How to Contribute
As a concerned member of the public, your participation in cleanups and in providing information is important. If you are on the beach and have seen nurdles, please take a photograph and upload through our Contribute function on the Story Map below.
How to contribute using the Story Map tool
- Click on +Contribute / +Participate below
- Upload a Photo of nurdles on the beach
- Enter a TitleEnter Location and click on map to confirm or move marker to exact location
- Enter a Description including date, relative quantity of nurdles and your name (if you wish to be acknowledged)
Once a contribution has been approved it will be visible on the map so remember to have a look at the Story Map a few days later to view your contribution. Explore the map and gallery that are updated continuously. The black points on the map show all the current drop-off points. Click on a point to view more information (if you experience any difficulty viewing the map please let us know here).
How can you help?
Everyone can assist us in ridding our beaches of nurdles. It is a mammoth task and will require thousands of people up and down the coast to make a dent in the accumulated pellets. Every little bit helps!
What you need
Please take hand nets, shadecloth, colanders, sieves and buckets. Watch this video posted by SAAMBR for a step-by-step guide to cleaning up nurdles.
Equipment that works best:
- 1m green 40% shadecloth or
- 1m black 60% Shadecloth or
- Pool net (3mm-5mm mesh)
- 10l or 20l bucket with water
- Colander or sieve
Please remember to take the following precautions:
- Wear sunblock and a hat
- Watch out for sharp objects
- Be aware of tides
Method 1
- Scrape nurdles together on dry sand
- Place on sieve/ shadecloth to remove sand
- Place mix in bucket of water and swirl. Nurdles will float to surface.
- Scoop nurdles from surface
Method 2
- Scrape nurdles together on sand and place on shadecloth
- Close shadecloth and carry sand to waters edge
- Allow waves to wash sand from shadecloth.
- Remove nurdles from shadecloth.
Survey form when collecting nurdles
Any additional information about your nurdle collection is very valuable to our research so please fill out this form below when you're collecting nurdles along the coast. To open this survey click on the button below.
How & Why to Drop Off
It is important that nurdles should not end up in landfills, so should not be disposed of in general waste. Very few recyclers can process nurdles collected from the beach. Nurdles should be placed in a sealed bag and taken to a Drop-Off point listed below and indicated on the map below.
Place the nurdles into a sealed bag, remembering to include your name, date and where collected and fill out this Survey Form.
NOTE: WildOceans/SAAMBR will shortly be providing 300 specially labelled bins and will have a form for your collection information.
Nurdle Drop-Off Points
- uMlalazi Nature Reserve- Entrance Gate, Mtunzini
- iZinkwazi Ski Boat Club, Zinkwazi
- Sheffield Beach
- uMhlali Recycling Centre- next to BP garage
- Salt rock Caravan Park, Salt Rock
- Hops Restaurant, Ballito
- Ballito Ski Boat Club, Ballito
- Westbrook Lifeguards, Westbrook North
- Beach Bums, Westbrook
- Seabelle Restaurant, La Mercy
- La Mercy Beach Hotel, La Mercy
- La Mercy Lagoon Cafe, La mercy
- uMdloti Lifesavers hut
- Spud Fish and Chips Restaurant, uMdloti
- Offshore Africa
- Outspan Inn
- East London Aquarium
- Bayworld
- Cabana Beach Resort- towel kiosk, uMhlanga
- uMhlanga Rocks Surf Lifesaving Club
- Circus Circus Café, North Beach
- California Dreaming
- Wedge beach Lifeguards
- Afros Chicken, South Beach
- Surf Riders, South Beach
- uShaka- ticketing office
- Durban Undersea Club, Vetch's Beach
- Simpy the Best Fishing Charters, Durban Harbor
- Pescador ABM Charters, Durban Harbor
- Sea Mission, Durban Harbor
- BAT Centre, Durban Harbor
- Point Yacht Club, Durban Harbor
- Dutch Club, Bluff
- Green Dolphin, Bluff
- Surf- lifesaving, Brighton Beach
- Environmental Education Centre, Treasure Beach
- Die Ou Pastorie, Groot Brakrivier
- Shark Lab Aquarium, Mosselbay
- Cyber South Internet Security, Dana Bay
- Koffie Stories, Gouritz
- Lavender Social Cafe, Still Bay
- SA Shark Conservancy, Hermanus
- Two Oceans Aquarium, Cape Town
- Nature's Valley Trust
- Plettenberg Bay Tourism
- Boggomsbaai Beach Kiosk
- Springerbaai- front gate, Springerbaai
- Kanon beach car park or Kanon village gate
- Thirsty Whale, Amanzimtoti
- Toti Canoe Club, Amanzimtoti
- Warnadoone Ski Boat Club, Doonside
- Warnadoone Lifesaving Club, Doonside
- Shangri la Holiday Flats, Doonside
- Baggies Beach Ski Boat Club, Kingsburgh
- Lifesaving Club, Winkelspruit
- Aliwal Dive Centre, Aliwal Shoal
- Happy Wanderers, Kelso
- Riverbend Crocodile Farm, Southbroom
- Cutty Sark- Scuba Xcursion
- Shark Cage Diving, Rocky Bay
- Jolly Roger, Hibberdene
- M & R Mechanical Workshop
- Buccaneers
- The Waffle House
Nurdle Drop-Off Points
To view the nurdle drop off points story map please click on the button below.