The Cape Town Central City Improvement District’s (CCID) mission to clean up its busy precinct has begun to pay off, with over 1,225 tonnes of litter and illegally dumped waste removed from the streets in town.
The Improvement District’s trash overhaul came after calls by City of Cape Town Mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis launched the #SpringCleanCT campaign to bring an end to consistent littering and illegal dumping in the Mother City last year.
CCID Communications Manager Sharon Sorour-Morris said the clean-up initiatives were recorded during the past financial year, from 1 July 2021, until 30 June 2022, and were celebrated at the CCID’s 2022 Annual General Meeting, where CEO Tasso Evangelinos stressed that tackling unwanted litter and illegal dumping was a priority and contributed towards creating a successful and welcoming downtown for locals, visitors and investors. “Our teams were able to remove over 1,225 tonnes of litter and illegally dumped waste, enough to fill a landfill, using an astonishing 184,330 bags.” CCID Urban Development Manager Kally Benito said retaining the CBD’s desirability as an investment destination continues to be the driving force behind the CCID’s efforts to curb littering and illegal dumping.
She said: “Illegal dumping, graffiti tagging, cigarette-butt litter and waste that spills out of torn litter bags remain the biggest challenges for CCID Urban Management. That said, downtown Cape Town is still one of the country’s most well-kept CBDs, which speaks to the department’s ability to overcome these obstacles in collaboration with its partners, namely J&M Cleaning Services, Straatwerk, as well as the City of Cape Town.”