Ms Refilwe Mofokeng (red t-shirt) leads volunteers in the Durban Habour clean-up.

Ms Refilwe Mofokeng a PhD candidate in Marine Biology, responded to the flash floods in Durban and other parts of KwaZulu-Natal over the Easter weekend by organising a clean-up at the Durban Harbour. 

The clean-up was driven by the Refilwe Matlotlo Foundation, a non-profit organisation formed by Mofokeng in 2016 to highlight the importance of conserving marine life.

Around 80 volunteers, including students and members of the public, gathered on Saturday 27 April at Wilson’s Wharf, Durban Harbour. Wearing protective gloves, they went straight to work; collecting the waste in plastic bags provided by Plastics SA. 

As the co-ordinator, Mofokeng was hands-on, organising everything from sunscreen to refreshments. “It broke my heart to boast about how clean our ocean is, only to come back and find it in this state,” said Mofokeng who took part in the Commonwealth fellowship for marine pollution in London this year.

Coming from an ecotoxicology background, Mofokeng urged the public to be more aware of the harmful effects of plastics on marine life. “In the future, I would like to take this issue of plastics and make it more sustainable, by creating jobs (in South Africa).”

She thanked the sponsors of the event, namely, the Royal Natal Yacht Club and Wildlands who provided support as well as MICA and John Dory’s who donated rakes and provided food for the volunteers, respectively.

The litter collected was divided into different waste packages, with the plastic taken for recycling.

Mofokeng urged everyone to do their bit to stop pollution, “When you see a plastic bottle or a tin can in the water, you realise that you could have put it there, as someone who didn’t recycle it.”