Stilbaai Community Forum launched the cleaner Stilbaai action to ensure that Stilbaai becomes the cleanest and greenest town in the country. The objective is for the action to be embraced by all, organisations as well as individuals, and this will hopefully eventually include the whole Hessequa. We thus support the Municipality’s campaign to become the Greenest Municipality in South Africa.

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The Community Forum identified a few issues that need to be addressed to achieve the goals of the action. Currently the most important issues are littering, refuse bags left on sidewalks, and the planting of trees in public areas and along streets. This list can be extended as the project proceeds.

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LITTERING

Littering in certain areas seems to bother the community most, in particular by homeless or displaced persons who litter areas they frequent, for example the route from Fynbos Centre to Jagersbosch and down along the river. A similar problem, not necessarily always caused by the homeless, is the littering around waiting areas at bus stops. The Municipality has undertaken to increase its cleansing, this will improve the situation but is not the solution to the problem.

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The community must work together to address the problem and to get everybody’s co-operation to end this unnecessary littering. Displaced persons are a continuing problem as complaints about littering is often accompanied by complaints about threatening attitudes by these people.

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REFUSE BAGS ON STREETS

A very real problem, particularly over weekends, is where visitors leave their refuse bags on the sidewalks where they are torn open by dogs, cats, seagulls and also the homeless; the wind blows the contents all over the place.​​

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PLANTING OF TREES

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In 2015 Hessequa Municipality won first prize in the National Arbor Award competition, and later in the year was nominated as the Greenest Municipality in the Western Cape. The prize monies for these awards were utilised to purchase and plant trees in the #100 000 Trees campaign.

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The Community Forum supports this campaign of the Municipality, and are assisting them by identifying areas for planting trees in Stilbaai.

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The town is becoming cleaner, but it is clear that Stilbaai is still far from claiming to be the cleanest town. Jongensfontein has made much better progress where residents are keeping the beach and other areas clean.

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Our thanks go to those members of the public who are doing something special to keep specific areas clean. Under the auspices of Stilbaai Coastal Cleanup hundreds of bags of litter are collected on a regular basis. It is clear that much more educational work needs be done, both with visitors and local residents.

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We appeal again to each and every one, individuals, businesses and organisations, to ensure that their immediate environment is kept clean and litter-free. If there are areas where special attention is required, please call Clifton Donald of Stilbaai Coastal Cleanup at 082 457-1135. With the cleaner Stilbaai action we are improving our environment and supporting the Hessequa Municipality in its endeavour to become the Greenest Municipality in the country.

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