Tshwane’s eco champion tackles Hennops River pollution

Like many urban riverine systems across South Africa, the Hennops River passing through Tshwane is becoming overwhelmed by pollution. The latter chiefly comprises domestic solid waste, together with a toxic mix of industrial effluent and untreated sewage.

For Tarryn Johnston, founder of Hennops Revival, the mounting environmental impact could no longer be ignored, and she started mobilising volunteers in September 2019 via social media platforms. There was an overwhelming ground swell of support and sponsorship from the community, industry and the City of Tshwane.

Within a short space of time, Hennops Revival was registered as a non-profit organisation. Since then, the momentum has kept building throughout the various Covid-19 lockdowns, with the main thrust at present on the Centurion section of the Hennops River, including the township of Olievenhoutbosch.

“I was so shocked by the state of the river and this jolted me into action, especially after the high levels of flooding that occurred during December 2019,” says Johnston, recalling her motivation for kick-starting the venture. “In the flood’s aftermath, the trees and banks bordering the river were covered in a thick layer of plastic and polystyrene waste, which really highlighted how uncontrolled the problem had become. In one case, we cleaned up a polystyrene island in the river that was some 20 m across and several metres high. On that job alone, we probably filled some 2 000 refuse bags.”

The severity of the flood also highlighted a growing social concern when upwards of 100 homeless people living alongside the riverbanks needed to be moved to an emergency shelter. Johnston saw this as an opportunity to help tackle the challenge by creating casual employment for some of these indigent community members, bringing them on board.

L-R: Dana Wannenburg, MMC: Environmental Affairs, City of Tshwane; Executive Mayor Randall Williams; and Tarryn Johnston, founder, Hennops Revival, during Earth Day 22 April 2021 Bagged plastic waste pulled out of the river during the World Environment Day community clean-up on 5 June 2021

Tarryn Johnston collecting water samples from the polluted Hennops River

Forging partnerships

On each of Hennops Revival’s regular cleanups, Tshwane Waste Management Services has demonstrated its commitment by collecting and removing the bagged rubbish to landfill.

“Unfortunately, there’s very limited opportunity to recycle since the plastic and allied waste pulled out of the river is so contaminated,” Johnston explains. “However, we do encourage volunteers to bring their recyclables to our work sites and collection stations for onward dispatch to recycling centres.”

In terms of recent support, Hennops Revival has received a sponsorship from KwaZuluNatal-based water specialist company Talbot. The sponsorship covers a 12-week water quality testing study being carried out by Johnston. Hennops Revival has also partnered with Tshwane University of Technology, which is conducting a study of the microplastics concentrations in the river. Other potential initiatives include the installation of litter traps via donor funding.

“Ultimately, we need to know what we need to fix. At this stage, cleaning up – as necessary as it is – is like placing a plaster over a gaping wound. The upside, though, is that meaningful action has been taken, and we have made the problem impossible to ignore,” she adds.

“Overall, the major issue is that the pollution levels experienced in the Hennops River are just the tip of the iceberg. Our solution is one part of the equation, but we need more education, awareness and environmental compliance from citizens and industry to turn the tide,” Johnston concludes.

KEY STATISTICS FROM INCEPTION IN NOVEMBER 2019

Rubbish collected: 1 228 785 kg Number of bags: 29 746 Volunteers involved: 2 432