Sea Harvest has installed a new litter trap at the stormwater drain outlet near Hoedjies Bay hotel in Saldanha Bay. This is the third attempt by the company to prevent pollutants from entering the ocean through this specific drain. The first trap failed due to pressure during storms, and the second was vandalised soon after it was put in place. Funding for this latest installation came from the Sea Harvest Foundation, which supports community projects.
Terence Brown, Managing Executive of Sea Harvest’s Saldanha Bay operations and Chairperson of the Foundation, said, “Sea Harvest is tenacious as a business, we are invested in Saldanha Bay, and we are committed to acting responsibly and protecting the environment. This means that we take our role as custodians of the environment very seriously. Therefore, while the failure of the first design and the theft of the second trap were very discouraging, we are, and we saw it as a challenge to find a new and improved solution.”
Brown highlighted that Philani Makhebela, an intern with a Mechanical Engineering background, developed this improved version. “We presented the challenge to Philani and we are very proud of what he has achieved. He collaborated with various stakeholders, including an invaluable learning experience with Norsenet, to install the trap, which is sturdier, less movable, and designed for easy cleaning, making it more practical for long- term monitoring. While it still has to face the test of time, we are hopeful that the trap will do the job it is designed to do.”
Saldanha Bay Municipal Executive Mayor Alderman André Truter called on residents and visitors at Hoedjies Bay beach to check on the trap regularly and report any vandalism or issues directly to local authorities. He stated: “We are very thankful to Sea Harvest and its business partners. However, the success of the trap requires a community effort. The optimal solution is to stop litter at the source, before it reaches our rivers and oceans.”
The Sea Harvest Foundation has also been running another anti-litter initiative over three years by working with local schools through its Trash-to-Treasure project aimed at educating students about waste management.