SA’s oceans are getting a clean sweep. This is according to Plastics SA who launched its Operation Clean Sweep campaign on World Oceans Day‚ at uShaka Marine World in Durban on Thursday. The goal of the campaign is to contain the loss of plastic pellets‚ flakes and powder used by the plastics industry. Plastics SA’s director of sustainability Douw Steyn said it is about time the plastics industry takes a look at itself and the role it plays in contaminating the oceans and threatening marine life. "We, as the plastic industry, make the pellets and flakes used in the manufacturing of plastic bags‚ bottles, and so on. The pellets are smaller than a sunflower seed but create huge damage to the ocean," Steyn said. "When these micro-plastics spill onto the floor during manufacturing, they are swept down a drain‚ into a sewer and from there into rivers and ultimately the sea. Plastic bags are easy to spot and pick up; plastic pellets are not. They are ingested by turtles‚ birds and marine ...
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