A 250 strong team of eager environmental enthusiasts consisting of Grade 7 learners, teachers, PenBev employees and local community members gathered at the Blackheath Community Centre on Saturday morning, to show their support for a cleaner, greener community. The participants were treated to music, dance and fun activities during the ‘Drain to Ocean’ Educational Presentation by the City of Cape Town, where the effects of dumping and littering were explained. The students were given a safety talk on how to collect the litter and what types of hazardous material should not be collected. After the talk, learners were accompanied by WasteWise and PenBev representatives to collect gloves and bags for cleaning the canal of all unsightly litter and waste. The learners excelled in the environmental education initiative and enjoyed making a noticeable difference within their community.

Blackheath Primary School runs adjacent to the canal-area where much litter and waste accumulates over time. The litter problem in the area is not only unsightly, but also unhygienic for the learners and residents of Blackheath. Mr Quentin Johnson, Principal of Blackheath Primary comments, “We are thrilled with the turn-out and appreciate that WasteWise approached our school to educate the learners on why it is important to look after the environment, and very appreciative that PenBev made this possible. We trust the learners can take home what they have learnt today and continue with environmental awareness when faced with litter pollution, and help make our streets a cleaner place to live.”

PenBev is proud to have a lasting partnership with The City of Cape Town and its WasteWise initiative. This partnership contributes to educating communities about the importance of looking after our beautiful country. “This is a great step in fostering clean habits among local residents and the youth. We are delighted to help educate learners about the environmental impact of litter and how this leads to a society with little respect for their living area. By aiming these initiatives at the younger generation, we hope to instil a sense of consciousness for our earth. This initiative forms part of our ‘me (people), we (community), world (environment)’ initiative, which aims to uplift the people and environment in which we operate.” comments Denise Green, Corporate Social Investment Manager at PenBev.

WasteWise is a public education and awareness programme dedicated to the prevention of littering, minimisation of waste and the growth of recycling efforts. “WasteWise is thrilled to have PenBev on board for this initiative. It has been an absolute pleasure to work with Blackheath Primary and all the eager students and teachers. It is of vital importance for companies, schools and citizens to care for their surroundings. We ultimately seek to create a culture of environmental awareness and responsibility amongst all communities in the Western Cape to reduce the amount of waste sent to landfill sites,” comments Rodney Leak, Schools Co-ordinator for WasteWise.

The City of Cape Town in conjunction with the WasteWise Programme sponsored a ‘Commit Tree’ tree replica to the school that allows all students who participated in the clean-up to write their names on. This serves as a reminder of the pledge they took in being environmentally conscious.

After the event, it was clear that this important message was delivered. The canal was clean and the students had a story to tell their friends and families.

For more information about Peninsula Beverages, visit www.penbev.co.za and visit WasteWise on www.epa.gov/epawaste/conserve/smm/wastewise/index.htm

Photographer: Craig Wilson

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Released by Reputation Matters Media contact: Lisa Sharland Mobile: 076 373 4602 lisa@reputationmatters.co.za