Join the Two Oceans Aquarium Trash Bash at the next of our regular environmental cleanup events in Cape Town. We want to do everything we can to tackle plastic pollution on our coastline… And we want YOU to join us.

On 30 November 2019, the Trash Bash cleanup will take place at Cape Town's Sunset Beach - let's help clean up our coastline! It has been almost a year since Trash Bash visited Sunset Beach, so visiting this stretch of coast gives us a chance to see how the "Dirty Dozen" plastic pollution items have collected in this area, helping scientists identify and eliminate the sources of marine pollution.

Apart from being good for the environment, cleanups are also good for us humans. Anyone who’s spent a morning with us on a beach to pick up plastic pollution knows that it’s actually a chance to have a ball, to spend time with friends and family, to breathe in some fresh air and feel the sand between our toes, and to leave a slightly better, slightly more informed person.

What better way to give back than having fun while doing it?

This is a chance for the community to come out in force, to return their coastlines to their natural state and to create awareness about the global issue of marine plastic pollution. Sunset Beach was visited extensively by Trash Bash in 2018 - making it our most valuable beach for data collection. Now, we all have the chance to clean up another beautiful stretch of Cape Town coast and collect data that could make a huge difference. Let's make a Trash Bash difference here together!

Let's use this chance to clean up this beautiful beach  - together! We want YOU to join us on Sunset Beach! 

• Date: 30 November 2019
• Time: 09h00 to 11h00
• Location: Sunset Beach (parking on Forata Drive, Sunset Beach)
• What to bring: Sunblock, a hat, water (in a reusable bottle), and reusable gloves (like the ones you’d use for gardening or doing dishes).
• Join the Facebook event

The Two Oceans Aquarium Trash Bash receives the support and assistance from the amazing Beach Co-op, a non-profit organisation driving behaviour change regarding single-use plastic through integrated surveys and research-ready beach cleanups. It’s great to have this wonderful organisation on board!

Photo by Amina Hoosain/Two Oceans Aquarium.

The Dirty Dozen Method

Aside from the obvious perks of doing a beach cleanup, Trash Bash also contributes to important scientific research by following the Dirty Dozen data collection method.

The Dirty Dozen are the 12 litter items that are most commonly found on our beaches. These are: Carrier bags, chip packets, cigarette lighters, cooldrink bottles, cooldrink lids, earbuds, fishing line, lightsticks, plastic lollipop sticks, straws, sweet wrappers and water bottles.

Photo by Devon Bowen/Two Oceans Aquarium.

Attendees work together in groups and record everything collected, paying specific attention to the Dirty Dozen items. At the end of each cleanup, the data is collated and contributes to research tracking the different sources of marine litter. 

Our oceans are facing a human-made plastic catastrophe. With estimates being that by 2050 there will be more plastic, by weight, than fish in the ocean, the time is now to make a difference and clean up our acts. Studies have shown that millions of seabirds have ingested plastic and a staggering number of sea animals die each year from plastic ingestion. Plastic has truly permeated into the deepest recesses of our natural world and has even entered our food chain.

Photo by Devon Bowen/Two Oceans Aquarium.

Plastic doesn’t break down; it doesn’t degrade and become part of the natural system again. In fact, plastic breaks up. It breaks up into smaller and smaller pieces until it becomes small enough, not only for small fish to mistake it for food, but research has found that even plankton is now mistaking this “forever material” for food and consuming it, introducing it into the food chain at the lowest level.

The question now is: What can we do to stop this pollution of our oceans? Considering that 80% of plastic found in the oceans originates on land, the answer is actually quite simple - we can intervene in the cycle of pollution entering the oceans via land, by removing it from the beaches and preventing it from entering the water in the first place.

Join Bruce the Shark and let's make a Trash Bash difference! Photo by Amina Hoosain/Two Oceans Aquarium.

Trash Bash archive

In the past, the Two Oceans Aquarium has always supported International Coastal Cleanup Day, taking place in September each year. Trash Bash is a campaign by the Two Oceans Aquarium and The Beach Co-op, expanding on our previous beach cleanup commitments. With your support, we hope to grow attendance of these cleanups and to entrench them as part of Cape Town’s culture.

Take a look at our previous Trash Bashes:

• 21 September 2019 - We celebrated International Coastal Cleanup Day at Monwabisi Beach
• 27 July 2019 - At Mouille Point Beach 230 people gathered t collect 166kgs of plastic pollution!
• 8 June 2019 - A quarter ton of waste collected on Hout Bay Beach on World Oceans Day
• 25 May 2019 - More than half a ton of plastic recovered at Monwabisi Beach on Africa Day.
• 23 March 2019 - Take a look at the fun we had at Rondevlei.
• 8 December 2018 – Done! See the results of the year's scientific data collection here.
• 15 September 2018 – Done! Check out the awesomeness! 
• 9 June 2018 – Completed, check out the feedback video!
• 21 March 2018 – Completed, here's the feedback!

If you'd like more information, feel free to get in touch with us on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram. Don't forget to express your interest on the Trash Bash Facebook event to receive updated information.