Dunoon, like many other areas within Cape Town, is currently affected by extreme population density, with multiple families living together on one property in most cases.

The drastic increase in population density has placed considerable pressure on refuse collection services, and the City’s indigent benefit offering, says the City of Cape Town.

Many properties have been informally subdivided over the years which means that a single bin per property as per the indigent benefit is no longer enough to contain the waste generated by the multiple households (mainly backyarders) that now share a property.

This has contributed significantly to the prevalence of illegal dumping in the community, alongside other contributing factors such as land invasions, and perceptions in the community that littering creates or sustains jobs, says CoCT.

Now the city will from next week, collect refuse in Dunoon three times a week - on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays.

The temporary change aims to test the impact of increased service frequency on levels of dumping in the area, and if increased services result in less waste affecting the downstream environment.

Dunoon is currently experiencing intensive illegal dumping linked to extreme population density, with knock-on effects on community health and the environment.

After a six-month period the City will assess the impact of the increased services to decide if this can be continued or expanded to other areas with similar densification challenges, says Mayoral Committee Member for Urban Waste Management, Grant Twigg.

Enhancing community well-being and environmental protection

The City hopes that increasing the frequency of refuse collection will create a cleaner and healthier living environment in Dunoon. Improved cleanliness is more than just an aesthetic enhancement; it can foster a greater sense of pride and ownership within the community.

This intervention also aims to protect downstream environments from pollution caused by litter. The stormwater network in Dunoon connects to the Milnerton Lagoon and ultimately flows out to Lagoon Beach. Illegally dumped litter, if not intercepted by the City’s cleansing programmes, can wash into these sensitive ecosystems.