The theme for World Oceans Day 2022 is “Revitalisation: Collective Action for the Ocean”.
In keeping with the theme and the ethos of Sea Harvest Corporation to continuously commit to find better solutions and a more sustainable way of doing business and the Saldanha Bay Municipality’s strategic objective to develop socially integrated, safe and healthy communities, we took collective action and endurance for the ocean by re-installing a new and improved litter trap at one of the storm water outlets at Hoedjiesbaai in Saldanha.
A litter trap is a structure used as part of a strategy to remove litter from the storm water system, to prevent it from entering the ocean. Efforts are made to prevent build-up of litter in catchment areas, but some still land up in the storm water system.
The design is important because the estimated amount of litter will determine the volume of material the trap can hold and the frequency of cleaning it.
A litter trap is meant to prevent waste from entering the sea. The reason why this is important to achieve is because plastic breaks down into micro plastic.
Aquatic life and birds mistake micro plastic for food, which accumulates in its tissue, ultimately becoming part of the food web, of which human beings are a part.
Other water pollutants, such as dyes, heavy metals and other chemicals can easily attach with microplastics and these microplastics then act as a carrier of other pollutants in the body of aquatic animals, which further enters the food chain.
Some organisms do not develop further and die when it comes into contact with plastic.
Ethne Lawrence, spokesperson for SBM, says this project has not been without hiccups and will still experience a few more, until they are able to achieve what they set out to do. “The overall design was improved by enlarging the catchment volume, placing a grid beneath the trap to prevent it from getting waterlogged, ribs were placed along the sides, to provide structure to the net so that it does not collapse on itself with the inflow of water and debris and a wider opening to accommodate easier cleaning,” says Lawrence.
For more information, suggestions or reports of vandalism contact Nazeema Duarte from SBM on 022 701 7116 or send an email to Nazeema.Duarte@sbm.gov.za.
