Andy sent this through from the road on 9 June:
Hi everyone, the Koedoeslaagte road between Martini Ranch and White Bridge has been cleaned again.
Regards, Andy — WCT
That word — again — is the whole story. This is a gravel road running through the dome, and what gets thrown out of car windows on it does not go anywhere. Plastic bottles and packets sit in the grass until something eats them or the first hard rain washes them into the drainage lines, and the drainage lines run to the Vaal.
So somebody walks it with a crate and a bag, and picks it up. Then, a few months later, somebody walks it again.
There is no clever conservation technology in this. It is a morning, a pair of hands, and a bakkie to take the bags to a place they belong. But a World Heritage Site that is knee-deep in litter is not a World Heritage Site that anyone will fight to protect, and the animals that live along that road do not get to opt out of what we leave there.
If you drive the Koedoeslaagte road, take your rubbish home with you. If you would like to walk a stretch with us on the next clean-up, get in touch — it costs nothing but a Saturday, and the difference is visible by lunchtime.