A logistics truck from Mozambique was transporting thousands of empty glass bottles when it failed to make the turn in front of the Komati River bridge, causing its trailer to flip over and fill the entrance of the bridge with shattered glass.

The South African National Roads Agency (Sanral) had to react quickly and swept the bottles and broken glass onto the riverbank, close to the river and off to the road, as a short-term solution.

Community members who use the R582 daily opposed this action and saw it as littering and damaging to the environment

The furious locals reached out to the media to create awareness about the risks the broken glass creates for the environment and the Komati River.

“It will be impossible to get all of the glass off the riverbank and it will take just one day of heavy rain to wash the glass into the river. This will cause chaos to the people and animals who use this water,” said a farmer living close to the area. The farmer did not wish to be named for business reasons.

According to Stephen Mallory, the chairperson of the Crocodile Forum Institute of Water Resources, the glass is not a threat to the water supply of the Komati River.

“The only harm the broken glass can cause would be to injure people. This would only happen if they are in the area where the glass might have entered the river,” said Mallory.

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A small part of Komatipoort, the sugar mill, Tonga and the surrounding villages use the river as their water supply.

The route manager of Sanral, Johan van Niekerk, said the Nkomazi traffic safety officer, Thomas Khoza, is informing him daily on the cleaning process and that the removal of the glass is a priority for Sanral.

“There is no specific date when the glass would be completely removed from the riverbank. People are welcome to call me for updates on the progress,” he said.

Contact Van Niekerk on 082 882 9819 for queries.