Clean-up campaign marks 30 days of environmental awareness, waste reduction and pollution control

Sikhumbuzo Moyo [email protected]

ZIMBABWE’S National Clean-Up Day tomorrow will mark the beginning of a month-long environmental awareness campaign aimed at reducing waste, curbing pollution and encouraging communities to adopt sustainable waste management practices.

The Environmental Management Agency (EMA) said the clean-up would set the national tone for 30 days of heightened environmental awareness, waste reduction and pollution control campaigns.

The initiative will also build momentum towards World Clean-up Day, set for September 20.

This month’s National Clean-Up Day will be held under the theme, “A Clean Environment, Everyone’s Responsibility”, which highlights the need for individuals, businesses, institutions and communities to take an active role in keeping their surroundings clean.

EMA said the campaign was deliberately moving beyond the traditional approach of simply collecting waste, with emphasis being placed on preventing littering, reducing waste generation, separating waste at source, recovering recyclables and ensuring the responsible disposal of waste.

“Cleaning is everyone’s responsibility. Don’t create a dirty environment to clean it, rather keep the environment clean after the clean-up,” said EMA.

The agency said particular attention would be paid to plastic pollution and other problematic waste streams during the month-long campaign.

EMA called on communities, businesses, institutions and members of the public to participate in the National Clean-Up Day and ensure that the exercise translates into lasting behavioural change.

The agency said a clean and environmentally sustainable Zimbabwe could not be achieved through Government efforts alone, but required collective action from all sectors of society.

“As Zimbabwe observes the September National Clean-Up Day and also joins the global clean-up movement, the message is clear: we all have a role to play in keeping Zimbabwe clean,” said EMA.

The agency urged stakeholders to treat tomorrow’s clean-up not as a once-off exercise, but as the beginning of a sustained commitment to maintaining clean surroundings and protecting the environment.