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25 Jun 2021

New litter boom installed at uMngeni River mouth

(Northglen News) Picture: The Durban Green Corridor litter boom project has been piloted in Durban for the past decade with more than 10 litter booms now installed.

There was much jubilation on Thursday morning as the Durban Green Corridor installed another litter boom, this time across the mouth of the uMngeni River.

The boom, which measures 200 metres in length, was placed across the river’s narrowest point (from the Blue Lagoon beach bank to the bank of the Beachwood Mangroves beach) in the hopes of stopping tons of litter from flowing into the ocean.

The litter boom project has been piloted in Durban for the past 10 years with more than 10 litter booms now installed.

According to local resident and litter boom uMngeni coordinator, Siphiwe Rakgabale, the purpose of the booms is to target principally plastic packaging that pollute oceans, river systems and beaches.

“The amount of rubbish flowing into the ocean is deeply concerning and even though we clean the river banks on a daily basis and work closely with the monthly #CleanBlueLagoon clean-ups, the litter piles up. never stops. We hope this new boom will prove an invaluable resource in the fight against pollution,” he said.

Rakagabale added on average the litter booms that are installed collect between one and two tons of plastic a month.