Dumping continues outside landfill site as it remains closed
The site remains closed as the area accumulates rubbish.
Kwa-Thema – For years, the Rietfontein Landfill Site has been a bother to the residents of Kwa-Thema Ext 4, who are affected by the stench from the site.
The site is currently closed, but dumping has happened outside the area. The area has started to smell again, affecting the residents.
The community closed the site in August, and despite several attempts by the metro to reopen it, the community has refused.
There have been several meetings between different MMCs for Environment and Waste Management and the community, with the latest meeting last November with the latest MMC, Leshaka Manamela.
According to Ward 77 Clr Thulane Dunjana, Manamela promised the area would be cleaned two weeks after the meeting, but that has not happened.
The site’s closure has caused delays in refuse collection in Kwa-Thema, where other areas get collection later in the day or miss out on a week’s collection cycle.
CoE spokesperson Zweli Dlamini said, “Officials of the municipality meet with the community leaders on an ongoing basis. Once an agreement is reached with the two parties on all matters, the MMC (Manamela) will meet with the community to give them an update and a clear way forward.”
Dlamini said that since the closure, the metro has used alternative sites like Weltevreden, Platkop and Simmer and Jack for dumping after collection.
“It would help if the community would allow the city to reopen the facility and get it operational to reduce the turnaround time between a truck driving to far-flung sites to dispose of waste when there is one right here in Kwa-Thema,” he continued.
Dlamini concluded by saying the metro would clean the area outside the site as soon as the talks with the community result in the facility’s reopening.
The collectors at the site have cleaned a small potion to allow themselves a pathway.
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