Cape Town - Despite the lockdown which has kept South Africans off the country’s beaches, the amount of litter found in the surf has not been reduced significantly, according to a research study.
A UCT group led a study which found that an average of 1367 new litter items were found every day along 1050m of Cape Town’s coastline.
To mark World Oceans Day, activists want to spread the message of the dangers posed by plastics to oceans.
The Beach Co-op Founder Aaniyah Omardien said: “The theme for World Oceans Day this year is ‘Innovation for a sustainable ocean’.
“The global pandemic is likely to significantly influence how people live and work for the foreseeable future. The pandemic and the resultant in-country lockdowns have created space for individual and community reflection on their values and behaviour, which could lead to changes in production and consumption patterns. We would like to encourage people to be innovative about how they avoid and remove single-use and unnecessary plastic from their lives.”
The research was formed by professor Peter Ryan’s UCT research team, the City’s Environmental Management Department and the national government’s Working for Coast Programme.
The study was conducted along Milnerton Beach, where they had comparative data for 2012 and 2019.
Spatial Planning and Environment mayco member Marian Nieuwoudt said: “The study demonstrates the litter that is dropped on land ends up in our ocean. If you throw your cigarette butt in the street and a chocolate wrapper out of the car window, it is likely to end up in a stormwater pipe and drain into the ocean. The pollution of our environment is everybody’s business and we all need to do our part to protect our rivers, canals, wetlands, and ocean.”