Deputy Minister of Water and Sanitation Dr Jack Bloom officially opened a set of litter traps on the Kaalspruit in Olifantsfontein, Ekurhuleni, on Tuesday.
The traps were built by Willem Snyman, an artist and activist. He founded the Fountain River Environmental Sanctuary Hennops, known as Fresh NGO. According to IOL, his traps came after several years of trial and error.
“He has paid for much of this himself, and the project employs people from the surrounding community to clear the traps. They catch an enormous amount of waste,” Bloom said.
Bloom said that on some days, Snyman’s team has filled a 30-cubic metre skip. He said most of it was polystyrene left behind by recyclers, along with illegally dumped building rubble.
According to the Department of Water and Sanitation, Snyman has put up eight polystyrene traps and seven lines of plastic-bag traps. They run across the river and a canyon.
The department said most of the traps hang from 100-metre cables. Together they stretch over 800 metres.
The department said that once plastic spreads downstream, it is almost impossible to recover. It said catching the waste close to its source is the best chance, especially when it rains.
The Kaalspruit runs through Tembisa. Most of its plastic pollution builds up at Olifantsfontein. The stream then feeds into the Hennops River, which flows into the Crocodile River and Hartbeespoort Dam, and later the Limpopo River.
Bloom said litter is not the only thing dumped in the area. He raised concern about serial murders of young women that took place nearby. He said the body of one victim was found caught in one of the litter traps.
“Willem sees a symbolic link in the abuse of this river and the terrible abuse of women. He is working on a memorial park to those who were murdered. We need to cleanse this river, and we need to cleanse society of the evil of gender-based violence,” Bloom said.
Bloom said the traps are on municipal land and were approved by the City of Ekurhuleni. He praised this partnership between the city and the NGO.
He said a litter trap only works if someone empties it. A full trap can overflow or become blocked, so Fresh NGO needs volunteers and partners to keep the traps clear.
“I call on residents, schools, businesses, and estate agencies in the area to adopt a trap or join the volunteers keeping the Kaalspruit clean. Use the bins, don’t dump, and report illegal dumping to the City,” Bloom said.
Bloom compared the work to eating an elephant one bite at a time. He said polluted rivers must be cleaned one section at a time, by stopping pollution at its source.
He was joined in the clean-up by Snyman and the Fresh NGO team. Volunteers from the Clean Environment and Clean South Africa NPOs, Ekurhuleni staff and residents also took part.
Source: this article is based on reporting by IOL. Image: IOL. Written with the help of AI and published by the Tzaneen Voice News desk. See our Editorial Standards.
Kgomotso Maake covers news and politics for Tzaneen Voice. Kgomotso reports on government, Parliament, municipalities, courts, crime and service delivery across South Africa, with a close eye on how national decisions reach towns like Tzaneen and the wider Limpopo province. Stories are written in plain English and focus on the facts: who made the decision, what it means, and what happens next.