Author: Sean Lange

Making a concrete whale shark mould

Making a concrete whale shark mould: with a group of local subsistence fishermen, we got stuck in and conducted some solid experimentation with concrete moulds.

Well, I was too enthusiastic again, and I really could have waited at least another few days for it to cure properly, before destroying our first concrete whale shark mould.

But.

Not before we produced five really handsome little whale sharks. And got the local spin fishing brigade completely engrossed in our melting and moulding activities.

Firstly, these guys really appreciated that we were cleaning the beach of plastic. HDPE and LDPE, our primary ingredients these days, float and so wash up on the beach non-stop. Then, when we explained that they could also make their own lures, for spinning with, they really got interested.

Out here on the perimeter, there are not really any shops, let alone tackle shops. But the shops that are here, and the lodges, all pump out plastic bottles filled with sugar and water. Non-stop. All-day – all night. And this is not even the actual problem of the thousands of towns and villages inland that have the same plastic lifestyle. Which leads all plastic to the sea. To should-be pristine Pomene included.

So, in as much as our plastic fantastic initiative is finding purchase, it is no way a solution to the overall huge problem.

What we need is an entire reprogramming of the human race. To care what happens to the garbage we generate.

Right from first use…the plastic needs to be cleaned. Contaminated plastic cannot be recycled. Stickers and other contaminants also have to go. Then the plastic needs to be properly identified and sorted that way.

With these measures in place, your journey to recycling peace-of-mind has just begun.

However, once you have done something like this, and just like the whale sharks above, you will have created value from waste. From nothing. And. HDPE sells for good money. PET not so much. LDPE quite good. PP too. The rest are a pain to deal with. Try not to buy food in anything other than pure and labelled packaging. Check everything you buy, and change brands if you find a brand doing the right thing.

If you get your head around this cool new hobby and start achieving some cool things you will realise that the only limit really is your imagination. And the mould you can make.

Aluminium would be the best moulding material for this project for sure. But properly cured concrete can work too. We also have used timber and logs. And punched stainless steel could also work depending on the shape you are trying to create.

Please check out our Plastic Fantastic playlist on YouTube, and like/subscribe/share where you can. Get in touch if you would like to get involved, there are very many things you could do to help, as we spread the word and methodologies we are learning, to grassroots communities, all over Southern Africa.

You can watch all the action right here on YouTube!

There is more information on The Sardine News at https://thesardine.co.za/plastic/ and you can also stay in touch via Facebook at http://facebook.com/thesardine.co.za/.