Sea Cow Lake litter boom halts large litter pile from entering uMngeni River
The litter boom project has been piloted in Durban for the past 10 years with a total of 10 litter booms now installed.
HUNDREDS of pieces of litter, including branches, tyres and other forms of rubbish, has made the surface of a tributary leading to the uMgeni River look like a rubbish dump after heavy rains in recent weeks.
However, the newly installed litter boom on the tributary along Johanna Road has made a massive difference, stopping the rubbish from flowing down river and ultimately, into the sea.
Litter boom uMgeni coordinator, Siphiwe Rakgabale said: “It is thanks to the north Durban community who helped us with donations of eco-bricks and shade cloth, the material used for litter booms, that this latest boom was installed. We visit the booms on a regular basis and separate the different types of plastic and polystyrene and other materials that can be recycled.”
Related story: VIDEO: Donations from north Durban community lead to three new litter booms
“Our volunteers painstakingly remove the lids of each bottle and puts them in its own pile. Each boom serves a different purpose. Not all of them are there to trap and some are used to divert to the stronger, larger booms,” he added.
The litter boom project has been piloted in Durban for the past 10 years with a total of 10 litter booms now installed.
According to Rakgabale the purpose of the booms is to target principally plastic packaging that pollute oceans, river systems and beaches.
Caxton Local Media Covid-19 reporting
Dear reader, As your local news provider, we have the duty of keeping you factually informed on Covid-19 developments. As you may have noticed, mis- and disinformation (also known as “fake news”) is circulating online. Caxton Local Media is determined to filter through the masses of information doing the rounds and to separate truth from untruth in order to keep you adequately informed. Local newsrooms follow a strict pre-publication fact-checking protocol. A national task team has been established to assist in bringing you credible news reports on Covid-19. Readers with any comments or queries may contact National Group Editor Irma Green (irma@caxton.co.za) or Legal Adviser Helene Eloff (helene@caxton.co.za). At the time of going to press, the contents of this feature mirrored South Africa’s lockdown regulations.
You can also sign up for news alerts on Telegram. Send us a Telegram message (not an SMS) with your name and surname (ONLY) to 060 532 5532. 
Here’s where you can download Telegram on Android or Apple.
