Pikitup collecting new possibilities
29 February 2016
Pikitup, the City of Johannesburg’s waste management entity, has embarked on a series of clean-a-thons in a sustained five-month campaign to educate and empower residents about the devastating effects of waste and to mobilise and encourage them to rescue their city from grime.
The campaign, under the “Team Up to Clean Up” banner, was launched at the Johannesburg Art Gallery in Joubert Park, Region F, on Saturday and will run every Saturday until June 25 this year.
Pikitup’s landfill sites are overflowing with waste and research shows that more 225 000 tons of it is recyclable. The clean-a-thons form part of Pikitup’s Integrated Waste Minimisation Campaign that also involves separation at source, Jozi@Work and the Eco Rangers schools programme.
On Saturday dozens of people, including University of Johannesburg students, took part in the cleanup of the Noord Street Taxi Rank and the Plein-Wanderers-and-Bree streets precinct. The launch was supported by Miss Earth SA Nthabiseng Tsoamotse and the Environment Forum.
Pikitup Managing Director Amanda Nair said the campaign would mobilise and engage all sectors of society to actively participate in delivering a cleaner Joburg through responsible waste management.
“This intervention is in line with one of the key deliverables of the Integrated Development Plan of the City of Johannesburg, which is to ensure the cleanliness of the city through education awareness and by-law enforcement. The aim of the cleanup campaign is to mobilise society at large to become active citizens in cleaning up their neighbourhoods, back yards, streets, schools and local parks in an effort to keep the environment clean and safe to live in,” Nair said.
The campaign will be rolled out to all the City’s seven regions. All Pikitup depots will take part in cleaning up identified hot spots. Nair said the City and Pikitup acknowledged that the goal of becoming a world-class African City could only be achieved through working together.
“This requires partnership and participation of various stakeholders. Behavioural change at home, in the workplace and in schools is key to the success of waste prevention and minimisation. The City therefore calls on corporate South Africa to rally behind the campaign,” Nair said.
Miss Earth SA said Johannesburg residents needed to respect their environment.
“You must make sure your environment is clean to make every one of us proud of it. This should be your daily responsibility,” she said.
Environment Forum Chairman Smangaliso Buthelezi encouraged workers to continue the good work of keeping the inner city clean.
“There is nothing better than keeping your environment,” he said.
Mkhuseli Sobantwana, Pikitup’s Regional Manager, who co-ordinated the cleanup campaign, said it was heartening to see the youth, in particular, using their energy to clean up their environment.