A collaboration with Muizenberg-based The Beach Co-op and Secret Sunrise saw the launch of the first silent disco beach clean-up dance party on Saturday April 7.
Supporters gathered at Maiden’s Cove to show their unified intent in phasing out plastic – especially single use plastic. They held the event under the banner “Plastic is Over”.
The Beach Co-Op is one of many organisations fighting to clean the beaches and seas of single-use plastic.
Founder of The Beach Co-Op, Aaniyah Omardien, said: “Plastic items are by far the most abundant pieces of litter on our beaches. This event engaged with people in a positive way and encouraged positive action and play. It was about dancing on the beach- while picking up litter. A party with a purpose,” Ms Omardien said.
Imagine There’s No Plastic is a community art project to inspire people to”rethink the straw” and reduce the vast use of plastic straws. The project was established in Cape Town this year by Janine Martel who created a circle of used straws on the sand, inspired by the John Lennon “Imagine” circle which is located in Central Park.
Over 5 000 straws were collected from the V&A Waterfront’s waste recovery site and more than 1000 from the efforts of beach clean-ups, organised by The Beach Co-op.
Through this art piece Janine hopes to inspired people to rethink and refuse single use plastics.
The Beach Co-op was launched in 2015 when a volunteer group started meeting every new moon to collect marine debris on the rocky shore at Surfer’s Corner in Muizenberg.
“It is our local surf break and we wanted to do something for the ocean that does so much for us. This philosophy continues into the work we do today, and although our mission is focused on single-use plastic, the driving force and primary ambition is the health of our ocean,” says Ms Omaardien.
She said that their single use plastic mission is to work with it at all points of its supply chain: remove it from the beach, refuse it when making purchases, work with brands and companies who want to use less plastic, and encourage manufacturers to design plastic packaging with a circular economy in mind. The other group involved was Secret Sunrise which aims to get the world to unite in the joy of dance.