DURBAN – The South African Association for Marine Biological Research (Saambr) has found that it was no longer cigarette butts that were mainly collected during the KwaZulu-Natal International Beach Clean-Ups, they have been replaced by plastic bottle caps.
Saambr said in 2019, the item with the highest count during the KZN International Beach Clean-Up was cigarette butts, but in 2021 cigarette butts were fifth on the list after food wrappers, plastic pieces, plastic bottles and plastic bottle caps.
“The most prolific item collected this year was plastic bottle caps. This total count of bottle caps was higher than all the other items in the “first five” categories put together,” Saambr said.
The association said items with the highest count in 2021 were:
- More than 18 000 plastic bottle caps
- More than 5 000 plastic bottles
- More than 4 000 plastic pieces
- More than 3 500 sweet wrappers
- More than 3 400 cigarette butts
“If we have no alternative but to purchase beverages in plastic bottles, it would be wise to take a moment to screw the cap back on the bottle before throwing it in the bin,” Saambr advised.
The association said straws did not appear in the top five and neither did shopping bags or styrofoam pieces which was remarkable.
“In the far north of KZN, Kosi Bay recorded glass pieces as their item with the highest count. On uShaka Beach, plastic pieces were the clear winners,” Saambr said.
The association also hoped that in 2022, plastic bottle caps would be off the top five lists across the province.
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Daily News