Key Words: Clean up the World 2011, GoG Action, Fines, Glass and Cans Recycling, Sir Graham Watson

Hello to one and all- the pace is now truly picking up for our exciting Clean Up the World Community Event to be held on the 17th September that will see over 500 already registered volunteers help make Gibraltar a cleaner environment for all. What is remarkable is the transition organisers are witnessing this time round regarding the vast improvements to many of our usual hotspot sites targeted each year since 2005.

This represents a major success story of an effective and sustained community campaign together with the efforts of the Minister of the Environment and related depts. Master Services and agencies who are now responding and are better resourced to maintain many of our precious green and coastal areas which historically were off radar – except that is, for tourists, litterers and irresponsible contractors. These ongoing issues highlight the need for prevention of littering and dumping by way of improved information/facilities and above all fines and enforcement. We shall be focusing on this during the 2011 campaign.

So, this is an extremely positive year for our volunteers as we gear up to work on new areas and new projects knowing that the efforts will survive beyond the weekend event

We shall be cleaning underwater sites, hard to access coastal and green areas as well as working with the local NGOs in programmes related to vegetation and conservation projects. We also are expecting to assist in worthy fixing up projects which are currently being looked at in detail. The ethos of CUTW is to clean up, fix up and green up our environment- imagine if all communities did this – everywhere – the world would indeed be a better place to live in!! If you haven’t yet signed up and are interested to take part just give us a call on 200-48996 or mobile 54960000 or email us at esg@gibtelecom.net. We also welcome donations to support the event so call us if you can help. Thank you!

Taking responsibility is also part of the 2011 Clean Up theme and disposing of your waste falls clearly under this ethos. While it is the responsibility of Govts and agencies to provide and monitor basic services the community also has a part to play and 2010 statistics for collection of glass and cans do not tell a good story. Although Gibraltar exported over 100 tons of glass and over 20 tons of cans in 2010 this falls short of the waste targets we are required to meet as a community. Clearly more work needs to be done on both sides ie the service providers and users and we hope our annual campaign will help increase awareness during the Clean Up Event.

On other news the ESG was very pleased to meet with MEP Sir Graham Watson on his recent visit to Gibraltar. Sir Graham, who is now fully briefed and concerned about regional environmental issues has given us greater confidence in the European Commission process and we are very thankful to be able to rely on his support and representations on our behalf on important issues such as CEPSA pollution, sewage, and bunkering, among others.

Thank you for listening and a reminder to all CUTW team leaders that we meet on the 7th September at 7pm at the Charles Hunt Room for a detailed logistics and planning session. Hope to see you there!