Covid 19 has brought with it an air of uncertainty. Whilst we are not sure what the lockdown regulations will be on Saturday, 18 September, when the 2020 International Coastal Clean-up is scheduled to take place, we know with cast-iron certainty that poor waste management and littering is still a reality and that beach clean-ups on this day will be desperately needed.
Plastics SA and Ocean Conservancy are continuing our planning for the 2020 ICC and Clean-up and Recycle Week and will attempt to coordinate as many clean-ups as possible. We are hoping to be kicking off our pre-event awareness campaigns to the public in due course, mindful of the fact that this year’s clean-up might look slightly different to previous years. Social distancing, restrictions on public gathering and other safety concerns that have become part of our day-to-day lives, will need to be strictly adhered to by all participants.
Many of you have been involved in previous cleanups, and have faced adverse weather conditions or conflicting national sporting events such as last year’s World Cup Rugby final in which South Africa was victorious! Despite these obstacles, the 2019 ICC was a truly amazing and successful event thanks to your commitment and hard work!
Because it is never too early to plan and as more logistics might be required for this year’s event, we urge you to please register your cleanup/s as soon as possible. We would like to have all registrations captured by mid-August.
Useful Apps
On the registration form attached, you will notice that you are presented with four choices for your coastal cleanup: it can either be an audited event (using the International sheet and/or the South African “Dirty Dozen” sheet), or it can be an unaudited clean-up, but making use of the Clean Swell app as a tool for cleanup data collection. Last year, the reach was broad as a result of this app. More than 100 countries participated in the 2019 ICC and many of the smaller cleanups used the app with great success – allowing us to capture valuable data that would otherwise have been lost.
Due to the pandemic, we have also been requested to change the Caroline Reid Award to a biennial event. Please pass this message on to anyone that you believe could be part of this initiative to ensure that awareness is increased on not littering and proper waste management and how these factors affect the environment.
