WILLEMSTAD - The Curaçao Clean Up Foundation recently said goodbye to several board members and welcomed its new board members during a festive gathering. During this meeting, the past eight editions of the national cleaning day, the third Saturday in September, were commemorated, during which an astronomical quantity of garbage was collected in recent years, namely 2.8 million kilos by more than 19 thousand volunteers.
They also looked back at the petition at the end of last year in which the foundation calls on the government to come up with a few clear new rules and frameworks through five practical recommendations with which the pollution problem on the island can be tackled. The petition initiated by the foundation has been signed online more than 5,700 times, which is why the foundation has been invited to a parliamentary meeting on 11 February to explain its position. In eight years of cleaning campaigns, the foundation has gained a lot of experience and spoke extensively with almost all stakeholders. There is still a lot of work to be done, but the foundation also signals a positive change.
The aim of the foundation is primarily to reduce the so-called 'trash blindness'. So that people become aware that litter on Curaçao is unacceptable. This awareness is becoming more widespread among the population and dumping a beer bottle into construction waste is leading to more and more commotion in every layer of the population.
Photo: (from left to right) Myrthe Verhulst (chairman); Hans Pleij (former secretary); Lisandra Martis (board member); Maarten Schakel (former chairman); Corinne Senior- van Hal (Treasurer); Thyla Fontein-Streefkerk (board member). Not in this picture: Sharo Bikker (secretary).