First 100 trees planted

Update Video

MOSSEL BAY NEWS AND VIDEO - One hundred spekboom trees, the first of 600, were planted at the municipal waste water treatment works in Hartenbos last week.

This is part of an ongoing initiative to enhance the plant.

The trees were donated by the Department of Forestry, Fisheries and Environment and were planted to absorb odours caused by the plant.

The spekboom is known for its absorbent properties, among others.

It helps to remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere by acting like a carbon sponge, improving air quality. More specifically, the spekboom can absorb between four to ten tons of carbon dioxide per hectare.

According to The Spekboom Foundation, the plant's capacity to offset harmful carbon dioxide emissions is compared to that of moist, subtropical forests. This remarkable plant is unique in that it stores solar energy to perform photosynthesis at night.

A spekboom thicket is 10 times more effective per hectare at carbon fixing than any tropical rainforest.

Watch a video below:

Dick Naidoo, the director of Infrastructure Services at the municipality, said at the planting that he is extremely pleased with the project and thanked everybody involved.

"We get complaints about the odour from time to time and I have been told that the spekboom has a filtration effect," said Naidoo.

He said the municipality looked forward to working together with the DFFE to plant more trees in the future, ultimately surrounding the plant with trees.

With the current developments around the waste water treatment works, including restaurants and estates, the Mossel Bay municipality's aim is to have the spekboom reduce the odours in and around the plant.

The 100 trees are part of a presidential legacy campaign aimed at planting two million trees in South Africa.

Nokukhanya Mwandla (Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment), Mushfiqah Abrahams (Environmental Management, Mossel Bay Municipality), Dick Naidoo (director, Infrastructure Services, Mossel Bay Municipality), Gershwin Kock (Wastewater Treatment Works, MBM) and Londeka Pheta (DFFE). Photo: Jannie du Plessis