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Daily Maverick
07-07-2025
- General
- Daily Maverick
How local litter traps are making a splash against pollution in SA
At the Soet River in Strand, Cape Town, the water is choked with waste. Plastic bags, bottles and discarded nappies form a thick, stagnant carpet. This is just one site on the frontline of South Africa's battle against plastic pollution. Now, a simple but powerful innovation is turning the tide: the litter trap. At their core, litter traps, ranging from floating litter booms to steel cages and grids, are simple. They are designed to capture floating waste, such as plastic bags, nappies, bottles, cans, domestic refuse, and even larger items such as tyres and mattresses, before it can escape downstream into larger bodies of water and, ultimately, the ocean. Across South Africa, litter traps have proven highly effective in intercepting tonnes of waste. They offer a beacon of hope, but these systems are not without limitations and require a multifaceted approach, including community engagement and sustainable waste management, to reach their scalable potential. An upstream battle against a downstream crisis Rising urbanisation and illegal dumping are overwhelming South Africa's waterways, creating a direct pipeline of pollution to the ocean. The logic, as championed by organisations like The Litterboom Project (TLP), is: why spend all our energy on beach clean-ups when 80% of ocean plastic originates from rivers? They believe that intercepting it upstream is the key. Litter traps are locally adapted systems designed for this purpose. They range from floating booms made of durable HDPE piping that guide waste to a collection point for recycling, to heavy-duty steel cages and grids that capture larger items. Since 2017, TLP has installed these systems in key rivers across KwaZulu-Natal and the Western Cape, including at Cape Town's heavily polluted Black, Big Lotus and Little Lotus rivers. The results are staggering. Total waste intercepted by TLP since 2017 is more than 2.5 million kilograms; From January to June 2025 alone, TLP removed more than 288 tonnes of waste nationally, including 28 tonnes of recyclables; In just six months (January to June 2025), the two litter traps, augmented by litter booms, on the Big and Little Lotus rivers along the Zeekoevlei Catchment collected 7,322 bags of litter, weighing nearly 70 metric tonnes; and In its first two weeks of operation at the Soet River, a new litter cage captured about 700 bags of waste, plus tonnes of tyres, car parts and building materials. 'On average, we intercept approximately 50 tonnes of waste per month nationally… These passive, low-maintenance systems move naturally with the river's current, harnessing the flow to consistently intercept macroplastic pollution,' Megan Swart, TLP's project manager in Cape Town, told Daily Maverick. A coalition of the willing This success is not the work of one group, but a collaboration between government, NGOs and residents. The City of Cape Town, which spends up to R2.6-million annually on cleaning the Soet River alone, has embraced this multipronged approach. 'Chronic waste pollution due to rapid informality is choking the Soet River,' which was not good for residents and the environment, said mayoral committee member for water and sanitation Zahid Badroodien. He confirmed that the City, spurred by the Soet River Catchment Management Forum, has installed a series of four interceptors along this river and plans to add more. 'Being a heavily polluted river, the Soet River was fitted with four litter interceptors – a litter cage, two litter booms and a grid. More litter interceptors will be installed in the new financial year,' Badroodien said. At the litter traps along the Soet River in Strand, Cape Town, Daily Maverick saw first-hand the mass of waste polluting the waterway at various points while teams were clearing the newly erected litter cage. Lisa Starr, founder of the Helderberg Ocean Awareness Movement and a member of the Soet River Forum, told Daily Maverick that the litter traps along the Soet River had only been in action for two weeks but so far about 800 bags, as well as tonnes of tyres, car parts, TVs, building materials, a shopping trolley and more, had been removed from the cage bars. Badroodien said the City has put together an action plan which will be implemented over time to help tackle the challenge of the Soet River. This aims to augment City inventions that are already in place, as currently, the City spends between R1.5-million and R2.6-million each year on continuous cleaning efforts. But while it visually improves for a short while, Badroodien said this was not sustainable because the illegal dumping continues, which also doesn't improve the water quality in the river. 'As we work towards putting this multipronged plan into action, we need residents to please join hands with us and put their waste in the right place, using the solid waste services provided,' Badroodien added. Community groups are the vital eyes and ears on the ground. Sidney Jacobs, chair of the Friends of Zeekoevlei and Rondevlei (FoZR), said these traps were 'very effective as long as they were cleaned regularly'. The litter traps at the Big and Little Lotus rivers are cleaned on average twice a week, and since January 2025 until 20 June, Jacobs said a total of 7,322 bags of litter weighing more than 69.8 tonnes had been taken out and carted off to landfill by partners including the City of Cape Town. With inputs from most of the role players in the Zeekoevlei catchment area and with the Zeekoevlei Catchment Forum, Jacobs said the City was in the process of installing four more litter booms and fences further up the canals to take out the trapped litter before it reaches Zeekoevlei. These catchment management forums, according to FoZR deputy chair Tom Schwerdtfeger, were game-changers. 'For years, we fought an uphill battle,' he said. 'Since its inception in 2024, our forum has worked with the City… We are starting to see a noticeable reduction in the amount of solid waste reaching our Ramsar site, which is really encouraging,' said Schwerdtfeger The devastating impact and the call for community action The effect on the marine and natural environment from this waste in rivers is tragic. 'We have marine life eating our waste. Birds peck and eat polystyrene. I've witnessed it,' says Starr. All this waste then breaks down into microplastics, which are the most harmful as they eventually become so small that they get ingested or inhaled in the air we all breathe,' Starr said. Because pollution, and especially illegal waste, is a problem in many communities where rivers are found, Starr said it was vital that everyone understood the importance of a clean environment and for residents to see how their behaviours affect the environment around them. 'You can't trap everything, as more dumping lies after the trap too. We also can't keep mopping up; we need to educate the source and prevent littering and illegal dumping,' she said. Jacobs added that community education, especially in schools and churches, played an important role in reducing litter entering the waterways. Limitations of litter traps Despite their effectiveness, several challenges affect the operation and maintenance of litter booms and other litter traps. Access to some riverbanks can be difficult due to safety concerns or dense urban environments, limiting when and how teams can carry out maintenance. In KwaZulu-Natal, wide river systems combined with intense seasonal rainfall often cause flooding that can dislodge booms or allow debris to bypass them. To mitigate this risk, a number of booms are often installed in series. Ongoing maintenance is crucial, involving regular clearing of accumulated waste by river teams. Illegal dumping upstream can also overwhelm the booms' capacity, and theft of recyclable materials is a recurring issue in certain areas, which affects sorting efficiency and creates safety concerns for staff. 'Despite these challenges, our dedicated site teams conduct routine maintenance and adjust boom placements as necessary to maintain effectiveness,' Swart said. Jacobs echoed the importance of maintenance: 'The infrastructure of these litter traps will not hold up against consistent abuse and needs to be serviced regularly. This is one of the reasons you will see litter being removed even when it rains, as we do not want the fences washed away, even though they have been erected very solidly.' Gehardt Müller, head of Catchment Planning (East), Catchment Stormwater and River Management, Bulk Services, Water and Sanitation in the City of Cape Town, explained that they designed each intervention for the specific application and use various types of interceptors, and each type of interceptor has its limitations. This is dependent on the river hydraulics, velocity, profile of the river, variable seasonal flows (due to catchment areas and hydrology of the area), type of litter being thrown into the river and the location (vulnerable to theft and vandalism). The litter booms, for example, Müller and Badroodien said, only catch floating debris and miss the litter being transported below the surface, but they can float and manage to catch at various heights. They said that litter cages may have litter bypassing when the water level is high, which makes it helpful to install a series of interventions to catch litter in different scenarios. 'For example, in the Soet River we have large posts to catch the larger litter like tyres and mattresses, then a litter cage with smaller apertures downstream to catch the smaller litter, and a litter boom downstream of that to catch what may have topped over the other traps in high flows,' said Badroodien. They also noted that variable flows and large rain events affect the performance and capacity of the traps, so it was important to design sufficient bypass capacity in the rivers or channels to ensure the traps don't cause flooding when they are full of litter and impede the flow. Although there are limitations to each type, Badroodien and Müller said they were designing the best application for each site's conditions, monitoring them and making improvements based on what they learn. Ultimately, litter traps are only part of the solution. Their effectiveness depends on regular maintenance, community vigilance and a collective willingness to address the root causes of pollution. Upscaling these interventions is possible, but only if everyone (residents, the government and civil society) works together and recognises their shared responsibility for keeping communities clean. DM
India Today
11-06-2025
- Politics
- India Today
No prayer, no sacrifice: Ahmadis Muslims barred from Eid prayers in Pakistan
Religious extremists, backed by local authorities, stopped members of Pakistan's Ahmadi community from offering Eid-ul-Azha prayers in at least seven cities, the Jamaat-e-Ahmadiyya Pakistan (JAP) said on to the JAP, police in Punjab arrested two Ahmadis and booked three others under Pakistan's controversial blasphemy laws for attempting to perform the traditional animal sacrifice — a core Eid ritual. In some cases, members of the hardline Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP) allegedly forced Ahmadis to recite the Islamic declaration of faith under threat, claiming their 'conversion' as a were reportedly barred from offering Eid prayers in Khushab, Mirpur Khas, Lodhran, Bhakkar, Rajanpur, Umerkot, Larkana, and Karachi. JAP said the religious extremists, along with the local administrations, stopped Ahmadis from offering Eid prayers within the confines of their worship places. In Lahore, the oldest Ahmadi place of worship in Ghari Shahu was sealed on Eid day after TLP activists demanded police Nazimabad, Karachi, the JAP said Irfan-ul-Haq and his son were taken to the police station along with their sacrificial animal by the TLP activists."Fearing for their safety, they recited the Islamic declaration of faith. The TLP activists celebrated by garlanding them and claiming their conversion to Islam," it police said they arrested two Ahmadis and booked three others under Section 298-C of the Pakistan Penal Code for attempting to slaughter sacrificial animals. They said that under the law, Ahmadis cannot observe Islamic JAP said that this treatment is not only discriminatory but also unconstitutional and illegal. "Under Article 20 of Pakistan's Constitution, every citizen is guaranteed freedom of religion. However, Ahmadis are routinely denied this right along with other fundamental rights," it organization warned that the increasing boldness of extremist groups like the TLP poses a grave threat to the community. 'The Ahmadi community is extremely vulnerable... these forced conversions are serious human rights violations.'The crackdown follows a string of recent attacks, including the desecration of over 100 Ahmadi graves in Punjab and the killing of a senior Ahmadi doctor in Parliament in 1974 declared the community as non-Muslims. A decade later, they were not just banned from calling themselves Muslims but were also barred from practicing aspects of Islam.(With inputs from PTI)
The Hindu
05-06-2025
- Entertainment
- The Hindu
Chefs in Hyderabad are getting bold with the mango
Mango season here is almost ritualistic. Dessert counters brim with mango treats, and no home-cooked meal feels complete without a plate of the fruit. But this time, the city's chefs are going beyond the familiar — leaving behind the likes of mango cheesecake and tres leches. Instead, you will find a coconut mango mousse cake, a silky Filipino-style drinking dessert called Mango Bango, sushi topped with ripe mango slices, and a mango pizza. If there can be pineapple on pizza and mango in cake, why not mango on pizza? That is the thinking behind Café Delhi Heights' bold new experiment at Inorbit Mall. Led by Chef Ashish Singh, the team reimagined the classic Margherita with a seasonal twist: fresh mango slices layered over a thin, slightly crunchy base. What began as a curious kitchen trial has become a crowd-pleaser, particularly among kids and mango lovers looking for something playful. Inspired by the Hawaiian pizza tradition, this sweet-savoury combo highlights mango's versatility, as its sweetness cuts through the saltiness of the cheese. Cloud kitchen Trio La Patisserie (TLP) has taken things a step further with Mango Bango—a drinking dessert inspired by a Filipino staple that feels like mango and cream with a tropical twist. Their version combines fresh tender coconut water jelly, sago, full-fat milk, mango, and condensed milk. It is low on sugar, with the option to add honey or a touch of sweetness if you like. TLP only prepares this eggless dessert when they source the sweetest and high-quality mangoes from their home farm. Another strictly seasonal special comes from Bougainvillea: mango sushi. Rolled in black sushi rice, it is filled with avocado, cream cheese, and tanuki (tempura flour crumbs) for crunch, and topped with mango for that sweet-savoury finish. And then there is the Mango Picante Virat Kholi's One8 Commune in Hyderabad. Tequila meets jalapeño honey, but it is the aam papad rim that brings boldness, bite, and just the right amount of nostalgia. No mango story is complete without a nod to the Thai classic — sticky rice and mango. At Taro, the Asian speciality kitchen, the dish gets a golden glow-up. Chef Dipesh Kanwar reimagines it with creamy coconut sticky rice, threads of saffron, and slices of ripe mango. The floral warmth of saffron pairs beautifully with tropical sweetness, while a drizzle of salted coconut cream and toasted sesame seeds adds contrast and crunch. If you are craving something lighter, Roastery's mango salad offers a refreshing kick. Juicy mango meets a gentle burn from finely chopped bird's eye chilli — just the thing to brighten up a grey, rainy afternoon.
Deccan Herald
22-05-2025
- Deccan Herald
Anti-terrorist squad arrests UP man for spying for Pakistan
According to the sources, the ATS, on Thursday arrested Tuffail, who was allegedly a member of Tehreek-e-Labbaik (TLP), a terrorist outfit based in Pakistan, and was sharing sensitive information with his Pak handlers.
India Today
16-05-2025
- Health
- India Today
Doctor from Ahmadi community shot dead in Pak, 3rd targeted killing in 2 months
A senior doctor belonging to the Ahmadi minority community in Pakistan was allegedly shot dead over his faith in Punjab province, police said on Friday."Dr Sheikh Mahmood, 58, a senior gastroenterologist of the Ahmadi community, was allegedly shot dead at a private hospital in Sargodha, some 200 kilometres from Lahore, by an armed suspect," a police officer is the third murder of a professional of the Ahmadi community in the past two months in The police official said a young man entered Dr Mahmood's clinic and opened fire at him, leaving him seriously was rushed to hospital where he succumbed to his wounds. The police officer said Dr Mahmood was apparently shot dead over his faith. Meanwhile, the gunman managed to Jamaat-e-Ahmadiyya Pakistan (JAP) said it suspected that the Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP) might be behind the incident."Sargodha has been a hotspot of anti-Ahmadi activities for quite sometimes and Dr Mahmood, who was a well-known humanitarian, received threats from religious extremists," it said, adding the senior medic was also forced to quit his government job due to pressure from some TLP activists and anti-Ahmadi groups."The government must take concrete action to protect the Ahmadiyya community," it victim is survived by his wife, two daughters and as many human rights groups have called for a fast-track investigation to arrest the suspect. IN THIS STORY#Pakistan
