GALLERY: Dirty Hennops River catches a breather with trash-catching nets
About 250 tons of trash have already been taken out of the Hennops River, while a tree-catching net has now also been installed.
Willem Snyman making some last adjustments to the successful litter trap he and his team installed at a bridge along the Hennops River near SuperSport Park, 12 November 2019, Centurion, Pretoria. Picture: Jacques Nelles
The Fresh NGO team with CEO Willem Snyman have estimated, after loading 32 eight-ton trucks with waste collected by their trash-catching net, that they have successfully removed nearly 250 tons of plastic and waste debris from the Hennops River.
The net they have set up under a low-lying bridge along the river near Centurion’s SuperSport Park just over two weeks ago, is one of several they have installed intending to catch the trash floating downstream.
The net stretches the entire length of the bridge – an area where the trash and plastics floating downstream often accumulates in extraordinary amounts. The net is not intended to survive major flooding and should rather be seen as a temporary structure designed to help contain the steady flow of trash poisoning the river.
Although the net has survived some instances of flooding over the past week and is successfully capturing the waste, finding a way of maintaining it and regularly removing the pollutants is the major challenge.
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- Gareth Hansen, a local volunteer can be seen in the after a hard day of cleaning the Hennops River, 12 November 2019, Centurion, Pretoria. Picture: Jacques Nelles
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- Volunteers from the Centurion community can be seen preparing the net to replace the previous net on a bridge along the Hennops River near SuperSport Park, 12 November 2019, Pretoria. Picture: Jacques Nelles
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- Willem Snyman, CEO of the Fresh organisation, draws the attention of some of the members from the nearby informal settlement known as the Bagerezi, Hennops River near SuperSport Park, 12 November 2019, Pretoria. Picture: Jacques Nelles
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- Willem Snyman and Gareth Hansen, a local volunteer, can be seen in the water setting up a tree trap in order to catch any fallen branches or trees that may hinder the trash trap, 12 November 2019, Centurion, Pretoria. Picture: Jacques Nelles
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- Some of the Bagerezi can be seen helping to clean the rubble on the road on a bridge along the Hennops River near SuperSport Park, 12 November 2019, Pretoria. Picture: Jacques Nelles
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- Ernest Ratlletowane can be seen among the piles of recyclable plastic gathered by the Bagerezi on a daily basis,13 November 2019, Centurion, Pretoria. Picture: Jacques Nelles
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- A day after the net has been replaced it is already being filled up quickly, Hennops River, 13 November 2019, Centurion, Pretoria. Picture: Jacques Nelles
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- Willem Snyman marches through the trash gathered in an eddy to check the placement of the net, 12 November 2019, Centurion, Pretoria. Picture: Jacques Nelles
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- Lee Mtalaliso overlooks some of the gathered trash that accumulates in an eddy in the Hennops River just before the bridge near SuperSport Park, 13 November 2019, Centurion, Pretoria. Picture: Jacques Nelles
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- Gareth Hansen, a local volunteer, can be seen adjusting a flag he put up to mark their location along the Hennops River, 12 November 2019, Centurion, Pretoria. Picture: Jacques Nelles
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- A duck caught up in some of the trash flowing down the Hennops River can be seen safely nestled in between the seats of Willem’s car, the Fresh team pulled him out while cleaning the net from gathered trash, 12 November 2019, Centurion, Pretoria. Picture: Jacques Nelles
Lee Mtalaliso, a volunteer from Soweto, joined the Fresh team to try and bring his recycling and cleaning company, Kwenzi, to aid in facilitating a system where the net can be cleaned regularly.
He has worked with the Bagerezi before and, having lived there for some time himself, he understands how the trash-catching net can benefit the community of informal recyclers living along the banks of the Hennops River.
“It would take two or more regular cleanings a week and trash further down the river would be less, while the community benefits,” Mtalaliso said.
The Bagerezi informal settlement is situated along the river, upstream from the trash-catching net. Cardboard boxes and piles of crushed plastic objects collected from the surrounding suburbs ready to be sold per kilogram can be seen stacked along the river.
Ernest Ratlletowane, a resident of the informal settlement, says he would gladly collect the trash from the net if he thought it was worth anything. The recycling companies would not want to buy it, but if they bought it at a reasonable price he would be willing to collect trash from the net.
On Tuesday afternoon the Fresh NGO team re-installed the net as well as a tree trap to catch large branches or trees coming down the river during the recent rains. A group from the Bagerezi settlement arrived uninvited, some armed with brooms, and began cleaning the area around the river. The Fresh team gladly accepted their help.
Getting the communities along the river to participate in maintaining and benefit from the trash nets is key in attempting to repair the damage pollution has caused to the once scenic Hennops River.
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