PLETTENBERG BAY NEWS - It is official – Plettenberg Bay is home to South Africa's first clean-up champion of the year.
The Keep Plett Clean team – an initiative born six years ago to keep the coastal holiday town in tip-top condition – received Plastics SA's prestigious 2019 Caroline Reid Award.
The award is given to a South African who has shown outstanding commitment to community clean-ups and recycling initiatives.
"It is a huge honour to have received this award and the R10 000 prize money will be ploughed back into the campaign to boost our efforts," Keep Plett Clean brainchild and driver Alison Bryant said after receiving the award at the National Conference of Marine and Coastal Educators Network in Cape Town on 23 January.
The award was established to honour ocean conservation warrior Caroline Reid who died in a tragic motorcycle accident in 2018. She coordinated hundreds of beach and diving clean-ups and was central in the work done with the loss of the plastic pellets in the Durban harbour in 2017.
Bryant and her team were unknowingly nominated by local resident and campaign member Linda Reich and managed to clinch the win among several other worthy nominees.
"I need to thank all of my Keep Plett Clean team members. They are tireless and always keen to lend a helping hand around our little town. A special mention needs to go to David Scott, who is always at my beck and call, and never shies away from cleaning our town," Bryant said.
She also thanked local businessman Duncan Brown from the Beacon Island KwikSpar who supports the initiative financially.
She said the campaign started very quietly six years ago and has grown tremendously since. "More people are seeing their responsibility to keep their environment clean."
Bryant said the prize money will go towards purchasing a scooter for their two permanent staff members who are currently walking about 15km a day collecting litter in and around Plettenberg Bay. "This will allow them to cover greater distances."
The campaign was started in March 2014 under the leadership of Bryant, who picked up litter in Main Street. At the time, the town was full of litter, grass was growing on curbs and there was serious litter dumping in bushes in various spots around town.
The team started meeting at The Grand Hotel in Main Street 17:15 on Tuesdays and from there go out to clean different areas in the coastal holiday town.
Keep Plett Clean campaign founder Alison Bryant received the Caroline Reid Award for her and her team's efforts in cleaning the environment. Photo: Supplied
Bryant said for the first year it was difficult to decide where to clean as there were just too many problem areas. The team however persisted and gradually started to see improvement.
From the start, the aim was to create a clean and fresh looking town so that locals could be proud of it and visitors, local and foreign, would find Plettenberg Bay a pleasant and attractive holiday destination.
The campaign is driven by Bryant and supported by her right-hand man Scott.
The initiative also now employs two permanent staff members cleaning every day with the exception of Sundays.
The campaign records bag usage which averages about 34 bags per day, rising to 43 during holiday seasons.
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