- The City of Cape Town recently undertook a major coastal clean-up operation, collecting over 2,356 bags of trash from the beaches and rocky areas between Clifton and Bantry Bay.
- Despite challenging conditions, the city, in collaboration with local groups like Shark Spotters and Camps Bay Clean, is making strides to address the persistent litter problem.
- Volunteers and residents are encouraged to support these efforts to keep the coastline clean and protect marine life.
Littering along the Cape’s coast remains a major concern.
The City’s coastal management branch conducted a clean-up operation from the northern end of Clifton to the southern end of Bantry Bay caves, including a section of the rocky coastline along Victoria Road recently.
Over four days, about 2 356 refuse bags were filled.
The coastal management branch coordinated the operation with the Shark Spotters and the Coastal Conservation crew.
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Eddie Andrews, deputy mayor and Mayco member for spatial planning and environment, says the clean-up operation was challenging given the rocky and steep terrain, weather, and changing tides.
“It was also a mission getting the bags to the collection points from down below where the litter was collected.
“Mostly, the litter ended up in this area through currents and wave movement, as well as strong north westerly winds that are synonymous with Cape Town’s winters, beachgoers and cave dwellers.”
Andrews urges the visitors and residents to use the bins provided or take the litter home with them.
Chris von Ulmenstein, the founder of Camps Bay Clean, a volunteer clean-up group that covers the Camps Bay area, says they conduct clean-ups three to four times a week and fill hundreds of litter bags monthly.
“This is an ongoing issue. You can clean today, and tomorrow there will be new litter because they are throwing bottles and paper out of taxi windows.”
Von Ulmenstein says once a month, they carry out a community clean-up.
“We work with primary schools so children can learn about not throwing papers and bottles around and place them in a bin.”
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“We have enough green bins, but it’s surprising that we will find litter next to it. Sometimes it is the homeless people who are scratching in the bins. We want to encourage parents to teach their children to throw their litter into the bin. If it’s not picked up and put into the bin it’s going to end up in the ocean and that will affect our fish population as well.”
Zoë Prinsloo, the founder of Save a Fishie, a beach clean-up organisation, does regular clean-ups at beaches around the Cape.
READ | Local teen leads beach clean-up to combat coastal litter
She explains that they recently did a clean-up between Macassar and Monwabisi beaches and describes the area as the “dirtiest beach in SA”.
“We only tackled a small section of the 9 km stretch of beach, but we filled two skips with a total of just over two tons in an hour and a half.
Prinsloo says everyone has a role to play to make sure they preserve the environment.
“If everyone just goes to the beach and fills a bag, it would make a huge impact. I know it may feel like you are not making much of a difference, but if everyone does their part, it does make a big difference.”
