September has been marked by a number of clean-up events in the Overstrand.   One such activity involved Gansbaai Tourism who decided to clean up the Gansbaai Harbour on 19 September 2020 as part of their commitment to the International Coastal Clean-up campaign.

Gansbaai Tourism was joined by fire fighters from the Overstrand Municipality, the Gans-berg  news team and several friends and family members. The volunteers were divided into teams and each covered about 2km in various directions from the start at the loading dock.

Part of the clean-up team was eight junior ambassadors who volunteered their time and helped clean the harbour - the youngest was Xavier Otto who is only 4 years old

This is once again an appeal to all residents in the Overstrand to only place your bin or bags on the pavement at 07:00 in the mornings on the relevant refuse collection day. 

If black bags are left outside and it is not the day for the municipality to pick them up, baboons, birds, dogs and cats rip open rubbish bags and litter is strewn around.

It is essential that home owners take heed and for landlords and letting agents to convey the information to tenants and holidaymakers as well - especially in Pearly Beach where homeowners and weekenders still put their bags on the sidewalk on days when refuse is not removed.

Residents are cautioned that it is a contravention of the Integrated Waste Management By-law to place refuse on their pavements on days other than the scheduled refuse collection days.

Fines will be issued to offenders.

Overstrand Traffic Department in Hermanus will once again open its doors from 1 October on every second Saturday from 08:30 until 12:00, to accommodate clients with the following services:

• car license renewal
• vehicle registration
• roadworthy testing
• learners’ and drivers’ license bookings
• public driving permits
• payment of traffic fines

The traffic offices in Hermanus will be open Mondays - Fridays from 08:00 - 15:15 and every second Saturday from 08:30 until 12:00.

On Wednesday, 16 September 2020, Overstrand Municipality took Cape Nature Walker Bay and the Department of Environmental Affairs’ (DEA) youth co-ordinators to clean up the beach between Die Gruis near De Kelders and Sopiesklip.

The event forms part of the International Coastal Clean-up Day - an annual global event where thousands of concerned volunteers rally together to collect trash and debris on beaches, rivers and estuaries before it has the chance to wash into the ocean during spring high tide. The theme for 2020 is ‘Trash free Ocean’.

The total tally of rubbish collected by this team alone was sobering.

“We picked up 32 bags of rubbish (weighing 185 kg) in this 5 km stretch,” said Overstrand Municipality’s Environmental Management Services (EMS) field ranger and facilitator of various clean-up projects, Marco Cornelius. He was assisted by DEA Youth Co-ordinator, Steven Njokwana.