The Environmental Health programme at Durban University of Technology (DUT) recently hosted a clean-up event at the Ritson campus on Friday 18 October 2024. This initiative was inspired by Environmental Health Day, which recently took place.

The event aimed to highlight the importance of maintaining a clean environment through responsible waste practices, emphasising the responsibility of environmental health students to protect both their campus and the broader community.

Melishnee Ruthanam, a technician in the Department of Community Health Studies and the event organiser explained the need for students to lead by example in their commitment to environmental advocacy. “As Environmental Health, we need to set the standard for recycling and promoting sustainability on our campus,” Ruthanam stated. She also noted the importance of raising awareness about their programme and its objectives and the crucial role their profession plays in the protection of public health.

They collaborated with Durban Solid Waste (DSW) CSW Education and Waste Minimisation Unit for this initiative. Nokwazi Benede, the Assistant Education Officer at DSW, expressed gratitude to the students for their participation. “We appreciate your efforts and your dedication to maintaining the campus environment,” Benede said, underscoring the significance of a clean and safe environment for everyone.

Participants, including DSW members and students, divided themselves into groups to cover the campus. Zenande Sohe, a fourth-year Environmental Health student, noted, “While we initially focused on the campus grounds, we noticed that our campus is clean, we then went outside campus and found a lot of litter outside our campus, which needed attention.”

Many students were inspired by their peers’ engagement in the initiative, with some joining in to pick up litter. Prince Mathenjwa, a third-year Environmental Health student, emphasised the duty of students to maintain a clean campus for the benefit of current and future generations, reducing health risks associated with litter.

It was the first time hosting this clean up campaign and they hope they will grow, with other students and staff joining them on keeping their campus environment clean.

After the clean-up, the campus was noticeably cleaner. Both Ruthanam and Benede expressed their gratitude to all participants for their efforts in this important initiative.

Pictured: The environment health students and CDW members and the organiser Melishnee Ruthanam.

Sinamile Sithole