Cape Town - Beaches are already overflowing with holidaymakers and litter piling up – and it is bound to get worse.
That is why residents from Muizenberg took it upon themselves to clean up their beach with a 24-day challenge called Clean Green Muizenberg.
The challenge is well under way and the aim is to clean the beach for one hour every day between 6-7pm, connect with beachgoers and collect trash directly from them and the beach.
Leading the challenge is Kelly Kotik, 30, who said that some local businesses were sponsoring ice cream vouchers for those who collect the most trash each day.
“We found December 15 to January 7 are the busiest days for Muizenberg beach throughout the year when thousands of visitors descend on the beach. And because it is so busy there is a lot of litter afterwards, so it is hard to contend with.
“We try to get ahead of that problem and prevent the litter from going into the ocean. We have teams out on the beach in the evening every day to clean up the beach and encourage beachgoers as well. The litter gets separated so that we can divert the plastics from the landfills.
“We have found mostly plastics. Our busiest day so far was Sunday when we walked away with four trash bags filled with recyclables and eight bags of trash. We found 2 litre bottles, clothes, sandals, chips packets and napkins to name a few,” said Kotik.
Facilitating the clean-up are four leaders who meet the volunteers at the Muizenberg Civic Centre Circle where they are handed trash bags. She added that the number of volunteers varied but the clean up was open to anyone who wanted to join.
“We are passionate about keeping the community and the ocean clean, and trying to do our part to prevent litter from getting into our oceans which can be detrimental to sea life.
“We are in the process of upcycling oil drums, we have partnered with children in the community who will paint the oil drums and express themselves, then we will use those oil drums as trash bins around Muizenberg pavilion.”
marsha.dean@inl.co.za