Did you know that it is estimated that by the year 2050, there will be more plastic, by weight, in the ocean than fish? The dangerous thing about plastic is that it can’t be broken down, biodegraded or become part of the natural system again. Instead, it breaks up infinitely until even plankton mistake it for food.
So the question is: What can we do to stop plastic from polluting our oceans?
Also read: A rescued sea turtle pooped “pure” plastic for a week
Kicking off 2024 with its continued mission to tackle plastic pollution in our seas, the Two Oceans Aquarium Trash Bash campaign is calling on the nature-loving community to join hands to help bash the human-induced plastic crisis our ocean currently faces – one piece of trash at a time.
Since the first event in 2018, Trash Bash has offered an ideal way to have fun with friends and family, take in the fresh ocean breeze and soak up the summer sun – all while doing something positive for the environment.
Next Saturday, 20 January, the first of many beach cleanups for 2024 will see Trash Bashers heading to Sunset Beach in an effort to stop the cycle of pollution. By removing plastic, litter and other debris from our coastlines, there’ll be little to no pollution to enter the water in the first place.
As with every cleanup, Trash Bashers will also be contributing to essential scientific research by using the Dirty Dozen methodology to record everything as they clean up the beach, focusing on the 12 items that are most commonly found littering our coastlines.
These are: cooldrink lids, earbuds, fishing line, lightsticks, plastic lollipop sticks, straws, sweet wrappers and water bottles.
At the end of the event, the data will be collated and will be used to contribute to research into tracking down the different sources of marine litter.
Be sure to wear weather-appropriate clothing and bring along some water (in a reusable bottle, of course), reusable gloves (like you’d use for doing the dishes or gardening) and a whole lot of good energy.
Don’t forget to install the Marine Debris Tracker app on Apple’s App Store or Android’s Play Store and join the Beach Co-op’s list to log the litter you collect on the day.
Details:
- Date: Saturday, 20 January 2024
- Location: Sunset Beach (Forata Drive) (meet at Forata Drive parking lot)
- Time: 9am to 11am
2024 Trash Bash calendar
To kick trash bashing up a notch, make beach cleanups part of your monthly schedule by joining the Two Oceans Aquarium every third Saturday of the month:
- Hout Bay Beach: 17 February
- Monwabisi Beach: 16 March
- Sunset Beach: 20 April
- Hout Bay Beach: 18 May
- Monwabisi Beach: 15 June
- Sunset Beach: 20 July
- Hout Bay Beach: 17 August
- Monwabisi Beach: 21 September (World Cleanup Day)
- Sunset Beach: 19 October
- Hout Bay Beach: 16 November (Two Oceans Aquarium Birthday Celebration)
- Monwabisi Beach (19 December)
Also read:
Ecobricks: how you can make an individual impact on plastic usage
Picture: @2OceansAquarium / X
