Volunteers clean up tons of waste from polluted river
Recent flooding brought debris, plastic, and waste into the waterway.
The clean-up was spearheaded by the World Mission Society Church of God as part of its ongoing global initiative, the 'Erasing Plastic Footprints' campaign.
Recent flooding in Gauteng had caused the Hennops River to overflow, inundating the riverbanks with waste swept in from nearby residential areas and commercial zones.
Plastic bottles, timber, clothing, and debris were found strewn across a 1.5km section of the river in Centurion.
Donning bright yellow vests, volunteers comprising members of the church, their families, and residents from Centurion, Soshanguve, and Hammanskraal set out early in the morning on the public holiday.
In just two hours, they managed to collect a staggering amount of trash equivalent to one 6-ton truckload, painstakingly separating recyclable materials and retrieving deeply buried plastics from the soil.
The metro supported the effort by supplying bin bags, cleaning tools, and bottled water.
Local political figures praised the initiative, including Leanne de Jager, a DA member of the Provincial Legislature.
'We are very grateful to them for their continued efforts and for trying to remove plastics from nature and communities by 2040. We are also grateful to all the volunteers who give up their time for this mission and always, never without fail, arrive in their numbers.'
DA councillor Gert Visser echoed the concerns about the root causes of pollution in the area, specifying industries' and businesses' dumping, and waste from the informal settlements not being collected by the municipalities.
'All of this ends up in the river. One of the consequences is that the river has developed a stench, and it affects the health of many people in the area. It's not a simple, quick fix. So we are here to create awareness and also to ask residents to not use plastic but recyclable materials.'
As part of a month-long global campaign to commemorate World Environment Day (June 5), this clean-up in Gauteng stands as a powerful example of what co-ordinated, grassroots action can achieve.
Among the volunteers was Baby Makgoba, who diligently sorted plastic waste.
'We truly hope that we will contribute to making a better future for all,' said Makgoba.
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