LOOK: Piles of plastic waste wash up on Durban shores again
Durban's shoreline's littered with plastic pollution again - sparking renewed calls from an environmental advocacy group for eThekwini to ban the use of polystyrene and plastic.
The Durbanites Against Plastic Pollution says a shocking amount of plastic waste washed up along the shores of Suncoast Beach this week.
"What you see on the beaches is really just the tip of the iceberg. Most of the plastic litter that gets washed out by the rain is stretched out to the sea and much of it breaks down through the wave action to microplastics.
"Smaller pieces are mistaken as food by fish and get into the food chain," says the group's Steve Cohen.
Cohen says they've been working with other organisations to clean the city's beaches.
READ: Environmental Affairs vows to address Durban south pollution
He says more public awareness and education are needed.
Cohen says the pollution washing out of stormwater outlets is harmful to biodiversity.
"Once polystyrene gets into the environment, it's almost impossible to clean up. It gets blown away. It's quickly broken up into tiny fragments that get soft once submerged in water.
"Whenever it rains there's always a carpet of polystyrene and gets washed out to sea and becomes part of this plastic soup that is circulating around Durban.
"Fish, dolphins and whales are ingesting these plastic fragments. It's a big issue for thousands and of citizens."
