This Plastic Free July, the Two Oceans Aquarium is getting even more serious about putting a stop to plastic pollution in the sea. An exciting lineup has been planned for the whole month, and the Aquarium will use its extended platforms to further mobilise individuals, communities, retailers, restaurants, businesses, and other stakeholders to commit to stemming the tide of plastic that is choking the oceans.

The Aquarium is doing a massive ecobrick drive this July in aid of Waste-ED’s “Building a Future” programme. Waste-ED needs 1,000 ecobricks to build an outdoor learning space for Levana Primary School in Lavender Hill. By bringing in an ecobrick, Aquarium visitors will be entered into a lucky draw for an incredible R18 500 prize, which includes Aquarium membership and experiences, a high-end Sealand Gear upcycled bag, tickets to top Cape Town attractions, vouchers, and much more.

This year’s theme for the International Plastic Free July campaign is Beat Plastic Pollution. The Aquarium challenges everyone to refuse the top four single-use plastics – plastic shopping bags, straws, takeaway containers (plastic coffee cup lids, cutlery, etc.) and plastic water bottles. Participants are encouraged to make the pledge on the website, or share it with Aquarium on its social media platforms.

“We live in a time where throwing things away has become all too common-place. The problem is that no one has been able to tell me where this ‘away’ is, and that’s because everything we throw ‘away’ stays on this amazing planet of ours. We all need to use less single-use plastic and rather reuse what we have, over and over. This makes reusable shopping bags so ideal. Consumers using them can proudly say that they are not contributing to landfill and litter in the environment, including the oceans,” said Hayley McLellan, Environmental Campaigner for the Two Oceans Aquarium.

For those who want to go single-use plastic free, but are not sure where to start, Aquarium partners Faithful to Nature (https://www.faithful-to-nature.co.za/) will host a unique pop-up shopping experience in the Aquarium on 7 and 8 July. The shop will feature plastic-alternatives and plastic-free products for sale to all Aquarium visitors.

Every day during the month of July, the Aquarium will host a special, interactive presentation on plastics in the ocean. The talk, which forms part of the Aquarium’s “Creature Feature” mobile exhibit, will take place daily at 4pm at the I&J Ocean Exhibit.

Plastic Free July at the Aquarium will end on a high note with a special speakers’ evening called Home to Ocean (H2O) on 31 July. Speakers have been invited from various sectors – beach cleanups, recycling, upcycling – and will share their expertise and passion on stage at the I&J Ocean Exhibit. The event will take the form of individual presentations followed by a panel discussion and will cover sectors like education, community, corporate, sports, and more. Complete event details and tickets are available through Quicket.

International Plastic Bag Free Day is on 3 July. To mark this event, the V&A Waterfront will be running a week-long activation in their centre court. Shoppers are encouraged to bring 10 single use plastic shopping bags and get a reusable bag in return. “The Two Oceans Aquarium, which has been running its Rethink the Bag environmental campaign for more than seven years, applauds this active effort by the V&A Waterfront and we’ll be there to support it in force,” said McLellan.

The monthly update of the water map for May 2018 shows that 217 271 households achieved the dark green water-saving dot for their water conservation efforts. These households used less than 6 000 litres per month.

Some 182 404 households also achieved a light green dot status for usage under 10 500 litres per month and together with their dark green dot peers, a record number of 399 675 households had green dots in May 2018.

‘We continue to be proud of the achievements of our residents and of this metro. We thank our residents who are still painting the city green irrespective of the improved dam levels and rainfall that we have received. Importantly, we must try not to let our good water-saving effort go down the drain. It is imperative that we carry on saving and that we continue to live the 50-litre life until the dams fill up sufficiently. The National Department of Water and Sanitation’s tough restrictions remain in place,’ said the City’s Mayoral Committee Member for Informal Settlements, Water and Waste Services; and Energy, Councillor Xanthea Limberg.

Visit www.capetown.gov.za/watermap to view the latest map.

Consumption is indicated on the map as follows:

• Dark green dot: household using less than 6 000 litres per month
• Light green dot: household using between 6 000 and 10 500 litres per month
• Grey dot with small dark green centre: estimated water meter reading of less than 6 000 litres per month
• Grey dot with small light green centre: estimated water meter reading of less than 10 500 litres per month
• Solid grey dot: excluded property (including sectional title property or group housing / undeveloped property / water use is zero / no available information for the property / estimated water meter reading of more than 10 500 litres per month)

Remember, the map indicates water consumption for free-standing houses, not compliance with water restriction limits. Households with higher consumption may have many people living on the property and may have applied for a water quota increase, or may have an undetected water leak.

The map shows consumption information from meters read in the previous month, and may include a portion of consumption from the preceding month.

Households using more than 10 500 litres per month are not shown on the map. The point of this map is to encourage positive behaviour and not to single out bad behaviour. However, remember that consumption higher than 10 500 litres per month (no green dot) does not necessarily indicate water abuse.

Please visit www.capetown.gov.za/thinkwater for all water-related information and follow https://twitter.com/CityofCTAlerts for pressure management-related information.