November 2015
FRANSCHHOEK
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Swimmers in 280km river adventure to raise awareness From Franschhoek to Velddrif Two extreme athletes swam 280km down the Berg River in the second stage of a campaign to help raise awareness of SA’s deteriorating waterways. Andrew Chin, 46 and Henko Roukema, 24, started their epic journey in Speedo costumes, caps and goggles downstream from the Berg River Dam on Monday, 19 October. They aimed to cover the 280km in about 10 days, ending near the coastal town of Velddrif. They were accompanied by a small support crew and slept on the river bank. Renowned ice and adventure swimmers, Chin and Roukema partnered with the Wildlife and Environment Society of South Africa (WESSA) to help monitor the water quality at regular intervals. At the start of the swim they were assisted in conducting river health tests by Grade 4s from nearby Bridge House School. “It is a national concern that some rivers are being polluted due to failing waste water treatment works or polluted urban drainage. Our partnership with WESSA and our regular water quality testing may contribute to a more accurate picture of the state of our rivers and hopefully prompt action where needed,” said Chin.
Andrew Chin (left) and Henko Roukema (right) were really excited to get to the start of their epic Berg River swim.
The swimmers had to avoid hazards such as submerged rocks and branches along the way, which resulted in injuries during the first swim down the Wilge River earlier this year. They also faced exhaustion, sunburn and pollution from urban storm water. Chin is planning an extreme swim in a major river in each province as part of the Rivers for Life campaign. The public can donate to the campaign via the WESSA website. Stuart Hopwood, Brand President of Speedo SA which provided swimming kit for the campaign said: “Open water swimming is a fast growing sport and all efforts to protect SA’s waterways are vital to not only swimmers but all South Africans.” www.wessa.org.za | www.speedo.co.za
Local recycling business under threat – Investors sought The local recycling business, Franschhoek Multi Recycling Agency, operated by Jocelyn van der Ross since 2005 is under threat. There’s no shortage of recyclables, but provincial officials seem intent on shutting her down, while officials from Stellenbosch Municipality make promises they can’t keep or stand idly by. In the beginning When Van der Ross started her business she was destitute and operated from a friend’s backyard. As her business grew she first moved to the old Jim Fouché picnic site and then, with Stellenbosch Municipality’s permission, to erf 1653 – opposite La Motte fire station. Van der Ross and her team of formerly unemployed workers started collecting recyclables from local businesses. Before long individuals started dropping off their recyclables too, rather than see it go to landfill. Quantities were small, as Van der Ross only collected what she could process. Things were going
well for the bootstrap entrepreneur until Stellenbosch Municipality’s bad planning turned Franschhoek Multi Recycling Agency into a scapegoat. A policy of waste sorting at source was introduced in Stellenbosch. There was a problem though… at the time the municipality had nobody to process the sorted recyclables. Most of what Stellenbosch residents sorted was apparently combined again and sent to landfill. Then, in mid-2012, a municipal official hit on an idea. Send it to Franschhoek Multi Recycling Agency, whether they want it or not! Before Van der Ross knew what hit her truckloads of recyclables were being dumped at her business from Stellenbosch – far more than she could ever hope to process. Soon a pile of more than 100 m3 (5 metres high) filled the yard. When winter set in and gales started blowing, plastic bags ripped and lighter recyclables were blown about by the wind. Continued on page 2...