A large portion of the City’s service delivery budget already goes towards funding our Solid Waste Department who remove refuse on a weekly basis and ensures that our neighbourhoods are kept clean.

‘Our staff do their utmost to keep neighbourhoods tidy, but the purpose of the campaign is to encourage people to take pride in their communities and to play their part too. We want to stop illegal dumping and keep our open spaces clean and safe for our children to use to play and for families to spend time together. To reach this goal, we want to join hands with our residents to make sure Cape Town remains as clean as possible as an urban environment,’ said Mayor Plato.

Although the City has a number of waste management strategies and services in place for dealing with all types of waste, illegal dumping is a huge problem in Cape Town. In fact, it is one of the biggest challenges faced by the Solid Waste Department. Clearing illegal dumping is expensive, resource-intensive and damages our environment. It poses a threat to public health and is generally harmful to humans and animals.

Mayor Plato encouraged residents to please report illegal dumping to the City’s 24/7 Call Centre on 0860 103 089. Vehicles which are used for dumping can be confiscated and a release fee of nearly R16 000 will be required to have the vehicle returned. This is over and above the fines issued to offenders.

‘The extra R115 million that I’ve allocated to cleaning up our communities for this financial year will help us to reach more people, but we humbly ask our residents to assist us with also taking responsibility for cleanliness in their neighbourhoods,’ said Mayor Plato.

Councillor Malusi Booi said: ‘The event has been a resounding success. The volunteers themselves are surely going to take the message to their community and keep their area clean. It is important that efforts are continued and that we all take ownership of our neighbourhoods and stand together to fight the scourge of illegal dumping and littering,’ said Councillor Booi.