Nurdles still washing ashore

Update

GARDEN ROUTE NEWS - The nurdles that have been washing ashore on Mossel Bay beaches over the past two weeks are still posing a huge threat to marine life.

During a severe storm in October, containers filled with nurdles were damaged and about 49 tons ended up in the ocean.

Nurdles are used to make plastic objects and they are more or less the size of lentils.

They weigh approximately 20 milligrams each. Since the disastrous event, nurdles have washed up along the east coast of South Africa.

The Stranded Marine Animal Rescue Team (S.M.A.R.T.) is coordinating the collection of the nurdles in the Mossel Bay area, and can be contacted (072 227 4715) if you would like to help or report nurdles on the beaches.

Despite the valiant efforts of local concerned residents, beachgoers, volunteers and various groups to collect them on local beaches, new waves full of nurdles, wash ashore every day.

As soon as one beach is more or less clean, reports of nurdles on other beaches come in.

This will, unfortunately, be the case for another couple of weeks.

This week members of the Democratic Alliance responded to pleas and gathered on beaches to help with this enormous task.

Marie de Klerk, councillor of Ward 11 (Dana Bay), who joined in the effort for two days, told the Mossel Bay Advertiser that although it took much time to pick up the little plastic pellets, every time she put a nurdle into a jar, she knew a fish or sea turtle was saved.

It took about an hour to pick up these nurdles on Dana Bay first beach on Wednesday.

She begged residents to become involved and help to make a difference.

Many nurdles have washed up on both first and second beaches in Dana Bay.

Other beaches most affected are Glentana, Hartenbos (at the river mouth), Vleesbaai, Boggomsbaai and Gouritz. About eight kilograms have been collected.

According to Joseph Bruintjies, provincial project manager in the Western Cape Department of Environmental Affairs, said help from the department was on its way:

"The receipt of your urgent communication was acknowledged by senior management of our programme that funds, co-ordinates and manages the implementation of Working for the Coast in the Mossel Bay municipal area.

"The provisional consideration is to mobilise similar resources and methodology in response to the position that arose in a number of Durban Beaches in KZN with the spilling of nurdles.

"The matter is currently receiving urgent attention with a multidisciplinary approach involving the Ocean and Coast branch in the department dealing with coastal pollution.

"The department will revert soon to the Mossel Bay Municipality and your NGO (S.M.A.R.T.) on managing the process of the ongoing clean-up of the beach areas."

Dirk Kotzé, Mossel Bay deputy mayor, also asked residents to become involved in the clean-up efforts and thanked the staff and contractors of the municipality that had been collecting nurdles all week.

He emphasised that the beauty of our beaches was vitally important to sustain the economic as well as tourism growth of Mossel Bay.

"With the holiday season soon here, we should all help to clean-up our beaches."

This is how the nurdles look gathered along the highest point of high tide on beaches.