Mozambique: World Clean-up Day brings together over a million children all over the country

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Mozambique: World Clean-up Day brings together over a million children all over the country

5:20 CAT | 19 Sep 2022

Photo courtesy: Carlos Serra on Facebook

Over a million Mozambican children, from all over the country, came together on Saturday (17) as part of the celebrations of the World Clean-up Day.

Those who turned up engaged in a number of activities including collecting solid waste on beaches, schools, streets and other public places.

Speaking during a brief interview to AIM news agency, environmental activist Carlos Serra said that this feat was possible thanks to the joint effort between public and private institutions, Non Governmental Organisations (NGOs) and partners.

“Yesterday (Friday) we achieved a historic milestone, when over a million children took to the streets to collect rubbish. Although we still don’t have exact figures, surely this was the largest clean up event in Mozambique. We exceeded our own expectations”, said Serra.

“On this day we would like to pass a message for every citizen to cut down waste and pollution. This day was established mainly for education and awareness purposes,” he added.

Regarding the draft legislation banning the use of plastic bags, which is currently being discussed by the government and other key players including producers, the source said it is welcome because plastic materials are the most pervasive and harmful solid waste found on Mozambican beaches, putting at risk entire ecosystems.

According to Serra, it is already time for Mozambique to start thinking seriously about banning or limiting the use of other disposable materials, because recycling is the is the best way to protect the environment.

“We have to start thinking about adoption of other disposable materials. I think the major problem right now is the culture of disposables, which people use once and throw away. It would be great if we could tackle this issue, […]. We have to start acting rationally the way we use our resources”, insisted the source.

In another development, Serra praised efforts undertaken to cut down solid waste on Mozambican beaches. He says that after banning the beaches for nearly two years, a measure that aimed to prevent and stop the spread of the Covid-19 pandemic, things have improved considerably in terms of cleanliness.

According to the source, there are still few pockets of waste in almost all beaches all over the country, but nothing compared to pre-Covid era.

“It means that it is worthwhile to continue working. We have noticed that the trend is for improvement you can see clearly that there is no longer waste on the beaches as it used to be before, despite the lifting of the ban,” he noted.

“In about five days we managed to collect about 650 empty bottles of alcohol discarded by beach users. Therefore, we must stop throwing waste on the ground. Don’t throw waste on the beaches because glass bottles, for examples, cold eventually break and cause serious injuries,” he warned.

Hundreds of people turned up to celebrate the World Clean-up Day, including representatives of Non Governmental Organizations (NGOs), municipalities, provincial governments, public and private companies, among others.

Source: AIM