Residents of Kelvin enthusiastically signed up to participate in the monthly A Re Sebetseng clean-up across the streets of the neighbourhood in an effort to educate and encourage residents to manage their waste effectively.
Chairperson of the Kelvin Residents Association Luewellyn Pillay said that the residents of Kelvin have been on a mission to beautify their suburb for over a year now. Their efforts began with the Beautify Kelvin project and then merged with the City of Joburg to include the monthly A Re Sebetseng clean-up. About 45 residents and their children took to the streets on 17 February to remove litter.
“On one street alone, 25 refuse bags of illegal dumping were collected and drains had to be cleaned of the discarded waste,” said Pillay.
He believes that it is the task of residents to break the cycle of continuous littering through educating the next generation of children about the impact of this bad habit.
“It is heartening to view children attacking the task of cleaning up with enthusiasm and holding adults accountable at the same time. We are, after all, only caretakers of the planet we leave to them.”
Pillay believes that a cleaner suburb will instil pride in residents, wonder in guests and turn away unsavoury elements from targeting the suburb. “Cleaner verges and vacant plots mean less of a security risk posed and are more attractive for residents to lead active lifestyles through exercise and activities.”
He said that the Kelvin residents have taken ownership of their suburb, with increased vigilance for illegal dumping and littering, leading to Metro police imposing fines for illegal dumpers and resulting in their vehicles being impounded.
“We wouldn’t need to pick up litter if it wasn’t dropped there in the first place. Hopefully, their campaigns serve to educate people on the perils associated with this selfish behaviour. It takes less effort to bin it than it does for someone to clean up after you.”
Pillay encourages residents to join hands and participate in the upcoming clean-up on 17 March.
Talk to us by emailing our news editor, Ashtyn Mackenzie, at ashtynm@caxton.co.za
