Litter booms clean up rivers

PIPED litter booms are expected to keep rivers in the city cleaner by preventing the flow of plastic waste into water sources.

The City of Cape Town worked with the Pristine Earth Collective (PEC) and the creators of the litter boom NGO The Litterboom Project to place the structures at river sites across the city.

The project is South Africa’s first large-scale river interception programme which focuses on stopping marine plastic pollution from ending up in the ocean.

“The use of litter booms is not new. “The implementation of these systems is constrained by lack of resources,” said mayco member for water and waste Xanthea Limberg.

Litter booms are placed in the Black River in the Hazendal and Raapenberg areas, as well as the Big and Little Lotus rivers in the Grassy Park region, close to where these two rivers flow into Zeekoevlei.

The PEC and The Litterboom Project partnership approached the City to pilot their litter boom method earlier this year.

The City is responsible for removing the non-recyclable waste which is collected and disposed of at landfill.

Recyclable plastic is upcycled and collected weekly by Vuk’uzenzele Multi-Recycling, a female empowerment co-operative in Philippi. |