This is our long term monitoring project that brings together surfers, beach lovers, local businesses, scientists and people who love nature. We have been cleaning the 130m rock pools of Surfers Corner since March 2015 and continue to do so every new moon to this day. Our first cleanup set a scary standard for what was to come – with over 750 items of litter filling 12 large refuse bags. Today we averaged just under 300 items per month (292) and 5.3 kg dry mass if you exclude November 2017; with November included, the averages are 520 and 5.5 kg. November 2017 stands out as a significant anomoly when we collected over 8000 pieces of plastic! Everything we pick up is taken to the lab at UCT’s FitzPatrick Institute of African Ornithology to be weighed and logged. Recently we have decided to no longer weigh and log every item as it has become to time consuming but we continue to clean every new moon and document how many anemones are ingesting plastic. Join us – it’s fun! New moon is cleaning time. The rocky shore is full of life – starfish, anemones, octopus and if you’re lucky you may spot a few nudibranchs. It is also a great opportunity to get to know your community whilst cleaning up the ocean that gives so much to us.

These events are a fun way to contribute towards a sustainable natural environment while meeting like minded people. Volunteers gather to remove plastic and waste from the beaches and record waste types and volumes using the Dirty Dozen methodology. In this way data on the 12 most common and hazardous types of marine litter are gathered, documented and analysed. Cumulative data of this nature strengthens mitigating actions against plastic waste and contributes to a deeper understanding of the necessary points of intervention. Come and join us – check our calendar to find out when the next Dirty Dozen Cleanup is happening near you!

Dirty Dozen Beach Cleanups are offered to organisations and businesses as educational employee or corporate teambuilding processes. Beach cleanups are a fun way to engage employees and clients in a rewarding activity that helps make our oceans healthier and provides real benefit to our planet. They also help people to become more conscious of how much they consume, how much waste they generate, and how to harness their will to change their own behavior and influence the ethics and values of others.

We offer to host and facilitate the beach cleanup component to a festival, particularly if it is situated on the beach. We are able to engage with the festival goers, through using the Dirty Dozen methodology, about their consumption patterns and how to avoid and refuse certain single-use plastic items. Additionally, we are able to assist with the waste management of the festival and ensure that food vendors avoid single-use plastic products.