Volunteers get their hands hands dirty on World Cleanup Day

Update

PLETTENBERG BAY NEWS - September has over the years become synonymous with cleaning up the environment across the globe and this year Plettenberg Bay residents once again join the rest of the world for World Cleanup Day.

Spearheading the local drive on 17 September was the Nature's Valley Trust - a Plett-based conservation organisation - that invited locals and visitors to join their team for a beach and river cleanup in the Central Beach and surrounding areas.

During the course of Saturday morning, a large number of people from across the Bitou area joined the team on Central Beach.

The groups tackled various sections of the beach, finding key areas of litter accumulation, primarily around the rocky shores and river mouth.

The team said the sandy beach itself might look pristine, but up close they were met with hundreds of microplastics. "The top litter item of the day was cigarette butts," the team said.

A variety of items was collected, from the smallest nurdles to larger construction and packaging material - even a trolley was found.

"The goal is really to get everyone thinking about their waste and how we can encourage better habits and reduce waste to landfills. This was a prime example of how as a community we can make a difference."

Volunteers walk Plett's beaches picking up rubbish as part of World Cleanup Day.

Another cleanup was held the next day in the Kurland community, where more than 25 bags of litter and recyclables were collected. These recyclable items will go into the recycling process and make their way back into the economy. "Treating waste as a resource is a critical turning point to reduce the growing plastic pollution," the team said.

The top five litter items picked up on the day were food wrappers, lollipop sticks, cigarette butts, glass bottles and bottle caps. This year marks the fifth celebration of World Cleanup Day, which is now taking place in almost 200 countries across the globe.

Last year more than 14-million people united for a 36-hour wave of cleanup initiatives which started in New Zealand and ended off in Hawaii. Even with Covid-19 restrictions still in play, more than 53 million kilograms of waste was collected.

In South Africa, more than 60 000 volunteers participated in more than 450 cleanups.

Volunteers picking up rubbish on a Plett beach.