“Clean Rivers, Healthy Oceans for a Better Tomorrow" is the slogan chosen for this year's Clean Up the World Campaign which kicks off on Friday September 19.

During this weekend, various activities on Mahe, Praslin and La Digue have been scheduled to concentrate on cleaning up rivers and areas by the sea.

According to the acting chairman of the Clean Up the World organising committee, Cliff Gonsalves, this is also an opportunity for the general public to join the campaign and clean up the areas around their homes.

For people with excess and heavy metal waste that require disposal on Mahe, metal “skips” will be installed in certain areas specifically to store waste material as part of the campaign.  Where the skips are not available, the public are advised to leave the waste by the roadside, no later than Sunday September 21 at 12 noon.

For Praslin and La Digue, heavy metal waste will be collected at a later date with proper boat arrangements, but collection of green waste and other materials will take place as usual.

District groups, such as Youth Action Teams, Lekip Lanbelir and volunteers from governmental as well as non-governmental organisations are expected to join forces in this year’s cleaning crusade.

Mr Gonsalves, who is also the technical manager for the Solid Waste and Cleaning Agency (SWAC), expressed satisfaction with the extensive turnout of help and support they’ve received, both in terms of volunteers and donations, whether they be financial or from food and beverages.

"Being an international event, the 'Clean Up the World' campaign is not allocated a budget," said Mr Gonsalves.  “Therefore we rely heavily on businesses and volunteers to support the campaign.”

In view that certain individuals are still not conscious of the importance of rivers and oceans as a source of life for us as well as for our marine resources, Mr Gonsalves said it was high time to put our hands together and make Seychelles a better place.

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