THE hard work of the Aller River Project Eco Champs was acknowledged with a third award.
The Department of Environment, Forestry and Fisheries (DEFF) recently invited the Aller River Pilot Project to give a presentation on the Aller River Disposable Nappies Project at the Waste Khoro Conference in Kimberley.
The Waste Khoro Conference was convened under the theme, Good Green Deeds, Asbestos and Land Remediation Summit.
ALSO READ: Aller River Project wins two awards
The conference brought together academics, government professionals, consultants, industries and technology developers/experts, providing a network on interdisciplinary research, integrating technology.
The deliberations were aimed at assisting government and industries with their waste management responsibilities.
To their surprise, the Aller River Project delegates attending the conference were called up to receive an award for the work they are doing in pioneering simple, do-able and impactful solutions to waste management at the site of human settlement.
This is the third award the ARPP has won since it was started in 2016.
“The eco-champs, who do this important work, get paid for one day per week, but put in more time because they are so passionate about the work they do and the impact that they are having on the quality of life of their own communities,” said project manager, Luci Coelo.
Coelo said the Aller River Pilot Project has been tackling the issue of the proper disposal of disposable nappies and associated Absorbent Health Products (AHPs) and ran an experimental collection system in Clermont during August to October 2018.
“During this period, the project succeeded in collecting and diverting to landfill more than 21 000, or 3.5 tons of, disposable nappies. These would otherwise have ended up in open land or the Aller River, or blocking sewers, which would have then spilled into the river,” she said.
ALSO READ: Environmental Affairs visit Clermont Eco champs
The collection system is now being extended from 16 collection points to 44, including the KwaShembe settlement in Clermont and the Quarry Road West Informal Settlement.
“The aim is to see if it can be scaled up and if the municipality can ‘institutionalise’ the system. If the project team can demonstrate that the collection system can be upscaled, then there is a good prospect the municipality will extend this to 3 200 collection points throughout the city making a significant impact in managing the safe disposal of AHPs,” added Coelo.
The Aller River Disposable Nappies Project belongs to the eThekwini Conservancies Forum with the Kloof Conservancy as the implementing agency.
It has been adopted as a pilot project by the Department of Environmental Affairs and is funded by EDANA, the global organisation representing the manufacturers.
The project works very closely and successfully with the eThekwini Departments of Solid Waste, Water and Sanitation.
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