Armed with just her bags and sheer determination, environmental activist Zoë Prinsloo took on a solo cleanup at Lagoon Beach this week, likening herself to a ‘stubborn crab refusing to let go of its shell’.
Cape Town, South Africa (08 October 2025) – Keeping our beaches litter-free is not for the complacent or faint-hearted, but someone’s gotta do it!
Zoë Prinsloo, environmental activist and the founder of the Save a Fishie movement, recently took it upon herself to tackle a solo cleanup along Lagoon Beach – ‘just me, my bags, and the beach’, as she puts it.
For Zoë, our coastal environment and oceans are precious natural resources that should be preserved, not only for their beauty but also for every living thing that depends on them and for future generations.
Taking matters into her own hands – as she often does, except alone this time – she covered a long stretch on foot, filling trash bags along the way near Woodbridge Island.
“After the long trek there, I got to work and managed to fill four more bags of litter. Feeling rather proud of myself — until I realised what goes down, must come back up… or rather, what walks down the beach must somehow drag 36kg of trash all the way back!
“So, there I was sweating, slipping, stopping every few meters for a “quick break”, dragging my heavy loot like a stubborn crab refusing to let go of its shell,” she recounted.
By the time she got back, Zoë had clocked 50kg of litter and what felt like a full-body workout.
“Not for the weak, that’s for sure!”
While vowing to bring backup next time, her sweat-breaking accomplishment powerfully highlights how one dedicated individual can make an enormous, tangible difference for our planet, oceans, and marine life.
Save a Fishie will be having a Nurdle Hunt by Milnerton Lagoon this Saturday, 11 October, from 9am. Bags, gloves, and sieves will be provided.
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