WC municipalities win big for going green

THE Drakenstein and Swartland municipalities are the greenest in the Western Cape for 2019.

Mossel Bay Municipality has placed third in the annual greenest municipality competition. The winners were announced on Tuesday.

Environmental Affairs and Development Planning MEC Anton Bredell said the competition aimed to motivate municipalities to address environmental issues in their regions.

“Municipalities play a critical role in our country’s collective response to the challenges posed by climate change. If our towns aren’t better prepared for the challenges we face, then the economic growth we need will just not be possible,” Bredell said.

Municipalities were evaluated on waste, biodiversity, water and conservation and air quality management. The main category winners were:

● Climate change response – Drakenstein Municipality.

● Air quality management Drakenstein Municipality.

● Waste management – Saldanha Bay Municipality.

● Water conservation and management – Swartland Municipality.

● Biodiversity management – Overstrand Municipality.

● Coastal management and urban beautification – Mossel Bay Municipality;

● Leadership, compliance, institutional arrangements and public participation – Hessequa Municipality.

Drakenstein Municipality won R260 000, Swartland R140 000 and Mossel Bay received R100 000.

–