Cape Town: The Urban Waste Management Directorate of the City of Cape Town annually commemorates ‘Ocean’ which is a Home Festive Season Awareness Programme, that has concluded last week. Once again, it has successfully reached thousands of residents and visitors at beaches across the metro and spread the message about protecting the ocean, and it starts with responsible behaviour on land.
The initiative was launched in 2019 and focuses on highlighting how litter and illegal dumping on land ultimately end up in rivers and eventually the ocean. The programme supports the efforts of the city to protect coastal ecosystems and maintain international Blue Flag standards at some of Cape Town’s most popular beaches.
This year’s outreach focused primarily on the themes of:
- reducing single-use plastics,
- encouraged the use of reusable containers,
- disposing of waste correctly, and
- preventing common pollutants such as cigarette butts from entering the marine environment
The initiative to spread awareness is strategically aligned with the Waste Strategy of the City of Cape Town and contributes to broader goals of reducing land-based marine pollution through:
- behaviour change,
- Education, and
- shared responsibility
Considering this initiative, Member of the Mayoral Committee for Urban Waste Management – Alderman Grant Twigg said that since this programme began in 2019, the number of direct engagements with residents at beaches over the festive season has doubled.
She highlighted that, this has reflected an increased focus on environmental awareness, particularly upon the health of the oceans. Beaches of Cape Town are among the most treasured public spaces, especially during the festive season when thousands of people come out to enjoy them. And, we as UWM want to do our part to keep them that way, said Twigg.
Urban Waste Management MMC, Grant Twigg believes that the Ocean is a Home Campaign which reminds them that the ocean is exactly a home and that each of them has a responsibility to keep it clean by managing the waste correctly and reducing pollution at source.