The 15th of September is World Cleanup Day and 150 countries are working to clean up the environment over 36-hours, sunrise to sunset.
Plastics|SA has partnered with Let’s Do It! Africa in the first-ever World Cleanup Day that will be taking place on Saturday, 15 September 2018, by providing resources towards the biggest, global cleanup event that the world has ever witnessed.
The World Cleanup Day will include more than 150 countries around the world. South Africa will be one of 60 countries from the African continent participating in this year’s event! The event will start in New Zealand when the sun rises, and move around the globe with the time zones until it sets in Hawaii 36 hours later.
It is estimated that each year, 8 million tonnes of litter end up in the environment. This is a serious threat to people, wildlife, soil, water and air. By getting millions of people involved, the message spreads further and we save more of our environment. That is why this one day is such an important one.
For the past 22 years, Plastics|SA has been partnering with Ocean Conservancy by coordinating South Africa’s involvement in the annual International Coastal Cleanup Day. This annual event takes place on the third Saturday in September and sees thousands of volunteers each year collecting and removing litter from our waterways as part of Cleanup & Recycle SA week. This year, the week will take place from 10-15 September 2018 – culminating in the first World Cleanup Day on Saturday, 15 September 2018.
“This is the biggest positive civic action the world has seen, and we are fortunate to be part of this global movement that hopes to inspire change in human behaviour,” says Douw Steyn, Sustainability Director of Plastics|SA.
“We have managed to get other packaging streams and retailers to support our efforts and recycling initiatives, such as our beach clean-ups, Operation Clean Sweep, sponsoring litter booms and the Aqua Amazing schools’ education programme. Last year alone, we donated 350 000 yellow refuse bags that were used for clean-ups around the country and assisted coordinators with audited clean-ups…” – Douw Steyn, Sustainability Director: Plastics|SA
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