Cape Town - The Friends of Zeekoevlei and Rondevlei (FOZR) have initiated a R30 000 clean-up project that will see a team clear litter that was building up in Zeekoevlei at an unprecedented rate this winter, over the next two weeks.
The group appealed to all recreational users of Zeekoevlei to get involved and called on the City to match their efforts.
FOZR vice-chairperson Tom Schwerdtfeger said litter had been building up in Zeekoevlei at an unprecedented rate this winter and it was reaching critical levels that not only affected the wildlife at the vlei, but also the recreational appeal that the area was renowned for.
Schwerdtfeger said the project employed 10 to 12 people daily to clean up every day until July 30, when the gates at the weir would be closed and the vlei would fill up with water again.
“This funding was made possible by our dedicated residents and various fund-raising efforts made by FOZR and our partners, but is unfortunately very limited,” Schwerdtfeger said.
FOZR urged the City to install litter fences to reduce the ingress of litter into Zeekoevlei before the weir was closed, and to deploy a team of EPWP staff to work alongside their Green Team to collect as much litter as possible before the weir closure.
While the litter fences have been broken for more than two years, Zeekoevlei ward councillor Gerry Gordon said the litter intercepting infrastructure – litter nets – was being proactively replaced by the City.
Gordon thanked FOZR for investing in keeping the vlei clean, and said the City would make every effort where possible to engage role players and stakeholders in its endeavours.
Based on their years of experience with hands-on operational issues with the City, FOZR chairperson Sidney Jacobs called on the City to reconsider how it dealt with the issue of litter.
“Our experience has shown that litter is cleaned up by several line functions in the city, depending on where the litter is found, leading to unco-ordinated duplication. Our proposal is that a single line function should take full responsibility for cleaning up litter in its entirety, but use any other relevant section as support to achieve their goals effectively,” Jacobs said.
