Two new litter booms installed to fight pollution
The litter boom project has been piloted in Durban for the past 10 years.
THE Durban Green Corridor has welcomed the addition of two new litter booms that were recently installed in Durban. Collecting on average of between one and two tons of plastic a month, the Green Corridor’s litter boom project has proved an invaluable resource in the fight against river pollution.
The project has been piloted in Durban for the past 10 years with a total of eight litter booms situated on Quarry Road, Johanna Road, Connaught bridge, SPCA and Beachwood Mangroves Nature Reserve.
According to Siphiwe Rakgabale, litter boom uMngeni coordinator, the purpose of the booms is to target principally plastic packaging that pollutes our oceans, river systems and beaches.
“The addition of two new litter booms situated at a section within the Beachwood Mangroves Nature Reserve as well as Johanna Road in Sea Cow Lake will make a huge difference in the fight against river pollution.
“We are also grateful to the north Durban community who played a large part in the installation. We had donations of shade cloth and eco-bricks which we use in the project. We also had the support of local resident and UKZN masters student, Michaela Geytenbeek and her friends which was great, as well as members from Wildlife and Environment Society South Africa (WESSA),” he explained.
Both litter booms approximately 15 metres in length have been in place a little over three weeks so far.
Rakgabale said his goal now was to install more litter booms on tributaries and on the uMngeni River itself to help fight pollution.
“The amount of rubbish we find trapped is staggering and it is comforting to know that where these booms are placed is preventing the rubbish from flowing down river and eventually into the sea. We are appealing to the Durban community, if they have any spare shade cloth or EcoBricks, which are two litre bottles or completed eco-bricks to the project which will help us make and install more booms in the area,” he said.
He has also asked the north Durban community to donate either empty two litre bottles or EcoBricks, which are packed tightly with clean and dry, non-biodegradable waste.
Contact Rakgabale on 081 572 2514.
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