Willem Snyman
CLEANING UP RIVERS & REVIVING DEAD WATERS
Willem Snyman at the river cleanup in Thembisa,Gauteng - 2023
The banks of the river that flows past Tembisa Mall are covered in styrofoam containers that have been hauled out of catchment nets by Willem Snyman’s team of river cleaners. Last week they took out 250 tonnes of plastic, an operation that cost them R10,000 from their small budget.
The traps are cleaned manually so the money is used for wages of a group of men from Tswelopele.
Willem, who is an artist, passionately believes that clean water is vital to the survival of South Africa and that we can still fix the issues by educating people upstream and to get involved with the cleanup process. He cleans the waterways using nets made buoyant with the very styrofoam they are catching.
At the same time, he is developing a system of floating gardens in boats that are also made from netting and styrofoam. They are filled with local varietals of aquatic plants, home to microorganisms that are able break down contaminants in the water. The river is now devoid of life, so it can no longer break down foreign organisms without help.
“If one can stop it in the worst place, then there is hope.”
Several years ago his home was burnt down after he objected to a development project. He had evidence that it was arson, but had to drop the charges when the neighbour filed for bankruptcy. Willem moved to a new home close to the Hennops River. But, soon after, pollution started floating down the river, and it was killing the local wildlife.
In an attempt to save the animals' natural habitat and the local communities' water sources, he organised cleanups. This operation has expanded to Kaalfontein and Tembisa.
Over the last five years, Willem has been working with no funding but for his own passion.
One of the biggest problems now is what to do with all of the styrofoam that is pulled out of the river amounting to 250 tonnes. He wants to find someone with a pyrolyser who can turn the styrofoam into biofuel.
The long-term solution is to stop further pollution of the river. But in the meantime, it takes people like Willem Snyman, working diligently to keep the water clean, for the rest of us to carry on as normal.
