Hoekwil residents clear up illegally dumped rubbish

GEORGE NEWS - The people of Hoekwil and Touwsranten recently came together to address issues of illegal dumping and littering in the Village Main and Seven Passes Roads.

Armed with hundreds of black bags provided by the George Municipality, 30 volunteers collected more than 700 bags with litter and filled a refuse truck and two skips with illegally dumped waste.

The clean-up was organised by the Hoekwil Ratepayers' Association and supported by Sonneblom Crèche. During the clean-up, local school children competed for filling the most black bags with litter. The children were provided with snacks and taught about the importance of keeping the environment clean.

While the kids cleaned the village streets, the adults focused on a section of the Seven Passes Road which is a major illegal dumping area. Residents donated the use of their vehicles and loaded a truck full of large items including old furniture, building rubble, carpets, buckets, tins and even a geyser.

From left are Ward Councillor Marlene Barnardt, volunteer Terry Lamont-Smith (behind the wheel) and Chris Kritzinger, chairman of the Hoekwil Ratepayers' Association.

After an entire morning's work only made a dent in the bigger picture, the ratepayers' association decided to keep the skips for another two weeks in the hope of continuing cleaning up more of the Seven Passes Road.

Marlene Barnardt, the ward councillor for the area, participated in the campaign."The clean-up is a great example of how a community can pull together to address an issue that affects everybody. It was also an excellent opportunity to educate the youth regarding this very topical issue, which will hopefully contribute towards raising more responsible adults," said Barnardt.

The George Municipality thanks Lemise April of Sonneblom Crèche and Lydia Buys for arranging the children's participation. Chris Kritzinger, Laurel Pelser, Deidré and Andrew Simpson, Cornell Barnardt and Terry and Jenny Lamont-Smith are thanked for their involvement and availing their vehicles, and other volunteers for doing their part.

Touwsranten youth load a truck with black bags filled with litter they collected from the area.