Beach clean-ups held

MOSSEL BAY NEWS - Volunteers hit the beaches of Mossel Bay for a clean-up effort as part of the Mossel Bay Municipality's Estuary Management Forum.

Clean-ups in Hartenbos, Little Brak and Great Brak proved once again that littering can no longer be overlooked and it has a massive impact on our coastal environment.

The Mossel Bay Home School Group gathered together at the Suiderkruis parking area in Great Brak River for a clean-up of the estuary, beach and dune areas.

Large plastic cold drink bottles, alcoholic beverage bottles and cigarette butts were picked up, filling up the bags quickly. The children enjoyed nature on a beautiful winter's morning and hope to encourage their friends to join them in future clean-up efforts.

Hartenbos Primary School learners walked down to the Hartenbos Estuary for their annual clean-up.

More than 300 plastic pieces, 60 plastic bags and 357 cigarette butts were collected during their clean-up.

They wanted to give the Mossel Bay community the following message: "Today's actions will have an impact on tomorrow's future, so stop putting our environment in danger". There is an increasing concern over the amount of rubbish found on the beaches, especially micro plastics which are so easily mistaken by sea animals for food.

From a distance, they looks like normal stones and pebbles, but if you look closly, the amount of micro plastics on the beach is staggering. This was evident at Little Brak beach, where up to 11 micro plastics could be found per random square metre. Close to 1 000 micro plastics were collected. Because of their small size, it's almost unbelievable that such tiny plastics can cause so much damage in our oceans. When wildlife accidentally ingests the micro plastics, this can have toxic to fatal consequences.

There is mounting concern about fish consuming micro plastics, and then passing them on to humans when the fish are consumed. The number of cigarette butts, especially at the parking areas which are close to bins, was an eye opener. Unfortunately, many don't think of cigarette butts as litter. It isn't just a matter of unsightly trash, but toxins in the filters are ingested by birds and sea mammals, misinterpreting them for food. The Mossel Bay Municipality urges the community of Mossel Bay to keep our beaches and town clean and assist the municipality in its clean-up efforts. "

A big thank you goes to the Mossel Bay Home School Group, Hartenbos Primary School and Mossel Bay Scouts for their clean-up efforts."

Many hands make light work. These learners from Hartenbos Primary School worked hard.