Reduce, reuse, recycle and re-think was the main message as CPUT cleaning staff celebrated World Environment Day this week.

Event organiser Regina Sikhosana says the information session was tailored to the cleaning staff because they are at the forefront of most environmental challenges facing the institution.

Guest speaker Graham Kallis from the Maintenance Department explained how the simple act of using the wrong tissue paper can have devastating effects.

“Every three months we have to spend thousands to clean blocked drains because people use hand towels instead of toilet paper,” he says.

“This is a lot of money being wasted and demonstrates the importance of the supply of toilet paper.”

He also encouraged the cleaners to ensure they used adequate protection gear while working.

“It is not an easy task being a cleaner. You have to work with dust and germs and these things can harm you so protect yourself,” he says.

Malcolm Smith from Waste Man Holdings encouraged the cleaners to introduce recycling initiatives in their homes and work.

He also explained the recycling process of a number of products like tin, glass and paper.

The afternoon ended with a Q and A session where the cleaners could get information on a number of problems like where to dump hazardous products and electrical goods.

Each guest was given a goodie bag filled with health-conscious snacks to thank them for their attendance.

By LAUREN KANSLEY

Written by CPUT News
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World Environment Day is not just about oceans, it’s about everything to do with the environment, whether it is water or the food that we grow or the soil or the air. Anything that affects the environment. 

This year’s theme is Beat Plastics Pollution to make people more aware of the harmful effects of plastic on the environment.

Extended Curriculum Programme coordinator in the Faculty of Applied Sciences Beatrice Opeolu drives activities to create awareness around climate change and the environment as the leader of the Climate Change and Environment Research Focus Area.

She teaches water quality management to Environmental Management and Environmental Health BTech students and recently she has started focusing more on environmental toxicology.

“This would be the study of poisons in the environment,” explained Opeolu.

For the last decade, Opeolu’s research concentrated on monitoring different kinds of pollutants in water and food samples, searching for the presence of heavy metals, phenols and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), perfluorinated compounds and pharmaceuticals. 

(The dominant sources of PAHs in the environment are human activities such as wood-burning or combustion of biofuels, improper waste disposal).

She started off researching how the PAH level in food changes depending on how it is processed (fats are converted to PAH differently when food is grilled versus fried or boiled) and then moved on to checking PAH levels in freshwater systems. She discovered PAH levels were higher in the sediments than in the water, which means different effects for organisms that live and feed on sediment materials versus others in the water column.

Now she is moving from purely monitoring water to look at the entire cycle of exposure.

Specifically, she is concentrating on various pollutants in water, figuring out at what levels these pollutants become toxic to the environment. Not only does she want to investigate what pollutants are present but she wants to figure out what this means for the environment and what remediation can be affected.

“So the long-term plan is to be able to develop a material that we can use, as individuals and on an industrial scale, to remediate a combination of the pollutants. I’ve done research into heavy metals, several organic compounds including pharmaceuticals; so it would be great to have a single material that can remediate up to four pollutants because that would be more cost-effective,” said Opeolu.

She is currently setting up a laboratory space on the Bellville campus in the Horticulture department where she can oversee two or three postgraduate students. Here she will expose organism such as Daphnia (planktonic crustaceans specifically bred to be used in the laboratory), microalgae and bacteria to various pollutants in controlled environments.

Eventually, she wants to be part of a Water Institute on campus so that she can draw on the expertise of colleagues in various fields to develop water remediation systems and solutions.

* Today, 5 June is World Environment Day and the Applied Sciences Department hosts a Symposium on District Six Campus. Themed Beat Plastic Pollution, the symposium will feature six speakers talking about various effects of plastic pollution.

** On Friday 8 June renowned toxicologist Prof Augustine Arukwe from the Norwegian University of Science and will deliver a public lecture at the Saretec building on Bellville Campus followed by a panel discussion, between 12 am and 2 pm. 

Written by Theresa Smith
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CPUT is planning a series of events between World Environment Day and World Oceans Day to raise awareness about the effects of plastic pollution. 

The theme for this year’s World Environment Day on 5 June is Beat Plastic Pollution and for World Oceans Day on 8 June, it is about preventing plastic pollution.

Extended Curriculum Programme Coordinator in the Faculty of Applied Sciences Beatrice Opeolu drives activities to create awareness around climate change and the environment as the leader of the Climate Change and Environmental Research Focus Area.

 “There is strong evidence now that plastic is everywhere, in the water we drink, in river systems, in the oceans. Studies have also proved that plastics of different sizes and different types cause different kinds of ecological imbalances in the environment at large,” said Opeolu.

The first event is a day-long symposium on 5 June at the Science Building on the District Six Campus. Themed Beat Plastic Pollution, the symposium will feature six speakers talking about various effects of plastic pollution.

Renowned toxicologist Prof Augustine Arukwe from the Norwegian University of Science and Technology in Trondheim, Norway, will talk about endocrine disruptive effects of plastic-derived contaminants.

CPUT’s Oceans Research Chair Prof Ken Findlay will give a glimpse into plastic pollution and marine animal entanglements and mortalities while Aaniya Omardien of The Beach Cooperative will talk about beach clean-ups.

Prof Jonathan Okonkwo of the Tshwane University of Technology, Nitasha Baijnath-Pillay of the Department of Environmental Affairs and North-West University doctoral student Karin Minnaar round out the programme.

The next day,  6 June, between 11 am to 1 pm, CPUT students and staff are invited to take part in an effort to clean up the precinct around the District Six Campus.

Thursday 7 June, between 11 am to 1 pm, is set aside for invited guests to meet CPUT researchers, lecturers and students. “They will be based at the Applied Sciences Faculty to meet anyone from the institution who wants to work with them or just network,” said Opeolu.

On Friday 8 June, Arukwe will deliver a public lecture at the Saretec building on Bellville Campus followed by a panel discussion, between 12 am and 2 pm. The public lecture is titled “Plastic components as significant source for environmental obesogens: A societal concern for human and wildlife health.”

“After the lecture, all of the colleagues we invited for the symposium, except for Aaniyah Omardien who will not be available, will sit in a panel discussion and chat about plastic pollution and plastic issues.

“The audience will have the opportunity to ask them questions and to contribute to the discussion,” said Opeolu.  

Find the World Environment Day & Oceans Day programme here.

Written by Theresa Smith
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