Waste disposal issue

The reportedly underutilised Waste Transfer Station situated in Heidelberg Road and the public’s continued illegal dumping on open pieces of land have become quite a bone of contention. An annoyed Mayberry Park resident wrote an open letter to the RECORD highlighting the problems residents face. “I had a visit from a property evaluator to value my property. After speaking to the gentleman and assuming everything went well, he asked me how long I’d been living next to a dumping site.” Owen Thomas now fears that this will affect the value of his property. An irate Thomas further describes the area where you enter Mayberry Park and Alrode via Potgieter Road as a waste land and complains about the health risk an increasing rat problem is posing, as well as the plastic and paper that pose a fire hazard because people make veld fires in the area all the time. He is determined to get an answer from the Ekurhuleni Metropolitan Municipality (EMM) as to who will be held responsible should a run-away fire damage adjacent properties. The Waste Transfer Station is a facility that is for the use of garden services and residents who come with refuse from their houses. “We have had instances where companies come with five ton trucks and want to dump their waste at the facility. A lot of these companies are building contractors that want to get rid of building materials or others wanting to dump refuse here that is not acceptable either, such as oil, asbestos, tyres, batteries and other hazardous waste. Some of these companies want to come back and dump more than once per day. “We therefore want to treat all companies the same and request that they dispose of their refuse at a formal dumping site such as Rooikraal or Platkop. Residents and companies can apply for refuse bins where council can render a service to them. The challenge we have with personal waste being transported on company vehicles, is how will the access controllers know where the waste is actually generated from,” explained Dawn Pienaar from the waste management services. According to Ward Councillor Bruna Haipel, R25 million was spent on renovations at the station a year and a half ago, but they still seem to face many challenges. “The recycling bins, which are now covered in graffiti, are there, but not being used. According to some ladies who work there, they are waiting for higher ups to give them the go-ahead.” Clr Haipel said they are working on a petition to try to get the council to take action against the massive challenges they face.

The RECORD will publish EMM’s comment as soon as it is received.