Thus far, at least 3.5 tonnes of nurdles have been recovered and the authorities are working around the clock to track and recover as much of the plastic polyethylene nurdles lost from shipping containers, following the storm on 10 October in the province. Four containers fell off vessels in the harbour when ships lost their moorings during the storm, of which two containers were carrying nurdles.
The Joint Operations Committee consisting of the South African Maritime Safety Authority (SAMSA), Department of Environmental Affairs (DEA), Transnet National Ports Authority (TPNA), KZN Department of Economic Development, Tourism and Environmental Affairs (EDTEA), Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife, the Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC) and South African Local Government Association (SALGA) have met regularly since the storm to manage and contain clean-ups in the harbour and along the coast.
SAMSA principal officer Captain Hopewell Mkhize, based in Durban, said the JOC would like to remind the public that any nurdles sighted in a bathing area would not make the area unsafe for bathing and beach-related activities. Mkhize urged adults to supervise children in ensuring that they do not ingest any item picked up from the sand, including nurdles.
Over the past few weeks, the clean-up has moved from the Durban beaches towards the North Coast beaches, namely Clarke Bay, Granny’s Pool (second clean-up), Shaka’s Rock, Thompsons Beach, Mvoti beach, Villa Royale beach and Ballito main beach. Areas which have also been prioritised are the Tugela Mouth and Amatikulu lagoons.
Additional resources and personnel provided by the DEA have been brought to sites, and are assisting to speed up the clean-up operations. During the clean-up operations different types of plastics and waste, not emanating from the containers, were also spotted and collected.
