The Litterboom Project is cleaning South Africa’s waterways and helping to reshape the fight against plastic pollution.
KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa (15 July 2025) – What started as a small project along KwaZulu-Natal’s rivers has grown into a nationally recognised environmental movement. Since 2017, The Litterboom Project has been tackling South Africa’s plastic problem by intercepting pollution before it reaches the ocean. Now over 2.5 million kilograms of plastic have been removed from local waterways.
Founder and CEO Cameron Service was inspired to act after years of surfing and participating in ocean clean-ups. But it wasn’t enough.
“I just thought that there needs to be a more effective way to clean the rivers and clean the plastic-laden rivers,” he explains.
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While consulting on trail development along the Umgeni River corridor, Cameron noticed how much plastic flowed downstream. He believed that placing barriers called litter booms directly in the rivers could be more effective than beach clean-ups. A small team tested the idea and, working just three days a week, managed to collect 15,000 kilograms of plastic in a year.
That trial laid the foundation for what has become a growing network of coastal and river wardens across the country. Each day, teams check and service the booms, sort plastic waste, and log data for monitoring and reporting.
“We have an administrator back at our hub… and they’ll then report to say, we have X number of bags that we’ve collected,” says Cameron.
Support from municipalities has been key to sustaining the project. In Cape Town, the City’s solid waste department assists with collections, while Durban Solid Waste has recently come on board in KwaZulu-Natal.
Despite the great work done by The Litterboom Project, challenges persist. Flooding often damages infrastructure and alters river paths, requiring the team to reinstall systems. Remote areas can also make it difficult to transport collected waste.
Beyond clean-up, the project addresses the root causes of pollution, namely increased single-use plastic production and poor waste infrastructure. To tackle this, the team supports local reclaimers and waste pickers, helping them earn income while keeping plastic out of rivers.
“It helps our efforts because then there’s less plastic getting into the environment to start with.”
Looking ahead, the organisation aims to expand its reach and push for greater accountability from producers.
For Cameron, the goal is clear.
“We would love to see more litter booms in the rivers. More reclaimers that are plugging into what we’re doing.”
Sources: Supplied
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