LEBOGANG SEALE
EVERY morning, residents of Zola Extension 1 wake up to the sight of fresh heaps of garbage almost spilling into their yards.
Used and unused condoms, disposable nappies, dead rodents muddled among the rubble, sorghum beer cartons and bottles are just some of the nauseating rubbish that residents have to contend with.
Next to the mounds of grime are puddles of murky water, almost overflowing with a clutter of bleached plastic bags, tins and other items.
“Sometimes we can’t even eat because people throw down dead animals like dogs and cats. The smell can be too bad,” said Esther Mafumani, who lives just metres from the illegal dumping site.
“What is disturbing is that children like to play there, picking up anything they can play with,” she added.
Her neighbour, Ali Nyameri, interjected: “We try to stop them, but they just continue. There’s nothing we can do because we are not the police. It’s hard because many dump at night.”
A donkey grazed among the filth at the site while a dog ferreted for whatever food it could retrieve. A man, who was later joined by a woman, dug through the mounds of dirt searching for recyclable material to sell.
Adjacent to Esithebeni Primary School, it is one of the many illegal dumping sites that afflict the lives of residents of Soweto and many parts of Joburg.
According to Pikitup, Joburg’s waste removal agency, illegal dumping is rife in Soweto, mostly around vacant stands and open fields, next to schools, churches, taxi ranks and shopping centres.
“On average, Pikitup collects 7 000 tons of dumped waste each month in Soweto that is disposed of at our landfill sites. Residents and businesses generate around 1.6 million tons of waste every year, and more than 250 000 tons is dumped illegally around Joburg,” said Pikitup spokeswoman Pansy Oyedele.
“About 35 percent of the 1 600 illegal dump sites in the city are found in Soweto. Most acts of illegal dumping usually take place in the afternoons or late at night.”
She said the problem was often caused by residents who do not adhere to their refuse collection schedules for their area, and ended up disposing of their waste and litter in open spaces. This, she added, was “in plain disregard” of the City of Joburg’s waste management by-laws.
In terms of these, any person who illegally disposes of waste at a facility will be liable for a fine ranging from R500 to R1 500 for small litter like a wheelbarrow to a bakkie full of rubbish. A fine for chemical waste or oil is R1 500.
However, with the council seemingly too lax to enforce its by-laws through the Johannesburg metro police department, the scourge continues unabated.
Attempts to get comment from JMPD spokesman Wayne Minnaar were unsuccessful, despite his promise to respond to e-mails sent to him.
Oyedele said Pikitup was formalising an agreement with the JMPD for the secondment of 43 police officers to the waste management agency. The police officers would be deployed to priority areas where illegal dumping was rife.
“A considerable amount of time and budget is spent in dealing with illegal dumping. This is a budget that could be used to improve other services,” Oyedele said, adding that the agency had embarked on a 90-day programme to clear the illegal dumping sites.
l Residents who know that the 240-litre bin is not sufficient to contain the waste in their area or wish to report cases of illegal dumping are urged to contact Pikitup by calling Joburg Connect on 011 375 5555. They may also send an e-mail to [email protected]