Green Army intensifies fight against rubbish!

LET'S keep our environment clean.

This is an appeal from the Green Army members who embarked on a cleaning campaign at Kopanong in Hammanskraal, Tshwane, on Thursday, 10 October.

They stated that the cleaning initiative began in May 2023, and is aimed at keeping the kasi clean and eradicating illegal dumping.

Dr Shaun Manala, co-ordinator of the organisation, mentioned that they were also celebrating World Cleanup Day by ensuring all rubbish is picked up and the environment is clean.

"Our aim is to make sure we live in a clean, hygienic environment. There's a lot of rubbish in our kasi," Manala said.

He said, for now, they focus was on fighting rubbish in Hammanskraal, and the organisation plans to expand its efforts throughout Tshwane.

"Rubbish brings diseases, pollution, poor hygiene, and a lot of rats," he said.

Green Army members clean from Mondays to Fridays.

Manala said they rely on stipends from Nasi iSpani, a Gauteng Provincial Government initiative.

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Dimakatso Rakgetse, the organisation's team leader, urged the community to stop throwing rubbish away and recycle it.

"We find dead dogs, chickens, and cats," Dimakatso said.

She said she is proud to be part of the clean up campaign.

Jabulani Mbatha, Hammanskraal Big Save marketing ambassador, praised the initiative for keeping the place neat.

"We'll continue helping the community with water and rubbish bags, and we also clean. We encourage them to continue doing an excellent job of cleaning," Jabulani said.

Douglas Makondo, Taxi rank manager at Hammanskraal, was satisfied with the initiative.

"Rubbish bothers us, it stinks, and also bothers our customers," he said.

Maredi Pretorius, a community member, shared that he usually brings plastic bags for rubbish, water, and energy.

"I'm a member of the community. We want to keep our area clean always."