WASTE MANAGEMENT
PLASTICS SA HONOURS WATER WARRIORS
BY AWARDING CAROLINE REID AWARDS FOR SOUTH AFRICA’S CLEAN-UP CHAMPIONS
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lastics SA used National Water Week (20-26 March 2022) to recognize the commitment and dedication of our country’s water warriors by awarding the annual Caroline Reid Awards for Clean-Up Champions of the Year. “We launched the Caroline Reid Award in 2019 in memory of a fearless and passionate conservation warrior who was also a very dear friend of the industry. Caroline sadly passed away in 2018 after a tragic accident, but we wanted to ensure her memory and passion live on with these awards that recognise and reward greatness by an individual in the field of inland, waterways and marine and coastal clean-ups,” explains Douw Steyn, Sustainability Director at Plastics SA. Douw commended the many unsung heroes in communities around South Africa who protect the environment
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Municipal Focus
and make a difference in the quality of community life. “Keeping South Africa clean from litter in peri-urban and nature preservation areas greatly depends on the actions of volunteers. Each one of this year’s winners made a tremendous difference in their respective areas. Awards were handed out to organisations and individuals around the country in recognition of their tireless effort to create awareness of the plight of many of our waterways and oceans that are being affected by litter originating inland, and to help protect the natural environment,” he said. Recipients of the 2022 Caroline Reid Awards were: • Sulandi van den Heever is a true West Coaster who has taken it upon herself to coordinate the clean-ups in the Lambert’s Bay area for the last decade.
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The Glencairn Education & Environmental Support Enthusiasts (GEESE), headed up by Cilla Bromley, has been organising clean-ups in the Glencairn and Simon’s Town areas for more than a decade. The Izame Zabantu Nature Helpers are dedicated to removing the pollution that flows via the Black River, into the canals in Paarden Island in Cape Town. This small, but dedicated group of eco-warriors have already filled tens of thousands of bags with waste they have removed. The Birdwatching fraternity is a dedicated group of supporters of clean-up events and projects in the Overberg under the auspices of Dr. Anton Odendal. They have successfully tackled sensitive cleanup actions along their local coast. The Lower Breede River Conservation Trust is based in Witsand and has been very
