AB de Villiers leads cleanup crusade

Cricketer teamed up with NGO to prevent waste from reaching landfills in Mumbai

South African cricketer AB de Villiers inspired Mumbaikars to reuse and recycle plastic by painting benches made from recycled plastic and participating in a beach cleanup near Juhu beach, collecting around 150kg of plastic waste.

On Sunday morning, Villiers teamed up with Project Mumbai, a city-based NGO, for their Plastic Recyclothon to prevent plastic waste from reaching landfills. Project Mumbai has successfully diverted over 200 tonnes of plastic, recycling it into bricks, benches, and other items. Recently collected plastic was turned into park benches, inaugurated by the cricketer at Heritage Garden in Powai.

He autographed and coloured the benches alongside Sudhakar Shinde, the assistant municipal commissioner of the BMC, writing the message ‘Together We Can Make A Difference’. These benches will be placed in public parks across the city to encourage recycling.

Speaking at the event, Villiers said, “We cause a lot of pollution in our everyday lives but we should ensure that we take enough measures to curb the pollution.

However, Mumbai shows us the way how people can come together to fight plastic pollution.”

Earlier in the morning, the cricketer also participated in Project Mumbai’s Jallosh beach cleaning drive, which the Limca Book of Records has identified as the largest citizen-driven initiative to clean water bodies.

The cricketer rolled up his sleeves to clean the plastic waste from Juhu beach. He gave a challenge to all the volunteers who collectively gathered around 150kg of waste, which will be sent for recycling purposes.

Shishir Joshi, founder and CEO of Project Mumbai, said, “For us at Project Mumbai, inspiring and engaging citizens to make Mumbai a better place to live remain at the forefront.”