Access to a clean and healthy environment is a basic human right, yet for many communities in South Africa this is far from reality. The situation is even more dire amongst informal settlements with limited or no waste removal, and where illegal dumping along dwellings close to waterways and rivers is common. Safripol partnered with Green Corridors to tackle plastic pollution in our river systems. The project involves implementation of litter booms at various hot spots along river catchments in KwaZulu-Natal to reduce pollution in our rivers and reclaim the green spaces for communities to enjoy.
A litter-boom is simply a pipe serving as a physical barrier installed across the river surface and designed to divert solid waste away from waterways thereby preventing marine pollution while enabling recovery of valuable materials for reuse as secondary raw materials in the recycling industry. The purpose of the project is to demonstrate a workable, low-cost, and fit for purpose river waste management system, which can then be duplicated along other river catchment hot-spot areas.
Through the partnership, 21 litter booms have been installed across five river systems in KwaZulu-Natal, and 3,500 kg of plastic and 2,000 kg of other materials have been recovered for reuse this past year.
According to Avashnee Chetty, Sustainability manager at Safripol: “The litter boom intervention is an effective way to mobilise local communities at grass roots level to recycle plastics and other useful materials while reducing environmental pollution. This project has created local jobs in the communities where the litter booms have been implemented, thereby creating ownership of the waste collection system, while at the same time contributing to a cleaner environment and plastic free communities.”
Green Corridors Green Spaces Programme manager Nick Swan adds: “Our partnership with Safripol has brought multiple layered beneficial impacts, including scaling out of the litter booms installation and management into new river catchments, increasing the quantity of solid waste intercepted and number of pro-poor jobs created to 13, improving the environment’s quality for nearby communities, and the development and capitalisation of TriEco Enviro, which Siphiwe Rakgabale owns and runs as an independent SME operator, for litter booms, clean ups, waste collections and recycling.”
Watch this video to learn more about the impact of this project.
https://www.facebook.com/GreenCorridors1/ | https://www.safripol.com/
Let’s plastic responsibly!
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCz3x5Y6hX_skHRr67aztf-wAbout Safripol
We are a leading polymer producer and marketer, serving valued customers and markets in South Africa, Africa and beyond. A proud member of KAP, a Johannesburg Stock Exchange listed company, we have grown to become the second largest polymer producer in sub-Saharan Africa, with customers in every sector of industry and business.
About Green Corridors
Green Corridors is a social-purpose and impact-focused organisation that aims to see communities thrive in balance with the habitats around them.
