Call to join annual clean-up
CLEAN-UP & Recycle SA week, which ends at the weekend with National Recycling Day on Friday and International Coastal Clean-Up on Saturday, has put waste and efforts to reduce it back in the spotlight.
CapeNature has appealed to the public to help combat waste problems and to participate in clean-up events which form part of its #Don’tBeTrashy Campaign.
Although waste is an issue across the province, it is especially a problem in under-resourced areas.
CapeNature general manager Petro van Rhyn said the organisation hoped to instil a sense of shared responsibility and behaviour change by creating awareness of the issue.
Plastics SA sustainability director Douw Steyn said the annual clean-up week was aimed at helping remove litter from neighbourhoods, streets, rivers, streams, beaches and oceans.
“Every action, no matter how small, reduces the volume of plastic waste... and ends up making a big difference to our environment and oceans,” he said.
Steyn encouraged communities to get involved in River Clean-Up Day by removing litter from rivers, streams, canals, and any inland water sources in their immediate area.
The Beach Co-op is assisting Plastics SA with the co-ordination of all registered clean-ups in the Cape Metropole and Overberg this week, leading up to International Coastal Clean-up Day.
Clean-ups will be done at Table Bay Nature Reserve and Mouille Point Beach, organised by the City of Cape Town; at Milnerton Beach, organised by Save a Fishie; at Monwabisi Beach, organised by the Two Oceans Aquarium; at Kalk Bay, organised by the Old Mutual Sub-Aqua Club; and at Bokbaai, organised by The Beach Co-op.
The Beach Co-op spokesperson Megan-Rose Francis encouraged the
public to participate in its #ConnectandCollect campaign, by either joining a small clean-up or doing their own clean-up and logging the data by using The Beach Co-op’s #DirtyDozenCleanup list on the Marine Debris Tracker app. This would help it to identify the source of the litter, and to advocate for changes in consumption and waste management habits.
Individuals, communities, schools and volunteer groups interested in participating can email CapeNature on learning@capenature.co.za, or contact The Beach Co-op on thebeachcoop@ gmail.com.