August 3, 2007
By Lesego Madumo
DIEPSLOOT is a visibly deprived area in the remote northwest of Johannesburg, with a population of over 150 000. It is bordered by newly tarred - though dirty - roads, with a view of posh housing going up on the almost-flat hills of the neighbouring grandiose suburb.
Driving into Diepsloot Extension One, one is met by a cluster of mixed housing developments; these include bond houses built next to Reconstruction and Development Programme houses, all flanking the shacks of informal settlements. The streets are crowded with loitering young and old blood; informal traders hustle for business; and litter is dumped on open spaces and street corners.
With a reputation for being one of the dirtiest townships in the city, Diepsloot isn't a place where one expects dreams – especially those about keeping the environment clean – to flourish. Yet it is here that the Bontle Ke Thlago Environmental Community Forum (BKTECF) was officially introduced to its community on 21 July.
The launch coincided with the second leg of an ongoing cleanup campaign supported by Buyisa e Bag and the Gauteng department of agriculture, conservation, and environment. On launch day, BKTECF, Pikitup, and members of the community removed almost 17 tons of illegally dumped waste.
Mkhuseli Sobantwana, Pikitup's project manager in Diepsloot, compliments the initiative, but points out that, "unfortunately indiscriminate dumping and littering continues".
And indeed, some residents complain that legal dumpsites are too far from where they live, prompting them to throw their rubbish at their doorsteps.
Education campaigns
Sobantwana hopes education campaigns will change these mindsets, saying that "the cleaning of Diepsloot is the responsibility of not only the service providers but each and every resident".
BKTECF comprises of nine young adults who are passionate about having an immaculate environment. It was established with the help of Pikitup, the City's waste removal agency, with the primary aim of eradicating all illegal dumping sites in Diepsloot, educating the community about the hazards of dumping ubiquitously and keeping their environment hygienic until 2010 and beyond.
It is aligned with Pikitup's undertaking to create a cleaner, safer, acceptable and well-managed environment, says Pansy Jali, Pikitup's public relations officer. Her agency supports communities that get involved in environmental issues, she explains.
Pikitup also believes that where communities manage their own environments, it will result in a "real improvement in the quality of their lives". Pikitup has similar forums in Alexandra, Soweto, Orange Farm and the inner city, among other places, and it is also targeting all of the City's 109 wards.
In setting up such environmental forums, the agency supplies guidelines explaining their role and conducts workshops on environmental education and awareness, project development and management, and business plan writing.
Feasible mission
Bella Kgosiadira, BKTECF's general secretary, believes that the group's mission – that of keeping Diepsloot clean – is feasible, and that this should be an obligation everyone is inclined to undertake as long as they are alive.
According to a study conducted by Pikitup, almost 34 of the City's 109 wards have their own community structures for cleaning and caring for their surroundings in a bid to keep the metro clean by 2010.
BKTECF is registered with the Department of Trade and Industry as a co-operative, owned and run by the nine determined members who, despite their struggles, are willing to face the daily challenges of cleaning up the township. They meet every Thursday evening to discuss future plans and the means of executing them.
Kgosiadira says the forum grew out of a camp held to educate young people about environmental issues and keeping their surroundings clean and healthy. Initially 30 Diepsloot residents went on the training camp, which included some information on recycling plastics.
Recycling initiatives
The camp was conducted by Buyisa e Bag, meaning "bring back the plastic bag", a private company that deals with environmental issues and recycling plastics.
Held over two days in November 2006 in Free State province, the camp educated the participants about recycling. They realised that cleaning up their own communities would be a good start.
BKTECF is looking for a site to set up a Buy Back hub for recycling. "We want to encourage people to recycle," Kgosiadira notes. Waste will be weighed at the site, with payment made according to the weight of material sent for recycling.
"Paying them will trigger their support for the initiative and force them to stop illegal dumping," she hopes. Plastic bags collected from the streets will be used to make carpets called magogo, meant for lying down and chilling on the lawn in summer.
In addition, the recycling campaign will help to eradicate diseases that may be caused by living in a filthy environment.
One of its major goals is to get people to realise that nature and beauty go hand-in-hand, hence the name, which means beauty is a natural thing, roughly translated. "Everything must be beautiful, like God made it to be, including the environment, which should be kept clean, beautiful and healthy."
For Kgosiadira, a self-confessed environment devotee, as much as the environment is part of the whole cosmos, people are part and parcel of their communities, and that's why "we have to teach our communities to keep their surroundings clean".
Transformation goals
Diepsloot is renowned for its litter, she concedes, but says, "We want to change that perception, and maybe one day be in Guinness World Records for being the fastest transforming place in the whole world."
Kgosiadira believes that the appalling conditions in which the underprivileged community lives should not reflect on its members as untidy and negligent. However, she says that "even though our community is poor, the environment should be clean".
BKTECF aims to have its recycling project up and running by 2010, when "maybe Diepsloot can be a tourist attraction". "We plan to also embark on a tour of schools to teach pupils about careers in environmental management and about recycling and cleanliness."
Community meetings at clinics will also be held. "People must realise that the hazards of life are not only HIV/Aids, but environmental degradation as well."
She urges the community to be involved, saying that without this, "our plans will be just a big failure". At heart though, Kgosiadira is optimistic that the forum's plans will be executed. And the fruits of the project will be reaped by the coming generation.
"We are young and we have ambitions; we can create good examples and bright futures for our youngsters."
Turning dream into reality
Kgosiadira is adamant that the nine will not rest until their dreams have flourished. "We want to encourage the community to use effectively the refuse bags handed out to them by Pikitup, to avoid illegal dumping on street corners and also to teach people to separate waste. It is unfortunate that some use the bags for other purposes instead of disposing off their waste."
Speaking about illegal dumping grounds and referring to an incident earlier in the year when the body of a baby was found on a street corner, she says: "These people use these places to do sickening things. We also have a problem with them not wanting to comply with the stipulated rules for dumping."
A vegetable garden in the ground of the Diepsloot South Clinic
During World Environmental Week in June this year, BKTECF came third in the City's My City, My Future, Let's Save it for 2010 environmental awareness competition, winning prize money of R5 000.
The competition required participants to identify environmental problems and their causes, and come up with solutions to improve the quality of life in the area.
In the near future, Pikitup will launch environmental education workshops targeting the whole of Diepsloot, enlightening residents about environmental issues and inspiring them to manage their surroundings.
Jali says Pikitup faces major challenges regarding people who are reluctant to comply with environmental laws on dumping. In response, Pikitup and Region A launched a six-month educational programme "where 20 community members were appointed as education officers, trained to interact with residents on a daily basis on environmental management issues".
The aim is to mobilise residents to get involved in activities that will ensure their environment is kept tidy and clean, "thereby preventing them from falling victim to diseases caused by an unclean environment".
Some of Pikitup's plans include educating people to use rubbish bins, informing communities about rubbish collection dates and times, and listening to residents' views and suggestions on waste management.
"In informal areas where a normal service is not possible due to [population and shack] density, bulk containers are placed strategically where residents can discard their refuse."
About 520 tons of rubbish are removed from Diepsloot every month and the bulk bins are cleaned every weekday. "We render a door-to-door domestic refuse removal service on a once-a-week basis, removing an average of 130 tons of refuse a week."
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