WATCH: Litter booms lead the fight against pollution

PLASTIC, polystyrene and other forms of litter are harming Durban’s rivers where it is accumulating in large amounts. Much of the litter debris found in our rivers end up in the sea. A recent study suggested there are one trillion pieces of rubbish floating around the Indian Ocean alone. That’s where Bart Fokkens, who is part of the Dusi Umgeni Conservation Trust (DUCT), an organisation that champions the environmental health of the uMngeni and uMsunduzi Rivers, comes in.

The Glenashley resident, through the organisation, has installed three litter booms in different parts of tributaries leading into the uMngeni River. The litter booms act as a litter trap funnelling rubbish into a cage.

The organisation maintains the booms and bags the waste they catch. DUCT members, using a Canadian-style canoe, are then able to use a pool like scoop to grab the rubbish on the surface and then simply clean the cage out.

“The big pipes attached to the boom divert the rubbish into the cage. We have set up a number of booms that we use to catch the litter so we can clear it out. What is also encouraging is these booms also serve as a way of stopping the spread of water hyacinth,” Fokkens added.

“The uMsunduzi and Umngeni River systems have become badly degraded through neglect and over exploitation. These booms are fantastic in that they trap any debris or rubbish here before it washes down to the beaches and ultimately, into the ocean.”