Collaboration With The Litterboom Project
The Litterboom Project successfully removes 700kg – 1 ton of plastic from 6 KZN river systems each day. PEC have brought Litterboom to Cape Town.
90% of marine plastic pollution comes from river systems. Litterbooms are highly effective floating booms that catch most plastic from a river, which is then removed by trained teams and sorted on site. The Litterboom Project Cape Town was launched in June 2020.
Cape Town Litterboom Details
The Litterboom Project is intercepting waste in 4 of Cape Town's rivers, but we are still seeking funding partners.
The initial Litterboom systems opperate in 2 river systems, with 2-3 Litterbooms each over a 1.5km stretch and 2 permanently-employed local staff per site, servicing the booms daily. Waste is sorted on site and results are recorded and reported monthly.
On average 1,75 tons of plastic is removed per week and 48 tons of waste was removed from these rivers in 2020. We plan to divert as much plastic as possible to CRDC SA when possible for processing into a concrete additive. The objective is to divert the maximum amount of waste from landfill.
The aim for 2021 is to first expand the project in the current river systems, to maximise the impact in those systems. Secondly, we plan to launch in more river systems which urgently require intervention. Eventually, we hope to have LItterbooms operating on rivers across the city.
New Installations
In May 2021 two new Litterbooms were installed in the Liesbeek and Zandvlei Rivers.
These Litterbooms are part of an exciting new research project, in collaboration with UCT & TU Delft. The efficacy of the Litterbooms and composition of the waste are being investigated.
Where are the Litterbooms?
Litterbooms are opperating on the Black River in Mowbray and the Big & Little Lotus Rivers (leading into Zeekoeivlei) in Grassy Park since 2020. The new installations (indicated with stars) are in Observatory and Marina da Gama.
Fostering social upliftment and environmental stewardship in economically challenged areas by helping communities clean their own rivers.
Community Engagement is key to the project
- Employment from a nearby community
- Partnership with local SMME recycling off-takers & innovation projects
- Increase local informal waste beneficiation through tie in with local waste pickers
- Facilitated community-led clean ups
- School buy back schemes (eg. swop shops, Litter for Token)
- Cleaner rivers/canals makes way for improved public health and sanitation
Want To Get Involved? We need funding to keep the project running!