INTERNATIONAL COASTAL CLEAN-UP DAY

The Robben Island Museum (RIM) observed this year’s International Coastal Clean-Up Day on 17 September, on the island. A partnership with Coca-Cola Peninsula Beverages (CCPB) and the RIM team saw more than 150 volunteers and environmental partners clear a huge amount of waste that had washed up around the island in the past few months. Thanks to the volunteers, the campaign exceeded its target of 500 bags being filled.

Robben Island, a World Heritage Site, draws more than 300 000 visitors annually and is also home to a large variety of animal and bird life, as well as flora species. Unfortunately it also attracts large volumes of waste and pollution due to passing ships, shipping lanes, careless littering on beaches as well as rubbish from Cape Town’s stormwater drains and rivers that flow into Table Bay.

This affects many marine animals and sea birds that become entangled or ingest harmful objects. The goal of the coastal clean-up day is to promote greater environmental conservation awareness and to enhance and preserve ecosystems around the island. Supporting International Coastal Clean-Up Day is also in line with the Coca-Cola Company’s global commitment of creating a World Without Waste – a campaign committed to collecting and recycling the equivalent of every bottle and can product that is sold, by 2030.

Partnerships with companies like CCPB not only help to protect wildlife but also build on conservation programmes to educate the public about the devastating outcome of littering.

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