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How retailers are coming to the water-saving party in parched Cape

One supermarket group has stopped selling portable pools‚ another has banned dishwashers in its canteens and a third has halved its water use in the past decade.

As dam levels in the Western Cape hit an all-time low‚ major retailers have joined the fight to head off a  full-blown crisis before the arrival of winter rains.

As well as removing pools from its shelves in the Western Cape‚ Shoprite has stopped watering gardens and washing trucks.

Pick n Pay corporate affairs head David North said rainwater harvesting accounted for 20% of water requirements at the company’s Cape Town distribution centre.

Other interventions included “suspending all irrigation systems at our Cape Town-owned properties‚ stopping ad hoc dishwasher use at our canteens‚ and the conversion of our in-house carwash to a waterless carwash”.

In partnership with the City of Cape Town‚ the company was promoting water-saving on its in-store radio station and on screens at checkouts.

Woolworths’ sustainability head‚ Justin Smith‚ said the company was determined to cut water consumption and manage waste water in its supply chain as well as at its stores.

“We do this through collective action‚ partnerships with our suppliers‚ research and education. Through our efforts in South Africa‚ we have already reduced water consumption by 51% since 2007.”

 

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