Community group recycles tons of waste from South African river
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Hennops Revival, a non-profit organisation in Centurion, South Africa, has removed five million kilograms of garbage from the Hennops River over six years.
Tarryn Johnston founded the group and began working to clear the river of plastic and polystyrene that accumulated due to illegal dumping, sand mining, and littering from nearby informal settlements. Rain washes the waste into the river, often blocking the entire width and piling up against bridges.
Johnston and her team didn’t continue to measure the collected waste after reaching the five million kilogram mark, equivalent to ten fully-loaded Airbus A380 airplanes. Rather than simply disposing of the collected rubbish, Johnston experimented with ways to recycle it. Her efforts resulted in a process to transform polystyrene into paint. She hopes to empower people living near the river by enabling them to collect polystyrene and produce paint for sale, creating small businesses.
Johnston is now seeking investors and scientific partners to expand this initiative and scale up production.
