Anew anti-litter campaign was started in Bothasig, Edgemead, Richwood and surrounds recently with the aim of getting residents involved in helping to get rid of unwanted dirt in their own area.
Helen Carstens, ward councillor, says the campaign is a City-wide initiative which is aimed at creating an atmosphere of pride in a community, as well as to encourage residents to take ownership of their community.
“The fact is that the City of Cape Town will never have the capacity to clean up constantly. There are refuse collections and there are green litter bins for litter, and bins in parks for litter. The climate we find ourselves in is one of ‘someone else will do it’.
“What we need to ask is would we throw our rubbish on the floor in our own lounge? No, we would put it in our rubbish bin. Therefore the same culture needs to be with the collective.
“It is unnecessary to dump black bags next to green litter bins or in parks or down Bosmansdam Road. There are mechanisms for that to be removed and those mechanisms should be used,” Carstens says.
She says the idea behind the campaign is to create a culture where residents ensure that their neighbour or their friends do not litter or dump in the area.
“Hopefully this will grow as people become more aware of what part they can also play in keeping their areas neat and tidy. I must stress that this is not an initiative to do the work of the municipality – the bins and main streets will be taken care off, it is the little instances of throwing the packet on the floor or nailing a sign to a tree.
“If we do not address the little issues, they will escalate to bigger issues.”
The first meeting and community clean-up was held on Wednesday last week and was carried out in the entire Ward 5, including Edgemead, Bothasig, Richwood and Burgundy Estate.
“As mentioned, this is a culture of being proud and of participating in creating a clean area, not necessarily a specific area.”
Carstens says the clean-up gained great support, including support from the local ratepayers associations and residents.
Zoë Prinsloo, founder of the community organisation Save a Fishie, says as an organisation they were eager to assist with the clean-up.
