With this in mind, new technologies and conservation initiatives have been implemented at both Maropeng and the Sterkfontein Caves to make these tourist attractions more environmentally friendly.
The Maropeng Visitor Centre maintains its own constructed wetland system that is specially designed to assist in filtering and cleaning the site's grey and black water. At the Sterkfontein Caves, an ozone waste water purifications system was introduced at the beginning of 2011 to replace septic tanks and provide a far more eco-friendly solution to waste management in the area. This system uses ozone to accelerate the breaking down of solids by bacteria, and to sterilise water.
Maropeng managing director Tony Rubin says these new technologies have had a positive effect on the conservation of the Cradle of Humankind. "We no longer need to have the effluent removed from the septic tanks on a weekly basis and this has affected cost savings."
Installing different technology means trying something new, which has been a learning curve for Maropeng. "We have learned that there are many ways to treat effluent - the Biozone Technology installed at Sterkfontein is achieving results beyond our expectations, while the wetlands at Maropeng operate efficiently and have brought new birdlife onto the property, which would otherwise not be present at Maropeng," he says.
Grey and black water, through the purification process, is made potable for animals and is used to water grasslands at the Cradle of Humankind in dry periods. Making this system work takes a sustained effort. "We continually check water consumption on the property and do not irrigate when there is rain," says Rubin. "We are also looking at using the wetlands water for irrigation, but this is a long-term future project."
