No blame game, just getting down to Clean Plett
CXpress first became aware of the Clean Plett campaign when seeing Nic & Alison Bryant and a small group of collaborators tug at weeds and pick up trash and generally doing an admirable job of cleaning an area between the post office and Toledo Flats around dusk on February 24.
Some part of our party enjoying sundowners at The Table tried to send Nic a cold frostie for encouragement but it came back untouched. Something was the matter and all that the waiter could mutter was Nic’s “not drinking on the job”.
Jump to March 7, when a letter to Bitou business owners explained thus: “Plett is not looking too beautiful at the moment as our council does not have the manpower to keep it clean and tidy.
“A few locals have decided that we would not wait for them but rather work together and get the job done. So we ask for your assistance to help us getting Plett Clean by caring for the area in front of your shops, and keeping it clean and tidy.”
Fast-forward to last weekend when we bugged Alison, whose brainchild it was, for more info on Clean Plett – and lo and behold, she’d just had tea with Western Cape Education minister Donald Grant, who somehow got to know about the campaign and arranged a meeting to thank and encourage the team.
“He was very supportive and agreed that if one can’t wait for the paperwork and things are not getting done, then helpful and concerned citizens can actually set things into motion.
“I explained to him that this was really not a blame campaign. It started out because I was concerned about the way the town looked – we’re a tourism town, after all.
“A few like-minded people got together and we got the municipality’s blessing to paint neglected spots in the main road, make rockeries, and so on.
“Nobody tells anybody what to do. It’s all purely voluntary. The biggest thing I’m trying to do now is getting each of town’s garden services to take responsibility for a piece of Plett, so one can phone and say ‘there’s weeds popping up on the circle’ or ‘please collect rubbish on the BI Bridge’,” explained Alison.
Apart from the Bryants’ mainstay Plett Carpet Cleaners, several businesses – including Dulux and Pinnacle Paints, and Milkwood Garden Services – have already contributed equipment and energy, and the Clean Plett Facebook page has an ever-growing amount of followers.
But any ideas or suggestions to beautify Plett and keep it that way will be appreciated. Or follow Clean Plett on Facebook to find out where the next gathering takes place. Then bring along gloves, black bags, garden fork and broom and help fixing a small part of Plett from 5:30-6:30pm each Tuesday.
Call Clean Plett chairman Andries Trahms on 082 451 7482 or Alison on 082 572 1027 to find out more.
Source: CXpress