A Durban-based company focusing on eco-tourism and aiming to help locals connect with nature again is leading a new innovation that will clean rivers in the area and provide eco-friendly walkways at the same time.
Green Corridors, a non-profit social-purpose organisation, has a vast selection of environmental initiatives under its belt with the latest one making waves in the industry.
Together with key role-players, the team is cleaning up Umgeni River in Durban, notorious for being highly polluted.
Non-recyclable plastic waste is collected from the river and reused as part of paving networks, walkways and eco-landscapes in and around Durban.
“The Green Corridor Model looks to co-creation as a way to balance the needs of the environment with community prosperity and resilience. Teaching; restoring; growing; sustaining; programming; connecting; recycling and protecting are our tools for delivery. With a collective focus on youth and sport development, open space management and restoration, and eco-tourism and learning, we have generated a growing portfolio of Purpose-Projects focused on driving local sustainability, balanced habitats and community resilience,” says the organisation on their website.
Materials collected are actively broken down in an eco-friendly manner and repurposed into materials that can be used where needed. This allows for savings on the project when it comes to building materials and also helps to motivate the removal of the waste plastic in the first place. Generally, building materials made from repurposed plastic tend to last longer as well.
With Cape Town dealing with a number of highly polluted waterways and rivers, this could be a great option to consider for not only keeping our rivers clean but also further developing the City.
Pictures: Val Adamson