White River residents get their hands dirty and their town clean
Community members collected scores of bags of rubbish as part of the global World Cleanup Day on Saturday (September 19)
The White River Community Tourism Organisation (a branch of the Kruger Lowveld Chamber of Business and Tourism) in partnership with We Are White River, organised the cleanup with various other organisations and community members taking part in the day’s activities.
World Cleanup Day first started in September 2018 as an international initiative to help clear the globe of rubbish. On Saturday morning, around 50 people gathered in town to clear various areas of large amounts of litter and garbage.
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Tiffany Briggs of White River Community Tourism said the clean-up focused on places within town and the White River Reserve.
“We collected lots of rubbish. Illegal dumping is very bad, especially around the park,” said Briggs. “The park is used as a dumping ground. We found lots of household litter and rubbish from restaurants. It is a real cesspool. We definitely need a more stringent clean-up programme,” she said.
Other clubs and organisations involved included the White River Rotary Club, Wessa Lowveld, Legogote Villagers running club, and a new company specialising in refills of cleaning products, J.A.R. Briggs said there were donations from Oasis Water, Pick n Pay and Coca-Cola as well as lunch sponsored by Jangamo’s restaurant for all those who took part.
She said although they were limited in their numbers due to the pandemic, it “was a positive start to a community coming together and being a proactive part of the changes they want to see in the world”.
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