Over 10 000 bags of litter collected in Constantia

Pristine Pathways Constantia, a project addressing litter and employment through a collaborative approach has reached a new milestone, collecting over 10 000 bags or 20 tonnes of litter in the suburb since its inception.

The project is run by Pristine Earth Collective (PEC), an environmental non-profit company and public benefit organisation, focused on reducing plastic entering natural spaces, oceans and waterways.

The collective was launched in 2019, by Constantia resident Brett Jordaan, with the mandate of collaborating and boosting existing initiatives in the plastic collection space but quickly saw the need for a more area-focused clearing of plastic before it reached the stormwater network and made its way to beaches or the ocean, says George van der Schyff, PEC operations director.

The organisation was already heavily involved with the Gugulethu CAN during Covid and saw Pristine Pathways Constantia as a good catalyst for employment.

“We employ two people from Gugulethu to work in Constantia for four days a week, doing basic targeted area cleaning, supplementing what the City does. Then once a week, on a Friday, the team works in their own area. We looked at this as a co-benefit employment model where we are also helping improve a community in need,” Mr Van der Schyff says.

The team focuses on the main arteries of Constantia, including Alphen Centre, Constantia Emporium, Rhodes Drive, Alphen and Silverhurst greenbelts and in Gugulethu, around creches, schools, canals and rivers, while also taking guidance from the community on where dumping has taken place in both areas.

The project has run successfully for three years thanks to logistical support from their partners, Constantia Watch Security Response Team, the City’s Urban Waste Department and the Friends of the Constantia Valley Greenbelts, while the Constantia Residents’ and Ratepayers’ Association has provided a base for their operations at the Alphen Centre, Mr Van der Schyff says.

A similar model, Pristine Pathways Sea Point, focusing on the beachfront and promenade, was launched in 2022. The Sea Point team likewise works in Gugulethu on Friday with the Constantia team.

“A lot of the litter hot spots in Constantia have improved over the years, including in and around public areas, where people sleeping in the rough “to no fault of their own” generate a lot of litter,” Mr Van der Schyff says.

“The team tends to find spots in the green belts and parks where people have slept and moved on, leaving behind a night or week's worth of litter and things that can't be explained like full bags of adult nappies and sanitary ware are dumped in Constantia. In a lot of the main roads, people moving between spaces are dropping quite low-value food packaging like chip packets, sweet wrappers, little sucker wrappers. It's quite endemic to the busy arteries.

“I would love to see this project propagate to areas like Rondebosch, Athlone, Muizenberg and Vrygrond; wherever it needs to go. All these things come down to funding. The whole project is funded by local businesses. We're not a company, so we're not generating revenue in any other way, besides through sponsorships.

“It’s often touch and go with members’ contributions as to whether we can make wages for the month or other expenses. As we get more sponsorship from locals, we can add more members. We’d be more than happy to grow the team to four or five, and we can tackle more areas.”

Mr Van der Schyff says 20 tonnes of waste diverted from the stormwater network and eventually the ocean is an incredible feat but does not illustrate the softer metric of its impact on people.

“It’s been quite interesting to also just open residents’ eyes to not just the impact of litter on their doorstep, but also being able to illustrate how our employment model can also impact an area like Gugulethu. This simple collective action can have such a big impact, not just on what they see when they'’re driving to the shops, but also somewhere that they may see driving past on the N2.”

“Cleanliness, litter and the generally poorly kept verges and open areas are constant negative feedback about Constantia that we receive from both local residents and visitors alike,” says the Friends of Constantia Valley Greenbelt (FoCVGB) chair, Colin Walker.

“It is up to voluntary public clean-ups and civic initiatives such as PEC to supplement the shortfall in the City’s clean-up services to keep Constantia in any form of acceptable appearance. Pristine Pathways Constantia plays a vital role in maintaining the general cleanliness along Constantia’s main routes.”

He says there is a strong sense of shared responsibility and community involvement as PEC employs individuals from neighbouring communities, the crew is sponsored by the Constantia clean-up to also do cleaning work and litter removal in Gugulethu.

“FoCVGB have been a partner and sponsor of Pristine Pathways Constantia since their inception. We have only the best words of praise for this wonderful initiative that involves citizen sponsorship and positive action to make a difference to the areas that we live in.”

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