Abidjan residents clean up popular district to mark World Cleanup Day

ABIDJAN (Reuters) – Residents of the Yopougon, the most populous district in Ivory Coast’s commercial capital Abidjan, took to the streets on Saturday to clean clogged storm drains and pick up rubbish strewn on the streets to mark World Cleanup Day.

Urged by Let’s Do It Ivory Coast civil society organisation, hundreds of young volunteers and residents armed with brooms, rakes and wheelbarrows, walked the streets to clear them of mountains of garbage.

Abidjan, a city of over 4 million with nearly 2 million in Yopougon, is struggling to manage household waste due to population growth and rapid urban expansion. It is estimated that nearly 300 kg (660 lbs) of garbage is produced per capita in Abidjan annually.

(Reporting by Media Coulibaly; editing by Clelia Oziel)