Cape Times 2023-01-03

BRUSSELS – Hair stylists across Belgium are sweeping up and bagging hair clipped from their clients, and handing it to a NGO that recycles it to protect the environment. The Hair Recycle project feeds locks and tresses into a machine that turns them into matted squares that can be used to absorb oil and other hydro- carbons polluting the environment, or made into bio-composite bags. Project co-founder Patrick Janssen, explaining that 1kg of hair can absorb 7-8 litres of oil and hydrocarbons, said the mats can be placed in drains to soak up pollution in water before it reaches a river. “Our products are all the more ethical as they are manufactured locally ... they are not imported from the other side of the planet,” he told Reuters. “They…

THE Cape Town CBD was showered with seas of glitter and colour as the traditional Tweede Nuwe Jaar minstrel parade kick-started the New Year yesterday. About 30 minstrel troupes entertained a crowd of thousands who lined inner city streets, eagerly awaiting the sounds and colours of the Hollywoodbets Cape Town Street Parade. After a forced hiatus due to the Covid-19 pandemic, spectators were eager to welcome back the cultural festival and waited in the sweltering heat – some having camped out for days – as the march proceeded from Hanover Street through Adderley before proceeding to the Bo-Kaap. Acting mayor Eddie Andrews said the event celebrated the culture of Cape Town. “We are very excited to have the event back. Pre-Covid just more than 100 000 people attended and we…

THE heatwave in Cape Town did not stop spectators of the Tweede Nuwe Jaar parade from enjoying the festivities yesterday. Their excitement followed a two-year absence from the parade due to Covid-19. From early yesterday morning, spectators were camped under gazebos along the Grand Parade and around the barricaded streets of Cape Town. A former Klopse dancer who was in the golden circle, Gadija Murray, from Heideveld, enthusiastically spoke about her dancing days in the Klopse. “I feel very excited; every year I’m in the coons (Klopse). I am very excited and waiting for the coons to come in. “I came here at 9.25am, which is very late for me, because every year I am dancing with the coons, but now I’m sitting here because my team is closed,”…

The huge price drops for petrol and diesel, which will be implemented tomorrow, have been widely welcomed. Energy Minister Gwede Mantashe announced on Friday that there would be decreases in the prices of both grades of petrol, as well as diesel. The price of petrol (both 93 and 95 ULP & LRP) will drop by R2.06c/litre while the price of diesel (0.05% sulphur) will drop by R2.68c/litre and diesel (0.005% sulphur) will drop by R2.80c/litre. The AA, economists, SA National Taxi Council (Santaco) and Road Freight Association (RFA) all welcomed the announcement. Gavin Kelly, RFA CEO, said there had been big spikes in 2022 and the drop in the diesel price was welcome news.“The decreases are very good news, both for the consumer directly and indirectly and for the…

THE 50th celebration of the iconic cross-Atlantic Cape2Rio yacht race took off yesterday, with 16 teams competing in the iconic 3 300 nautical mile (around 6 000km) race, dubbed the “adventure of a lifetime”. Crew members hailing from Masiphumelele, Khayelitsha, Grassy Park and Athlone, who were trained by the Royal Cape Yacht Club’s (RCYC) Sailing Academy, were among those who set sail. The Alexforbes ArchAngel team is made of Skipper Sibusiso Sizatu 30, first mate Daniel Agulhas 29, Renaldo Tshepo Mohale 29, Azile Arosi 22 and Justin Peters, 21. “It’s the day we have all been waiting for – the most exciting moment of my life. Our game plan is to stay more south on the Atlantic, closer to the coast to keep the wind with us. After Namibia we…

A GRIM sight awaits hundreds of Phola Park informal settlement residents in Philippi whose shacks were ravaged by a fire that claimed the life of a 32-year-old woman at the weekend. When most of them return from their holiday destinations to prepare for their children’s return to school, they will have to rebuild from scratch, including applying for new ID documents and birth certificates. The Phola Park fire destroyed 247 shacks, affecting 760 people on Sunday. It came just hours after three people were killed and 79 affected when 34 shacks were destroyed in Sobukwe Road in Masiphumelele at about 2am on Saturday. Hours before that fire, 233 people were left destitute when 106 shacks were gutted in a Dunoon fire on Friday. The causes of the three fires…