mlilo, chief director of environmental protection and infrastructure programmes, who also noted the tremendous work done by all involved and said the department is proud of the partnerships established in the wake of the spill.
While the additional nurdle-focused WTFC teams’ three-month contracts are about to end, there have been engagements and an agreement was reached on the best approach. DEA’s WFTC programme has about 3,000 people along the entire coastline solely responsible for the cleaning and upkeep of the coast.
READ: #Nurdle spill washes onto beaches
“The brief to the implementers was that there will be dedicated teams working on a smaller scale to focus on nurdles as the collection intensity has moderated. Over and above this, the challenge of waste washing up on the coast that has come down rivers and the channels, has led to DEA expanding the WftC activities to include inland river based activities, so as to deal with the challenge at source. These teams will be starting by the first of march and should the Nurdles manifest in greater quantities, these teams will also help with collection efforts,” he added.
“There is little doubt that the plastic pollution of our oceans is one of the most pressing environmental issues of our generation. We are excited to work closely with DEA, South African Association for Marine Biological Research (SAAMBR) and many other partners, to shape and implement large scale pro-poor activities to deal with this scourge through our Wildoceans programme.” said CEO of Wildtrust, Dr Andrew Venter.
Weekly updates about all nurdle clean-up efforts can be found on the Coastkzn website at www.coastkzn.co.za/nurdles.
The KZN coast has been divided into five zones, according to the allocated distribution of DEA’s Working for the Coast teams, namely Kosi Bay to Umfolozi; Umfolozi to Amatikulu; Amatikulu to Tongaat; Tongaat to Mahlongwa and Mahlongwa to Umtumvuna.
