Community groups joined forces in Albertsville Park on April 18, turning what might have been an overlooked green space into the latest site in Johannesburg’s fight against pollution.

The clean-up, led by Albertsville’s Clean Green Group, was supported by Hlanzekile River and Ocean Cleaning, whose team regularly removes plastic waste from rivers and streams.

Read more: Community comes together for Botanical Gardens clean-up blitz

Founder Floyd Nyai said the partnership began after meeting Sally Clark, one of the members of the group, at a previous clean-up at Melville Koppies. When she reached out for assistance in Albertsville, his team stepped in to support the initiative. “Every week, we clean rivers and streams – any aquatic systems. We extract plastic waste, sort it, and weigh it for our records.”

The Albertsville clean-up marked the first time his organisation worked at the park, a site he admitted he had not known about before the collaboration. “If it wasn’t for Sally and her team, we probably would have overlooked this park entirely. I did not even know there was a stream running through here.”

Also read: Blitz clean-up revitalises Johannesburg Botanical Gardens

The effort highlighted the extent of pollution affecting public parks across Johannesburg, where waste is often discarded despite these spaces being intended for community use.

Nyai stressed that partnerships like this are essential in tackling the problem.

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