Cape Town - A group of about 120 volunteers from the International WeLoveU Foundation gathered on Sunday for a massive clean-up of Milky Way Drive in Phoenix, Milnerton.
The volunteers said a helping hand was urgently needed as the amount of illegal refuse dumping had continued to increase in the area.
The area had accumulated a massive amount of waste which had a negative impact on the local environment, including the ecologically damaged Milnerton lagoon, and residents.
The volunteers worked meticulously to clean the streets and collected household waste such as plastic, bottles, paper cups, cigarette butts and pieces of tissue paper. One hundred 100-litre plastic bags filled with refuse were collected.
The clean-up formed part of the foundation’s Clean World Movement, an environmental welfare activity that promotes environmental protection and awareness by purifying city streets, parks, mountains, seas, and rivers to create healthy living spaces.
City officials, including ward councillor Anthony Benadie and water and sanitation Mayco member Zahid Badroodien, joined the clean-up campaign and provided cleaning tools to the group.
“The clean-up took place near our Milky Way pump station that, when not functioning, has an impact on the Milnerton lagoon. I am grateful to this team for sacrificing their Sunday and helping us work towards cleaning our water ways,” Badroodien said.
Jill Jacobs, a member of WeLoveU, said: “We are here today to share a mother’s love with the residents of Phoenix by creating a clean and sustainable environment for them. Through our foundation, we really hope to move the hearts of the community members so that they too may participate in such initiatives.”
Wande Mpinda, another WeLoveU member, said: “As a young adult, I want to set a good example to those around me. I want to make a change and that is why I joined the Clean World Movement campaign today.”
Benadie encouraged the local community to help keep the water clean by keeping waste out of the water system, after all the work they did to clean the pond.
Urban waste management Mayco member, Grant Twigg, said illegal dumping was already costing residents hundreds of millions of rand every year to keep the city clean.
But besides draining the public purse, it also depressed property values and attracted crime and grime.