In celebration of Global Recycling Day on 18 March the Cape Winelands District Municipality’s (CWDM’s) Municipal Health Services (MHS) and Witzenberg Municipality joined the Ceres’ly Clean initiative at the Material Recovery Facility (MERF) to teach Grade 6 learners from Bella Vista Primary School, all about waste management.
The Ceres’ly Clean, Ceres’ly Green initiative focuses on environmental sustainability, which includes community clean-ups, recycling awareness and action, and tree planting. The teams hosted an open day at the (MERF) to add practical knowledge of the recycling process and why responsible waste management is vital.
During discussions, the key principles of Recycle, Reduce, Re-use, Recover, and Respect were emphasised. Learners were shown how various materials are sorted and recovered to be re-used again. This highlighted how even the small actions can have big impacts in protecting the environment.
CWDM’s Environmental Health Practitioners (EHPs) addressed the learners to further emphasize the importance of keeping our environment clean, reducing waste at source, and ensuring that waste is disposed of correctly.
Moving forward, learners were shown how to apply the principles of recycling and environmental sustainability in their day to day lives, whether at school or at home.
CWDM is committed to promoting responsible waste management and environmental health through ongoing awareness programmes, community partnerships, and practical initiatives that reinforce the importance of caring for the environment.
The Executive Mayor, Ald (Dr) Elna von Schlicht shared in a recent interview, “There is no away for waste; it has to go somewhere. We live in the most beautiful district in South Africa and yet, we produce so much waste. We need to change the way we view our rubbish and discard only those items that cannot be recycled. It doesn’t matter whether you live in a big or small house, our homes are where we start, we all know that a clean space, is a beautiful place. Clean, starts with me, and you!”
