Beach clean up coming to Milnerton

Plastic Free Mzansi 2022 kicks off on World Environment Day with a beach clean up at Sunset Beach, Milnerton on Sunday, 5 June. Meet the team there at 9am. The beach needs you!

With the winter rains arriving, plastic is carried down rivers onto the beach where it escapes into the ocean. The north-wester winds also bring in pollution from the ocean, often thrown overboard from shipping vessels or washed in from other coastlines through the currents.

This is the fifth edition of Plastic Free Mzansi brought to you by The Beach Co-op and Twyg. Since July 2020, BIRU_Experiments has been a design and thinking partner on a Refashion Plastic which engages with researchers, designers, plastic experts and the public to drive and develop solutions to environmental issues.

This year, Coca-Cola Peninsula Beverages (CCPB) will be joining the Plastic Free Mzansi campaign as the supporting partner, and together with the Beach Co-op and Twyg, will embark on a series of clean-ups and recycling workshops through the year.

“We know we can’t do this alone. SDG 17 speaks to the power of collaboration, and this collaboration is so important. Working with big corporations and with companies that have similar missions to ours, strengthens the work we do. We are aware of and support Coca-Cola Peninsula Beverages’ commitment to reducing waste through becoming signatories of the South African Plastic Pact.” says Aaniyah Martin-Omardien Founder and director of The Beach Co-op.

SA Plastics Pact members are developing a circular economy for plastic, driving change through collaboration. Coca-Cola is one of the signatories that have committed to collective action across the plastics value chain that drives systemic change.

“Our purpose is to refresh the world and make a difference and we aim to create this through a more sustainable business and a better shared future, for our people and the communities we operate in. If the COVID-19 pandemic has taught us anything, it is that we cannot act alone,” says Priscilla Urquhart, Head of Public Affairs, Communication and Sustainability at CCPB.

Urquhart added: “We’re in this together. The crisis has highlighted the interconnected nature of our world and revealed that the best solutions often lie in local capacity, collaboration and knowledge that can be scaled. The partnership with The Beach Co-op and Twyg will bring more positive change and impact towards creating a World Without Waste.”

Plastic is hazardous to ocean animals and to our health - people eat fish which eat plastic. It pollutes the ocean, and life depends on the ocean for food and oxygen. A clean beach and clean ocean are important for everyone.

Bonus: if you pick it up and plastic is recycled, we don’t have to extract fossil fuels to make new plastic. Fossil fuels cause climate change.

For Refashion Plastic, Biru Experiments along with Our Workshop will upcycle beach plastic to explore ways to keep materials in use. Our Workshop is an open-source design studio in Langa, Cape Town. This project will amplify messages about the emerging circular economy by creating beautiful, functional design that could support livelihoods.

Jackie May, founder of Twyg says, “Plastic Free Mzansi 2022 brings together various partners to drive a considered campaign of caring for the environment and for people. We use storytelling, design experiments, and immersive environmental experiences to influence climate positive behaviour change.”

Together, the partners look forward to cleaning beaches and raising awareness about plastic pollution and solutions. This will be achieved through immersive environmental experiences supported by an interactive communication campaign.

The proposed dates and venues for beach clean ups, as part of the partnership with CCPB, The Beach Co-op and Twyg, for 2022 are:

• 17 July Robben Island – (Weather permitting, To Be Confirmed)
• 5 November - Monwabisi Beach
• 15 December - Camps Bay