Reed all about plastic islands in Kenyan lake

Floating beds of papyrus, embedded in waste plastic, are to be installed on Kenya’s Lake Naivasha in order to help reverse environmental damage.

Floating reed beds will clean the lake

The German Travel company Rewe is funding the project – a partnership between UK-owned tea producer and flower grower Finlays and Dr David Harper, a senior lecturer at the University of Leicester.

Papyrus, which is a natural filter for dirty water, is capable of acting like a sewage treatment works, according to Imarisha Naivasha, the Kenyan body coordinating the clean-up at a local level.

Dr Harper said: “Lake Naivasha is a freshwater lake of around 100 square kilometres and although once crystal clear and surrounded by papyrus, it has suffered badly in the past 30 years. A major factor is that Naivasha has been the fastest growing town in Kenya as a result of the bonanza of horticulture, cut flowers for export, which is now one of Kenya’s top three earners of foreign exchange.”

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