The poly-island is a big net that stretches over the river to collect waste and litter from the water as it passes through. At 3 meters high, the poly-island is so big that a person can easily stand on it. According to Tarryn Johnston, founder of Hennops Revival, the rain has dramatically increased the water flow, making the poly-island very effective as it caught a bunch of … [Read more...]
Civil society calls for protection of Piatúa River
On November 26, a coalition of civil society organizations and law professors submitted an amicus brief to Ecuador’s Constitutional Court calling for the protection of the Piatúa River based on the Rights of Nature and Indigenous rights. The Piatúa River is under threat from a hydroelectric project that Ecuador’s government approved without the free, prior, and informed … [Read more...]
Developing a roadmap for managing SA’s plastic waste
Key role-players in the plastics manufacturing, collection and recycling industries, the Department of Environment, Forestry and Fisheries (DEFF) and other interested parties participated in the 2020 Plastics Colloquium feedback session, which was held virtually earlier this month. This was the second Plastics Colloquium following the inaugural event that took place in … [Read more...]
R100 000 water enterprise win brings hope to Limpopo families
An R100 000 prize for a non-profit organisation’s excellent monitoring and evaluation (M&E) methods has made a world of difference to rural Limpopo households battling to survive the ravages of drought and the COVID-19 pandemic. The Association for Water and Rural Development (AWARD), which supports sustainable water resources and communities in the water catchment areas … [Read more...]
Rights of Rivers rapidly gains steam
A new report by the Cyrus R. Vance Center for International Justice, Earth Law Center, and International Rivers finds that a movement to grant legal rights to rivers and nature is rapidly gaining momentum globally. The report, Rights of Rivers, examines how the ancient notion that nature possesses basic rights is being adopted in laws from New Zealand to Colombia. Just … [Read more...]
Eco heroes wear masks and make a difference
Each year, the local plastics industry welcomes the arrival of Spring and warmer weather by encouraging citizens to help make a difference where they live, work, learn or play by participating in Clean-Up & Recycle SA Week – an annual public awareness week during which plastics and other litter are removed from our country’s neighbourhoods, rivers, streams, beaches and … [Read more...]
Finding economic and environmental solutions after covid-19
Post-Covid-19, there will be more pressure on governments, NGO’s, and the private sector to drive small economies in local communities. With an expected rise in unemployment, a bi-product of the forced global lockdowns, new ways to derive incomes are going to be key for survival, and especially in the poorer communities in South Africa. Green Corridors, the NPO which has … [Read more...]
Swimmers brave pollution to highlight poor river health
On Sunday 9 February Cape Town open water swimmer Andrew Chin, along with fellow athletes Dr Mandy Uys and Joy Roach from East London, swam a 10km stretch of the Bronkhorstspruit River in Gauteng. This formed part of their broader Swim for Rivers campaign, which aims to raise awareness around the poor state of our country’s rivers and to highlight the urgent need to restore … [Read more...]
Searching for technical innovations to eliminate SA’s plastic waste
The search is on for science, technology and technical innovations that will help reduce and eliminate plastic waste, and be the next great 21st century innovation that could change the world, as the UK-based Commonwealth Litter Programme (CLIP), introduces its STOMP (Stamp Out Marine Plastic Pollution) Awards in South Africa. The awards, which are open to all South African … [Read more...]
Plastics industry tackles waste in the environment
The local plastics industry will once again demonstrate its commitment to cleaning up the environment and removing plastics litter from our rivers, streams, oceans and neighbourhoods when the annual Clean-up and Recycle SA Week takes place from 16-21 September 2019. According to Douw Steyn, Sustainability Director of Plastics|SA, this is the 23rd year that they will be … [Read more...]
Cape Town waterway pollution: turning despair into repair
Anyone who takes a walk along our Cape Town beaches and rivers can testify: we are drowning Mother Nature in waste – whether from individual consumers or household products, industrial waste and even medical waste. If you have not seen this, then it is due to volunteer groups cleaning up these sections for us. One area that is especially vulnerable to such pollution is where … [Read more...]
Plastic waste clean-ups head for KwaZulu-Natal after flood
Sincere condolences go out to the affected families and communities that have fallen victim to the devastating human tragedy caused by this week’s heavy rains and flooding in Kwa-Zulu Natal. A huge amount of plastic pollution has also ended up in KZN’s rivers and beaches. This event, more than any in recent times, reinforces the need for all of us – the industry, the … [Read more...]
Urgent action needed to remedy South Africa’s water crisis
In 2002 South Africa officially became a water constrained economy, when the National Water Resource Strategy reported that we had allocated 98% of our total water resource. Subsequent high confidence studies have shown that we over-estimated the water available at the time, so in short, we have allocated all the water that we have. This means that we are simply unable to grow … [Read more...]
