Is someone going to clean up after the Ruins – stop plastic pollution
One certainly hopes that someone cleans up after the Ruins. There is hazard tape, plastic packets and cladding still hanging from fences and in the windy weather it won’t take much to dislodge it. If a westerly blows it could end up adding to the already dire ocean pollution.
Shortly after driving past the eyesore that the Ruins have left behind than I came across something to really give one hope that there are people who care. At the stop sign just before Lyme Road South joins the R330 a gentleman in a grey hatchback, obviously on his way out if St Francis, stopped at the stop street, got out of his car, walked to where a discarded 2-litre plastic bottle was lying, picked it up, put it in his car, then drove off. I gave him the thumbs up so if that gent reads this post, thank you for caring. If we all made that extra little effort we could maybe beat this plastic scourge. If that gent reads this, thank you!
This small act was even more appropriate considering British PM Theresa May’s announcement, and indeed her speech yesterday morning where she has committed her government to taking action against use of plastic. Possibly it is time we South Africans could start an anti-plastic revolution.
As a start we could stop buying product in plastic containers that is readily available in glass. An example, Black Cat Peanut Butter is sold in glass jars. Both Spar and Yum Yum peanut butter come in plastic so support Black Cat until Spar and YUM YUM go back to using glass. All Gold Tomato Sauce comes in glass and plastic, only by the glass product. There are so many. Mrs Ball’s Chutney was sold in bottles until recently now it is supplied in plastic bottles.
If enough people boycott plastic packaged products it won’t take long for manufacturers to revert to glass. Of course not all plastic packaging can be boycotted but by making a start we can make a difference. The ocean plastic pollution Is real and we cannot afford not to do nothing.
Maybe readers who are concerned with plastic pollution can leave comment on other products that come in glass as well as any other ideas on reducing our use of and reliance on plastic.
Hopefully next year the residents will be consulted before a decision is made about entertainment over the holidays. Whoever is staging such an event should be forced to lodge a deposit for cleaning up and should they fail to follow the conditions laid out in the agreement the body that granted the permission should have the right to withhold some or all of the deposit. In the case of gross violation there should be a provision for the operation to be closed down.
I am not against entertainment for the younger set but the rights of others need to be protected.
Brenda McAleenan No 5 Royal Wharf St Francis Bay. I do understand that St Francis needs the revenue from an event like the Ruins but it really does in packet on the people on holiday close by. My husband & I can only get three weeks leave in December and one week we have to have the base so load the ceiling in our downstairs bathroom vibrates and we are not able to go to sleep until 2am when they close. There is no one checking on the volume it a wonder that the young people that go to the Ruins do not suffer with hearing lose. Would it not be possible for them to direct the stage away from the residents.
The “young people”-snowflakes really- whose naive parents, possibly stake-holders in similar companies to “The Ruins”, ‘sponsor’ them to attend these insensitive, money-making rackets, should have a more responsible, less self-absorbed attitude & go clean up themselves, but they’ve been conditioned to think “F…k! We can get ‘a maid’ to do that!” They should be the ones to start noticing the rash of inconsistencies in their attitudes. You can’t think that because you seem to have attributes like coolness, free-spiritedness to life, chillness, etc etc, & you sell “trendy stuff” like concert tickets & silk kimonos, you can hide the fact that in truth, you are nothing but a narcissistic, self-absorbed, money-grabbing fascist who thinks that the least criticism of your real, nasty Capitalist agenda must come from a minority of small-minded old crows who eat nothing but carrots & drink only coconut water on NY’s Eve, chanting Sanskrit mantras into the night. The organisers, owners of the ground & their market, think they have the upper hand in all of this because they appear to be ‘making money for St Francis. So it may very well be, wondering as I do about exactly how much ended up in municipal coffers, but everyone has forgotten the huge attraction of this region for people years ago & which makes other similar places in the world so attractive & expensive to visit – its scenic & natural beauty, its remoteness from the ugliness of urbanisation & industrialisation & its peace & quiet. All these features are becoming very rare indeed because of creeping industrialisation & rampant Capitalism.This is our last chance to save St Francis properly or become like the rest of the Garden route or even worse because economically active residents here have sold out to Capitalism. No effort was made in the spirit of the “New South Africa” to consult with the public about plans for The Ruins 2017, ostensibly thinking no-one would dare to challenge the plans because of claims, no doubt, about the ‘big’ money to be made, as well as it all being about “young” people “having a GREAT time & who wouldn’t want that??? Truth is that this was/is nothing but the “unacceptable face if Capitalism” muscling in on & bullying a small community of mainly voiceless & powerless pensioners. SA youth, in this respect lags far,far behind other examples elsewhere in the world. If you want rawcous racket & uncaring selfishness then you should remain in your crass urban environment rather than inflicting your brash, uncaring foul-mouthed egomania on a once truly beautiful location in the world.
Michelle, I salute you. Are you the same Michelle who wrote, “If you can’t stand the heat get out of the kitchen”.
Funny thing is the fact that we have all evolved and grown up having wonderful parties without that obscene volume. It just isn’t necessary but then, the young today don’t communicate by talking and loud noise doesn’t interfere with texting. Hearing damage is a given and parents who don’t recognise this fact should be ashamed of themselves.
Such obscene stupidity must not be allowed to destroy the character of SFB ever again.
There is no free lunch in nature. In today’s EIA – regulated environment, three developments at st francis would not be permitted:Santareme (any area north of harbour road;All homes on frontal dunes; and the canals. The main justification for this would be protecting us from nature’s wrath.
Concerning plastic—what really revolts me is the sight of people drinking water that they have bought in plastic bottles. In South Africa, tap water is perfectly drinkable everywhere you go. There is no need to buy bottled water, especially in places where plastic is not recycled.
The event is over and yet there is still concern about the sound levels of the event that was hosted at the beginning of the year, with this regard The Ruins sound levels where kept well within the agreed Db level. The Kouga municipality who confirmed that these levels where well within the legal limits. The sound was also turned down on the nights following the 27th where all complaints came from so the organizer actually did actually try to accommodate the residents and all of the complaints that where received.
I love how easy it is for people to point fingers and have so much to say about a matter when they have someone to point at, why has there not been a write up about the problem that was on main beach?
which can be seen hear
https://www.facebook.com/groups/stfrancisbay/
As for the various comments of the fact that the organiser of The Ruins just coming to St Francis to make money and then vanishing this is so far from the truth as these people are also apart of your community. You all speak about rights and being so righteous above the organiser but yet there have been a lot of personal accusations in this thread which is classified as character deformation, but its ok because they where to loud for you, before you make statements please gain all the information beforehand. The Ruins sponsored and event that was to give back to the community, so please before you call the organisers “you are nothing but a narcissistic, self-absorbed, money-grabbing fascist who thinks that the least criticism of your real, nasty Capitalist” find out more about the situation.
As for the “bullying” that you refer to i’m sure that the municipality that you have elected could say various other things within this regard as all the plans had to go through legal approval, so I highly doubt that bullying would be the correct statement.
And as for your claim about big money you clearly have not been keeping tabs on your community as the rentals over the period of The Ruins picked up by 8% due to the influx of people who would be attending The Ruins, various other stores are affected positively by this influx so i’m sure “big” money was made by all of the shop owners of SFB.
The point and title of the article is “Is someone going to clean up after The Ruins?” So…….. is there someone in the area, an organiser of this event, who will accept responsibility for this? If not, can the council verify that an amount will be withheld from the deposit to cover the cost of properly cleaning up? This would have the added affect of providing employment to a local in need.
This has already been done thus there should be absolutely no further problem
Thanks for the update Matt. Benno confirmed it was being done yesterday.
Who are the organisers of the Ruins?