Nurdle Beach Clean Up Competition

Big prizes up for grabs in the national nurdle (mermaid tear) clean-up competition!

Following the resurgence of plastic nurdle pollution across South African beaches, Litter4Tokens – in partnership with Lifesaving South Africa, and the Centre of Regenerative Design and Collaboration (CRDC) – have launched the Litter4Tokens Nurdle SA Clean-Up Competition, running from 30 June 2021 through to 30 December 2021.

Collection drums, sponsored by DRUMPAL, will be located at identified lifesaving clubs along the South African coastline, from Cape Town to KwaDukuza in KwaZulu-Natal. People can use the drums to dispose of nurdles (also referred to as ‘mermaid’s tears’), with prizes awarded to both the lifesaving club as well as the individual that collects the most nurdles during the seventh-month stretch. It’s important that the drums are used, as nurdles cannot be placed in recycling bins or recycled.

The NPO and two-time Stevie Award-winner, Litter4Tokens, was founded by Clare Swithenbank-Bowman, the CEO of Nurdle SA. It’s an educational and clean-up campaign that addresses the devastating impact of nurdles on marine life as well as feeding the nation.

The competition, which will run alongside Litter4Token’s ongoing projects, has been launched in response to the catastrophic spill of trillions of plastic nurdles by Vinmar Polymers America – Vinmar Polymers America and ExxonMobil in August 2020 off the coast of Plettenburg Bay, as well as the 2017 spill in Durban Harbour and continued dumping by manufacturers upstream in our rivers in SA.

Nurdles are lentil-sized plastic pellets made of polyethylene, polypropylene, polystyrene and polyvinyl chloride, among others. These pellets are shipped, shrink-wrapped in 25 kg bags on pallet bases to factories around the world that melt them down to form plastic products. They are not considered hazardous as per the OSHA (Occupational Health and Safety Act) Hazard Communication Standard and IMDG (International Maritime Dangerous Goods) code.

“Litter4Tokens has also presented to the International Maritime Organisation to help get the nurdles’ code changed to a hazardous IMDG code with immediate effect,” said Swithenbank-Bowman. “The ocean is the earth’s life force, and if we don’t get on top of this plastic crisis now, the ocean is literally going to choke. It’s now or never.”

This microplastic is hugely detrimental to marine ecosystems and humans, as they quickly find their way into the food system leading to ulceration, starvation and death. They do not biodegrade and a recent discovery indicated that nurdles follow the same ocean currents as turtles, making them particularly hazardous for these species.

“To put this in perspective, in 2017 we had a freak storm that resulted in two containers with trillions of nurdles falling overboard,” explained Swithenbank-Bowman. “This resulted in 2.2 billion nurdles being spilt in the Durban Harbour from Saudi Basic Industries Corporation (Sabic). These washed up along the KwaZulu-Natal coastline from Ballito to the KZN South Coast. Only 67% percent of that spill has been cleaned to date.”

Swithenbank-Bowman said that, in addition to this spill, there was another spill of more than 174.5 metric tons in August 2020 off Plettenberg Bay, and there has been illegal dumping of nurdles by manufacturers upstream in rivers, with nurdles washing up on beaches in eThekwini region. To date, only 12.6% of these nurdles have been retrieved.

In light of this, and with recent reports indicating that there will be more waste plastic than fish in the ocean by 2050, Litter4Tokens is calling on everyone to get involved to change the trajectory of this devastating path. Education is key, and it’s vital that people understand what nurdles are and why they’re so devastating to the environment.

How to enter the Litter4Tokens Nurdle SA Clean-Up Competition

Litter4Tokens has developed the innovative Mermaid Tear Catcher (MTC), a scooping device with holes specifically demarcated allowing the user to sieve the nurdles out of the dry sea or river sand. It is made from ocean-bound plastic, and all funds raised from the sales go towards the Litter4Tokens kiosks in South Africa, thereby creating a perfect, circular economy. The MTC can be ordered online at www.litter4tokens.co.za and, when not used for collecting nurdles, it doubles as a frisbee! People can also pick them up by hand or using another sieving device we just need to get them out of the environment. Look above the high water marks, around rocks on the beaches up rivers and you will find them.

Once participants have made their collection, they must take a photo and upload it to
Record Your Nurdle Catch | Litter4Tokens www.litter4tokens.co.za alongside the unique MTC code (if you have bought one), the geographic location, or the name of the lifesaving club. There will be monthly winners for the most Nurdles collected see terms and conditions @litter4tokens. So far The drums will be located at the following locations with more to sign up during the course of the year:

Milnerton Surf Lifesaving Club
Loxton road
Woodbridge Island
Milnerton
7441

Scottburgh Surf Lifesaving Club
Pavilion 1
Marine Terrace – Scottburgh Main Beach
Scottburgh 4180

Woodridge Surf Lifesaving Club
084 545 4089
17 Meeu Street
Cape St Francis
6313

Umtamvuna Surf Lifesaving Club
14 Lilypond Lane
Munster
KZN
4278

Pirates Surf Lifesaving Club
Battery Beach Rd
Durban Central
Durban
4000

Mzamba Surf Lifesaving Club
Wild Coast Casino,
Water Wave Park,
Lifeguards Room

The drums will be sent to Spilltech once they are full, the nurdles will be analysed and then be collected by CRDC, where they will be converted into RESIN8 cement used to make bricks to build houses.

The data collected will be sent to FIDRA, the Global Nurdle Foundation in Scotland which runs The Great Nurdle Hunt dedicated to tackling nurdle pollution. There will be monthly winners announced, with the final data collated at the end and an overall winner announced.

What you could win

• The winning SA Lifesaving Club will receive R10 000 in prize money.
• Individuals can win R10,000 worth of vouchers from Hurricane Surf, a Jacki Bruniquel photography course – ‘The Art of Being Through Seeing’ – valued at more than R5 000, free yoga for a month with Helen Garner and FITKIT vouchers for new yoga gym wear. More prizes are still to be announced!
• Visit the website for competition terms and conditions https://www.litter4tokens.co.za/