SEE | Reviving Joburg's polluted Jukskei River | News24 (2025)

A volunteer clears out part of the Jukskei River in Alexandra, Johannesburg. A net made of recycled plastics has been placed to catch waste. (GroundUp/Ihsaan Haffejee)

Local activists, artists and environmental experts are working together to revive the polluted Jukskei River, one of Johannesburg’s largest rivers, GroundUp reports.

The Jukskei River runs through many urban areas, including the densely populated township of Alexandra. During heavy rainfall, the river often bursts its banks causing flooding.

Volunteers and activists have set up colourful litter traps where the river passes through Alexandra. The traps are made entirely out of recycled plastics woven together to make nets.

Environmental experts have been advising community members on the best design for the handwoven litter traps. The traps catch discarded tyres, fibre-optic cables, and bricks eroded by the river. The nets have been placed at strategic locations along the river, accompanied by artworks made by local artists with materials salvaged from the river.

This initiative is being implemented under SUNCASA (Scaling Urban Nature-based Solutions for Climate Adaptation in Sub-Saharan Africa) – a project led by the International Institute for Sustainable Development and the World Resources Institute.

In Johannesburg, the Jukskei project aims to plant more than 40 000 trees along the river and clear up the land with the help of community activists.

Johannesburg-based artist Hannelie Coetzee and the Alexandra Water Warriors, a civic organisation with over 2 000 volunteers, have for years been working on cleaning and rehabilitating the Alexandra section of the Jukskei.

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Coetzee also recruited other artists who produced large sculptures along the river using material salvaged from the river.

"I think it’s been a missed opportunity for a very long time not to involve communities in this level of participation. It not only helps change the river system, but it also creates agency and buy-in from the community to maintain it. Art is not an add-on here, it is central to ecological restoration," said Coetzee.

Paul Maluleke, a founder of the Alexandra Water Warriors, said the litter traps are emptied almost daily by community volunteers who take the waste to the AWW recycling station to be sorted and recycled. The plan is to roll the project out in other communities facing similar challenges.

Dr Samiksha Singh earned her PhD in Environmental Science for her study on the impact of microplastics in river systems like the Jukskei. "Interventions like these are very important," she said, "because we need to make sure our water is clean and safe, not only for consumption, but for recreation in our communities."

Singh said being part of the collaboration between scientists, local residents and artists had been "really interesting" and "felt like I was taking the knowledge I had learnt and using it to find practical solutions with real outcomes".

This story was originally published on GroundUp.