The Cleanup Phalaborwa campaign which took place last Tuesday, September 14, was not enough to remove all the rubbish in town. 

Eugene Troskie of Phalaborwa Natural Heritage Foundation (PNHF), told the Herald that the team which embarked on the mission of cleaning the town, tried their best to reduce the refuse, but more work still needs to be done. 

“We managed to remove about four loads of five tons of building rubble, but we still could not clear it all. We however managed to clean up some areas in town including behind Spar, Bollanoto Information Centre, cemetery and across the R71,” he said. 

The activity was a partnership between PNHF, Kruger National Park Waste Management and Ward 12, led by DA councillor, Jane Williamson. It was in line with Cleanup and Recycle South Africa Week, which started on Monday, September 13 until Saturday, September 18. 

Troskie added that about 60-70 people joined the cleanup project, but he urged people to become involved and participate in these initiatives. 

“We are planning to have cleanups once a month going forward. We also encourage residents to tidy up the town even without being noticed, like Marietjie Maré who has been doing this kind of work for years,” he added. 

He concluded by thanking all volunteers and sponsors who made sure that the project was a success. 

The sponsors were Super Chem, Sunbird Tourism, Supa Quick Phalaborwa, Tyre Mart Phalaborwa, PG Glass, Coastal Hire, PME, Phalaborwa Recycling, Bellas Extreme Team, Fatimas, Phalaborwa Ford, Makhom and Water Guru.