War on nurdles persist on Hessequa and Mossel Bay beaches

GARDEN ROUTE | HESSEQUA NEWS - A team representing various organisations removed tens of thousands of nurdles from two beaches in Mossel Bay and Hessequa this week.

The clean-up operation on Wednesday, 4 November and Friday, 6 November took place after the nurdles were spilled along the Garden Route District Coastline during October this year.

Nurdles have been washing up along the Garden Route coastline, even in Cape Town and Port Elizabeth.

The remnants of the spill is still a cause of concern because it poses a threat to marine life, coastal ecosystems and estuaries.

“The source of the spill is unknown and under investigation by the South African Maritime Safety Authority, and although the identified source will be instructed to clean up, we needed to start removing the plastics from our beaches,” says Martina MacDonald, Disaster Management Officer at Garden Route District Municipality (GRDM).

Although the clean-up operation was carried out, not all the nurdles could be removed due to the large scale of the spill. However, every bit that was cleaned up forms an integral piece of contribution to the overall solution of the problem. Therefore the GRDM Disaster Management Centre encourages all members of the public and residents to continue collecting nurdles.

Dr Nina Viljoen, Disaster Risk Reduction and Climate Change Adaptation Practitioner at GRDM, says: “In the raw stage (pre-moulded and packaged) new nurdles are not toxic to touch. They do however never go away, but they break down into tiny pieces that then get eaten by small marine organisms, and then eventually can become part of the human food chain.”

SpillTech has been appointed to assist and conduct clean-up efforts along the affected sections of the coastline. SpillTech will also be storing the nurdles collected through clean-up efforts. They are currently working with authorities, Non-Governmental Organisations and volunteer groups to identify collection points and arrange the pick-up of nurdles.

Viljoen called on community members to assist to remove as many nurdles from affected beaches as possible.

The GRDM requested that any private individuals who collects nurdles, to make note of information listed below. This data needs to be shared with Dr Viljoen via e-mail, nina@gardenroute.gov.za

Where nurdles have been seen?
Where nurdles have been collected?
If you have collected it, how many, i.e. black bags, etc. (nurdles collected to be weighed if possible)
Where have you dropped it off?
Have you encountered any bird or animal carcasses?

Nurdles should not end up in our landfill sites, as it can be ingested by animals or birds. Any collected nurdles should not be disposed of in the general waste, but should be placed in a sealed bag and taken to the nearest drop-off points. For more information regarding your nearest drop-off points, SpillTech can be contacted on 063 404 2128.

Assisting the GRDM in making the clean-ups possible was the Hessequa and Mossel Bay Local Municipalities, Incident Working Group Africa and Provincial Department Environmental Affairs and Development Planning (DEA&DP).

A team representing various organisations removed tens of thousands of nurdles from two beaches in Mossel Bay and Hessequa this week.