CAN DO! Trekking for Trash is a courageous 3000km trek on foot by social change adventurers Michael Baretta and Camilla Howard along the South African coast line from Alexander Bay on the Namibian border, to Kosi Bay on the Mozambican border. Live Eco is the official online sponsor for the event so we thought we’d take some time to introduce you to the team.
Who are Michael and Camilla?
Michael: I was inspired by a talk by David Grier who ran a marathon a day along the same route. I have always wanted to combine something that I’d love to do with something that I would like to change about society. So I left my job as a Strategic Business Manager at The Creative Counsel to follow a different path for a while.
Camilla: I started up Chez Gourmet, a Specialised Short Course Cooking school and bespoke catering company with my mom a few years ago. Once I had helped her realise her dream I took a year off to pursue my passions for photography, adventurous travel and doing good. Towards the end of that year of conquering challenge after challenge I completed the Barefoot Kili expedition becoming the first woman to summit Kilimanjaro Barefoot. I felt I grew so much as a person and a citizen with all the good we did for the Red Cross Children’s Hospital that I was completely inspired for the next adventure. I turn 30 soon and I want to tick off one more big life changing adventure before I enter the next chapter of my life.
Why Trekking for Trash? Why litter out of all the many social issues in SA?
Michael: Litter is so much more that just unsightly it results in some serious environmental, social and economic issues. Most notably it perpetuates the broken window effect in our country. Under this theory, an ordered and clean environment, one which is maintained, sends the signal that the area is monitored and that criminal behaviour will not be tolerated.
Conversely, a disordered environment, one which is not maintained (broken windows, litter, graffiti), sends the signal that the area is not monitored and that one can engage in criminal behaviour with little risk of detection.
Camilla: Echoing Mike’s comment above, Litter is something that has always bothered us personally and we are taking the chance to make a real difference to change the attitudes of South African youth by educating them, empowering them and hopefully creating a sense of pride amongst all of us by cleaning up our beautiful country.
We believe that by reducing the levels of litter in South Africa we can make our country an even better place to live in.
What do you hope to achieve with this venture?
Our main objective is to raise awareness about the litter problem in SA and the negative it has on our environment (both natural and urban). We want South Africans to commit to joining the cause to alleviate litter. We also want to educate South Africans on the benefits of choosing metal packaging whenever possible. Metal cans are the most recycled form of packaging in South Africa and the world over! Over 72% of all beverage can and 56 % of food and other cans produced in SA, these percentages are far higher than other packaging substrates. Cans are therefore responsible for 1% of landfill waste and litter due to their recovery value. In their sponsorship of Trekking for Trash, Nampak and Collect-A-Can are leading the way in alleviating litter and encouraging recycling and we intend on delivering this message.
What will you be doing en route to promote recycling awareness to the various coastal communities?
We aim to raise the general awareness of litter and recycling in South Africa. Our communication strategy consists of the following:
- A stand at the Green Expo in Cape Town and in Johannesburg
- A roadshow to 15 primary school
- A visit to 10 Nampak client factories6 large scale community clean ups
- A television series
- Extensive PR
- Lobbying local governments
- Identifying and supporting informal waste collectors.
How can people get involved with the beach clean ups?
We are encouraging as many people as possible to join us at the beach clean ups. Our dates are as follows :
- 10 November: Blouberg Beach
- 17 November: Sunset Beach
- 16th February: PE
- 03 March: East London
- 06 April: Durban
Our aim is to support existing beach clean up groups along the way who do monthly clean up’s so the spirit continues once we have passed through the cities and they gain much more support from the awareness we have created.
What will you be doing with all the trash you collect?
We will be recycling all the cans that we collect and be putting the rest of the litter where it belongs – in the bin! As one of our main sponsors Collect-a-Can will be facilitating a lot of the recycling.
How do you plan to keep the momentum of the project alive once the ‘trek’ is over?
We will be raising funds to support informal waste collectors and giving them the skills, tools and equipment to formalise their own businesses.
Do you have any recycling tips for consumers?
COLLECT-A-CANS RECYCLING TIPS
- Make recycling a family affair – involve the kids and make sure that everybody understands why it is important to recycle and what can be recycled
- Make recycling fun and easy – buy different coloured rubbish bags or bins for the different recyclable products and place them conveniently in the home. Separate cans (beverage, food, oil cans and aerosols); glass; paper and plastic. You can even have household competitions to see who is mastering recycling the best or who knows what can be recycled and what can’t.
- Keep it clean – remember to rinse out packaging before you put it in the recycling bin to avoid your bins smelling or attracting insects
- Decide how you can give back to the community through your recycling – by choosing a charity organization or a school to donate your used cans to or separate your garbage for the informal collectors who collect and recycle garbage for a living, instead of them having to rummage through your trash for the valuable recyclables.
- Know your nearest collection point so that dropping off your recyclables is easy. Or sign up with a recycling company that will collect your recycling for a small fee.
- Remember that Recycling is one of the 3 R’s Reduce-Reuse-Recycle – you can reduce the amount of waste you generate by re-using cans in fun craft projects (such as decorating them to use as plant pots or pencil holders) or for practical purposes (such as storing nails, screws etc in in the garage)
- Contact Collect-A-Can on 011 466 2939 or visit www.collectacan.co.za to enter their schools collection competitions or art competitions where great cash prizes can be won and for more information.
Are there any foreseeable bumps along the road? 7 months is a long time… What’s going to push you through those inevitable “dark days” that come with a project of this nature?
Michael: Although we have done adventure races together before, none have been on this scale. We have decided to write a manifesto to consider all the different things that could go wrong.
How can the public get involved and support this worthy initiative?
We would love people to show their support on Facebook and on Twitter and at the beach cleanups (Facebook: Trekking for Trash and Twitter: Trekking4Trash) We are creating a web portal where people can donate to the informal waste collectors – this should be up by the end of the month. Watch our social networks for details.
