The litter net at the Sand River behind the old nursery.

A Community initiative, working with the City of Cape Town.

Do you live in the area and have 1/2 an hour per week to supervise and monitor the removal of the litter?

photograph by Sue Harwood

The litter net at the Sand River on                                Litter net on 21 May 2006 plastic containers
16 November 2006, mainly polystyrene                         of all descriptions.
packaging material.

Background
Many man hours of unnecessary time and expense has been spent removing litter from the long shorelines of Zandvlei.
The litter is not only unsightly to those who care about the well being of Zandvlei, it also effects the longterm biodiversity and viability of the many life forms in the estuary.

The existing net in place does not float on the water surface, to rise and fall with the fluctuating levels. It is in a state of disrepair awaiting budgets to replace it. The imminent winter rains are about to arrive and we cannot wait for bureaucratic budgets approval or allocation.

24 April 2007 – Peter Joubert, a pragmatic Marina da Gama resident, in consultation, with Zandvlei Trust members and the Reserve Manager decided to implement a plan to improve the litter detention and removal to prevent it from entering the main waterbody of Zandvlei.at its source, the Sand River.

Peter Joubert with Willem measuring the                  The net laid out with its floats and weights.
width of the river.

Willem and Russell with Peter moving the net         Russell and Willem floating the net across the river
to the edge.

Implementing part of the plan
Peter employed Willem and Russell to help make the net. The materials were donated by Marine and Coastal Management (MCM) surplus net material. Thank you to MCM.
The net is weighted with bricks in the bottom to keep it suspended in the water, it has floats to follow the rise and fall of the water levels which fluctuate with the in and out flows of the estuary. We need to modify the design and will do so once the system has been tested.

Russell tied the anchor rope to the stake on          The net in place with ominous clouds above.
the far side

27/04/2007 – Trapped rubbish in the aditional net.

This is 2.5 meters by the full width of 10 meters.       A closeup of the variety and nature of the litter.

Appeal for help
The regular monitoring and clearing of litter from the net is an ongoing issue. It requires constant clearing, bagging and removal to the refuse dump site which City officals fail to do for a variety of reasons.

We are trying to prevent the litter from entering at one of the the sources of Zandvlei, to reduce the litter impact.

Do you live close by and have 1/2 an hour per week to supervise and monitor the removal of the litter?

Please contact;

Peter Joubert –  021 788 1310 or 

Cassy Sheasby – 021 701 7542 or

Gavin Lawson – 021 705 5224