The clean-up operation of millions of plastic pellets, called nurdles, which polluted almost the entire east coast after the breakup of containers during the severe Durban storm, will now concentrate on the north coast following the successful clean-up of Durban’s beaches.
This as heavy deposits of the nurdles were spotted on the northern lagoon banks, according to the South African Maritime Safety Authority (Samsa).
“The clean-up has moved from the Durban beaches towards the North Coast beaches,” said Samsa Durban port manager, Hopewell Mkhize. “These include Clarke Bay, Granny’s Pool, Shaka’s Rock, Thomsons Beach, Mvoti Beach, Villa Royale Beach and Ballito Main Beach.”
He noted that additional resources and personnel, provided by the Department of Environmental Affairs, had been brought to the sites to speed up the clean-up.
Additionally, Mkhize pointed out that there had been reports of nurdles washing up on beaches in the Eastern and Western Cape and that this would be addressed.
