CCBSA commits R25m to invasive water hyacinth removal

Through the Mintirho Foundation, Coca-Cola Beverages South Africa's (CCBSA) will invest R25m in Hya Matla Organics, a black-owned startup that turns water hyacinth into commercial products such as fertiliser and animal feed. The water hyacinth is an invasive plant that grows in polluted water and further compromises water quality.

Said John Kondowe, executive director of Hya Matla Organics, “By harvesting the plant and turning it into organic fertiliser, we complete the cycle of turning the pollutants into nutrients which then feed plants or animals. Thus integrating the cycle back into economic ecosystems which benefit the economy at large.” The project is currently being implemented in Hartebeespoort Dam near Pretoria, one of the most severely affected by water hyacinth growth.

The Mintirho Foundation is CCBSA’s vehicle for supporting the development of historically disadvantaged emerging farmers and small suppliers of inputs into the CCBSA value chain. The foundation’s executive manager Noxolo Kahlana said Hya Matla Organics caught the foundation’s eye because its business model is to remove waste from catchment areas and preserve water.

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“Water is something on which our business is totally dependent, and in a water-scarce country like ours, we have a responsibility as industry to help where we can to conserve water. Therefore, supporting initiatives aimed at cleaning our water catchment areas is critical, and something that CCBSA is committed to advancing,” Kahlana said.