More than a ton of litter was removed from Lagoon Beach over the weekend during a large-scale cleanup operation led by environmental organisation Save a Fishie.
Just over 20 volunteers collected 1009kg of waste in slightly more than an hour, marking the organisation’s 520th beach cleanup and pushing its total waste collection efforts beyond 57 tonnes.
The cleanup followed recent heavy rains and storm conditions, which activists say contributed to large volumes of pollution being washed into the Milnerton Lagoon and surrounding coastline.
Among the waste collected were disposable nappies, plastic bottles, tyres, clothing, shoes, stuffed toys and even a discarded mattress.
Save a Fishie founder Zoë Prinsloo described the cleanup as one of the most significant efforts volunteers have undertaken at the lagoon in recent years.
“We haven’t experienced a wash-up like this at Milnerton Lagoon in quite some time,” she said.
According to Prinsloo, disposable nappies remain one of the most persistent forms of pollution affecting local waterways and beaches.
“Nappies have been washing up for as long as I can remember. We are now seeing just how many different ways they end up in our rivers and oceans,” she said.
Environmental activist Caroline Marx from ReThinkTheStink said community cleanups alone cannot solve Cape Town’s ongoing litter crisis and called for stronger accountability from manufacturers and industry.
She proposed the introduction of a refundable deposit system on bottles, cans and plastic containers to encourage recycling and reduce pollution entering rivers and oceans.
“Residents are carrying the burden of cleaning up waste while industries continue profiting from disposable packaging,” Marx said.
Despite the scale of pollution, Prinsloo praised volunteers for remaining committed to protecting local beaches and waterways.
“The numbers show the impact people can make when communities come together,” she said.