Durban was hit by a storm that caused disastrous flooding and left the beach littered with bottles, but the community are coming together to clean it all up.
Durban, South Africa – Flash flooding hit parts of Durban over the weekend, lifting trash and littering the beach with it. The horrific flood claimed lives and left the beach covered in plastic bottles.
The images taken by Sifiso Mngoma of the aftermath sent chills down our spines. We couldn’t believe these images were captured right here in South Africa.
We spoke with the Durban Green Corridor who have been working hard to remove the plastic in partnership with many local organisations.
Many who had seen the pile-up of plastic bottles, called upon soft-drink manufacturers to assist in the clean-ups and Coca-Cola stepped up to join the team in cleaning up the mess left by the flood.
“We had our team collecting PET plastic since Monday to yesterday. There was also Wildlands team collecting PET as well from Monday.
Today we had a massive clean up with different organizations such as Ubumbano Lwamakhosikazi, Durban Solid Waste education team, Coca-cola and Wildlands. Our team will remain on the site till late. There is a beach clean up taking place Saturday by #CleanBlueLagoon and another one Sunday.”
A call-to-action has now been made, and public participation is needed to make a difference on the beach. The Clean Blue Lagoon clean-up has been initiated starting on Saturday the 16th of March 2019. You can find full information about the clean up here.
“Umgeni River 8-11am / bring some garden gloves, water, closed shoes, sunblock and a smile. You can pick up for a half an hour or all 3 hours – the choice is yours; every little effort helps!”
Take a look at some of the images Sifiso Mngoma took along the river bank and beachfront.
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