Hundreds converge for Amanzimtoti clean-up

Some 260 volunteers worked side by side with DSW and beach cleaning on Saturday, 16 September in the interest of the environment.

Among the volunteers were members of Amanzimtoti Conservancy, Enviroserve, Scouts, Cubs, Sapphire Coast Tourism, Amanzimtoti Sports Club, Kingsway High School, Democratic Alliance, Skip Go, Clean Surf Project and lifeguards.

Amanzimtoti Conservancy and Amanzimtoti and Twini Scouts and Cubs filled a skip of rubbish at the lagoon and beach.

Kingsburgh Lions and members of the public cleaned at the Little Amanzimtoti River and Baggies Beach, while Kingsburgh Waste Water Treatment Works staff cleaned Little Amanzimtoti River upper reaches.

READ ALSO: CSP’s three-phase beach clean-up netted over 100 bags of litter

“The vibe was tangible as children as young as seven worked side by side with a person of 70, each contributing while also learning from each other,” said ward 97 councillor, Andre Beetge.

“Beach management made a point of expressing the department’s appreciation towards the community’s effort. Concern was, however raised at the extent of what is being collected, given that beach cleaning is a municipal mandate, thereby necessitating scrutiny on the deployment of resources going forward.

READ ALSO: Volunteers sieve trash riverside at Ilanda Wilds

While it was a great platform to interact with our community while also doing something in the interest of our environment, the numbers that participated effectively represented less than 1% of the greater Amanzimtoti and Isipingo population.

Imagine what could have been achieved if we had 2% or 3% participating or even better, if we could get 10% not to litter in the first instance?”