Bluewater and the Environmental Monitoring Group partner for a large-scale Cape Town river clean-up
by Bluewater Group 22 Feb 2023 00:30 PST
Cleaning with purpose at the Kuils River Catchment Area in Cape Town, South Africa © Bluewater
Bluewater, the global water purification and beverage company that has embedded ending the need for single-use plastics at the heart of its business mission, joined forces with Environmental Monitoring Group (EMG) for a large-scale weekend river clean-up effort at the Kuils River Catchment Area in Cape Town, South Africa.
EMG is a legacy grantee of 11th Hour Racing Team, the US offshore sailing team which is taking part in The Ocean Race. The team supports non-government organizations in each stopover it visits as part of its race around the planet, and Bluewater has been a long-term partner of the Newport, Rhode Island based outfit.
Bluewater unique mobile hydration stations dispensed pristine clean, great tasting drinking water to community members in multiple locations from Mfuleni to Khayelitsha, ending at Makhaza Wetland Park, where presentations took place. 11th Hour Racing Team, which harnesses Bluewater purification solutions at every Ocean Race stopover, is visiting Cape Town during The Ocean Race, the gruelling round-the-world sailing race that tests the endurance and skill of the world's top sailors.
Janneke Brasecke, Bluewater Africa General Manager, says: "At Bluewater, we believe human ingenuity can find solutions to our planet's most challenging problems, such as providing people everywhere access to safe water. We believe sharing our vision with a professional sports team at the cutting edge of their sport such as 11th Hour Racing Team, is a huge privilege. We are both committed to finding solutions that contribute to ocean and human health. Local community participation and involvement in keeping our environment clean and healthy, is key to ensuring our planet's health and future, so we were especially proud to be part of Saturday's event and see people come together with the common purpose of improving life for all."
The clean-up event was organized by Environmental Management Group, who focus on enhancing people's relationships with the environment and with each other, working to end inequality and build social justice related to the use and management of natural resources.
Siya Myeza, from Environmental Monitoring Group (EMG), said: "The pollution along this river impacts many low-income communities living in environmentally harmful conditions that undermine their quality of life and livelihoods. The mass clean-up focused on specific parts of the river where community interaction with the river is the highest. We removed 500 bags of waste, an incredible achievement."
11th Hour Racing Team and the Bluewater share a deep commitment to using their platforms to raise awareness about the importance of protecting the environment and promoting sustainable practices, and the partnership between the two organisations is geared to drive real change and make a positive impact on our planet.
Bluewater hydration stations leverage the company's unique SuperiorOsmosisTM technology, which can deliver up to 7,000 litres of purified water on demand per day, removing chemicals, toxic metals, bacteria, viruses, and other contaminants such as microplastics.
The Bluewater Group has a strong presence in Cape Town, supplying their mobile hydration stations to large-scale sports and lifestyle events such as the Cape Town Marathon and the Cape Town Carnival, as well as on film sets and at other remote locations where clean drinking water is needed.
Damian Foxall, Sustainability Program Manager of 11th Hour Racing Team commented, "It has been an incredible opportunity to see first-hand the work that EMG do in the community here. To have two of our partners - Bluewater and EMG - working together to provide safe drinking water for their communities is a legacy that we hope will have a lasting impact here in Cape Town."
For more information visit www.bluewatergroup.com.