On Friday, 24th of June 2022, SOS non-profit organisation (SOSNPO) will be hosting a community clean-up in Bloekombos, Kraaifontein, in honour of Youth Day. The initiative seeks to raise awareness of the pollution of our waterways and river feeds and encourages community members to actively partake in tackling the water pollution crisis.
The community clean-up is one of the numerous activations SOSNPO hosts, highlighting the organisations commitment to facing challenges within the water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) space. The launch, which is set to commence at Lofdal Park School in Bloekombos, will see community members, volunteers, and city officials, all united to contribute to a worthy cause. The activation will focus on clearing the neighbourhood outskirts littered with rubbish located near Lofdal Park School. This rubbish can be blown or washed into nearby rivers and canals.
The Youth Day activation will welcome guest speakers from the City of Cape Town, Alderman Grant Twigg and Councillor Zahid Badroodien, to shed light on the importance of recycling and efforts to overcome water pollution.
“Cleaning up Cape Town is all of our responsibility; I am encouraged to see more civil organisations and businesses joining our efforts to ensure that we give our City a huge spring cleaning. I hope this will encourage communities to continue taking pride in their areas by not dumping illegally, reporting those who do so, and apply for extra wheelie bins for your property if necessary.”, says Mayoral Committee Alderman Grant Twigg.
Plastic pollution is one of the biggest causes of water pollution in South Africa. Close to 80 000 tonnes of plastic waste ends up in oceans and rivers across South Africa each year[1]. The event will see brands such as Essence Cosmetics and Mountain Falls participating in the initiative, highlighting their commitment to environmental conservation. Jane Spickernell, Head of ZeroPet at Mountain Falls comments:
“Every choice we make as consumers has an environmental impact. At Mountain Falls, we’re committed to building a sustainable future, free of single-use plastic, through ZeroPet – a recycling initiative in partnership with Recycle 1st. With the self-imposed target of collecting 2.5 million PET bottles per year by removing 2 PET bottles for every 1 we sell, the proceeds generated through our PET recycling support various educational projects. Thank you SOS for your ongoing support.”
Save Our Schools is looking forward to hosting the event and playing a role in keeping our waterways and communities free from litter and safe for everybody to enjoy.
[1]https://www.iucn.org/sites/dev/files/content/documents/south_africa_national_guidance_for_plastic_pollution_hotspotting_and_shaping_action.pdf
