Community unites to clean up the Sandspruit
SANDTON – The CleanaRiver campaign was organised by the Rotary Water, Sanitation and Hygiene Action Group (Wash-Rag).
In line with Rotary Water and Sanitation Month last month, volunteers from across the City of Johannesburg teamed up for the CleanaRiver campaign to clear out the pollution along the Sandspruit.
The campaign was organised by the Rotary Water, Sanitation and Hygiene Action Group (Wash-Rag) in partnership with the non-profit organisation Action for Responsible Management of Our Rivers (Armour) and Bubele Africa.
Teams from seven Rotary clubs, namely Randburg, Kyalami, Fourways-Main Reef, Sandton, Rosebank, Northcliff and Sandton Central, a group from Roedean School and the environmental team from Beagle Watch Security worked hard on 22 March to remove litter and debris across the 20km spruit.
In addition, a group of casual workers were hired by Bubele Africa to help aid local job creation and community development.
According to Rotary’s David Grant over 825 people filled 1 456 bags of rubbish, removed 50 tyres and two bakkie-loads of rubble amounting to over 3 000kgs of waste which included plastic, polystyrene, cloth, glass and cardboard.
Grant added that the aim of the CleanaRiver campaign goes far beyond simply clearing the riverbanks. “[The campaign aims] to raise awareness of how as citizens and consumers we value water, how we treat it and what we are doing to respect water’s vital part in the environment and ecosystems we rely on for life and sustenance. Water is a depleting asset as more and more demand is placed on it by our growing population.”
The campaign remains ongoing. Any volunteers and group looking to get involved can visit www.cleanriver.org or contact David Grant on 083 626 4523.
Related articles:
https://www.citizen.co.za/sandton-chronicle/rotary-family-lives/
https://www.citizen.co.za/sandton-chronicle/276869/rotary-sandton-continues-its-service/
