MOSSEL BAY NEWS -  The Great Brak River Conservancy recently teamed up with a Cape Town non-profit company, Save a Fishie, to clear 60kg of litter from the Great Brak River’s upper estuary and its banks last Wednesday, 4 February.

The conservancy’s chairperson, Scott Thomson, said 17 people volunteered their time to help with the clean-up. 

A Great Brak River company had lent some of the volunteers canoes, while the others stuck to dry land and focused their cleaning efforts on the banks.

Thomson said most of the waste collected that day was alcohol bottles and polystyrene containers. He said while it could be argued that some of the litter found in the river and along its banks could have been blown in from nearby bins by the wind, there was clear evidence of purposeful dumping, such as an old computer monitor, a blanket and a crate.

He said some other items were so deeply embedded in the banks and the riverbed that they could not be removed at that point. 

Some of the rubbish collected during the clean-up. Photo: Supplied/ Great Brak River Conservancy

“What is quite frustrating is that after the clean-up, I made a trip out to Mossel Bay, and when I returned later that same afternoon, there was more litter back in the area we had just cleaned. There are plenty of bins around, but so much litter on the floor,” said Thomson.

He added that there were systems in place to remove waste like the computer monitor, and that it was disappointing to see people not using them.

To find out more about the conservancy and how you can get involved, send an email to [email protected]. 

Great Brak River Conservancy volunteers clear the riverbanks of litter. Photo: Supplied/ Great Brak River Conservancy

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