One man’s war on Cape’s plastic waste

RIVERS and canals are major sources of irrigation and drinking water. But the canal water in Marina da Gama is badly polluted with industrial waste, plastics and sewage.

Eighteen months ago Mike Ryder made a decision to prevent plastics from entering the sea.

He placed four nets in the Sandriver canal to slow down the toxic waste from entering the ocean.

Ryder said he began to see a change. The effects of dumping trash, oil spills, toxic waste, plastic and other factors all contributed to the pollution.

“Rivers are the lifeblood of any city and if they are deliberately blocked the city will, just like any human, have a heart attack.

“This is a good enough reason that our rivers should be protected and maintained, just like our roads,” said Ryder.

When asked how many people helped him with the canal, he said there were more than four people at the beginning but as time passed he was eventually alone, but companies in the private sector have been assisting him financially.

Ryder has spent hours clearing litter from the canal.

Zandvlei Estuary Nature Reserve is a 300ha nature reserve. It borders Lakeside, Marina da Gama, Muizenberg and Steenberg.

He said this past Thursday they collected 40 bags of rubbish and 12 tyres from the banks below the nets.

Ryder added that “the polluted water that flows in the canals is the cholesterol of our Western consumerism excess that will kill us if something doesn’t change for the better”.

“Flamingos, pelicans and seagulls consume all the microplastic, which is dangerous for their lives.

“The majority of the waste, sewage and litter is dumped into rivers throughout the southern suburbs. “Retreat is very bad.”

He said he spoke to the Zandvlei Parks and Amenities Advisory Committee, but the issue cannot be easily resolved.

Ryder receives R1 000 monthly from Plastic Federation to employ labour to clean the banks below the nets and the council employs a contractor to empty the nets after the rains have washed the litter down.

“Canals and rivers must be fenced off and the existing litter traps upgraded and new traps installed,” he said.

“Coniston Park, Sheraton Park, Steenberg, Retreat and a small part of Lavender Hill and backyard dwellers who don’t have services are responsible for all the waste that comes down to the canal,” said local environment activist Kevin Rack.

John Kieser of Plastic Federation said the dumping of material waste upstream needed to stop.

The federation provides material and payments towards making nets.

“We help to clean monthly or when really needed,” said Kieser.

TRACEY ADAMS African News Agency (ANA) MARINA Da Gama resident Mike Ryder has placed nets in canals to stop rubbish dumped in the canals in industrial areas from flowing into the sea. The City of Cape Town assists by removing the rubbish. |