LITTER is scattered along the verges near the intersection of Feilden Drive and Hutchinson Road in Glenmore. For resident Deon Braun, the issue is the result of apathetic community members and a lack of policing.
“Unfortunately, the litter and dumping issue is mainly a citizen issue and not a City issue. Yes, there needs to be more dustbins, and they need to be cleared regularly, but some Durbanites treat their city like trash and get away with it because there are no consequences. There’s no follow-up from the City to enforce fining, and it’s a downward spiral. A friend of mine once called out someone who’d dropped litter in Sutton Park. The litterbug replied, ‘But there’s litter everywhere here,’ to justify it,” said the concerned resident.
eThekwini Municipality spokesperson Msawakhe Mayisela responded saying the community plays a vital role in policing offenders.
“Our teams regularly monitor areas prone to illegal dumping. However, we rely mostly on vigilant residents reporting such matters to us,” he said.
Braun sees changing people’s mindsets as the crux of the issue.
“I heard a saying once: ‘Every piece of litter has a human face.’ I want to ask people if their names are on the litter on the street – if they are represented here. I want to ask people to show more respect for our environment. We can’t expect the Metro to pick up every piece of litter. The mindset that litter creates jobs is a terrible mindset. We need to get away from that. Litter takes the focus away from more important jobs like cleaning roadside vegetation,” said Braun.
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Illegal dumping has long been a problem in the area. In September 2021, Berea Mail reported on illegal dumping at a public park on the corner of Ray Keyte Place and Sphiwe Zuma Avenue. At the time, Mayisela called on residents to keep their area clean, saying offenders could face hefty fines of up to R5 000. However, illegal dumping is not the only problem for Braun who reported that household refuse was not collected according to schedule along Feilden Drive, on several occasions – most recently on Tuesday last week. “Monkeys tear open refuse bags, and more litter spreads, ” said Braun.
Mayisela called on residents to report delays in refuse collection.
“We are not aware of any delays. We ask the affected residents to please call DSW on 031 311 8840 so that this can be investigated and addressed,” he said.
City’s R500m plan
The eThekwini Municipality announced on Friday, July 1 that 47 new trucks were added to the DSW fleet. This formed part of a R500m waste management strategy devised in 2019 to span over three years.
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“In October last year, we unveiled the first tranche of 59 vehicles at a cost of R170m, and today, we are excited to unveil 47 additional units to accelerate delivery and improve waste collection and management in eThekwini, at a cost of R213m across the different fleet categories,” Kaunda said.
“The fleet will help to improve waste services, while the City simultaneously embarked on an ‘intensive education campaign’ to raise awareness on keeping the environment clean. Additionally, the City has procured a new landfill site in Ntshongweni which is the third pillar of our waste management strategy. This facility will be completed towards the end of 2024, and it has a lifespan of 75 years,” he said.
A national crisis
In May, Minister of Environment, Forestry and Fisheries, Barbara Creecy, launched the national waste management (NWM) fleet, worth R44.5m, in Limpopo Province. Speaking at the launch, Creecy said a lack of effective waste removal was a contributing factor to the high levels of litter in the country.
“Throughout our country, we are plagued by littering, illegal dumpsites and the scourge of plastic waste that enters our river systems, our wetlands and ultimately our oceans. While our country has made significant strides in improving waste management since 1994, almost a third of households still do not have regular weekly household waste-removal services. The result: Households are forced to find their own solutions to waste management, solutions that are often damaging to the health of communities and the well-being of our environment,” said Creecy.
Creecy noted that the 2020 National Waste Management Strategy was revised with several objectives, including improving household waste collection and raising awareness about the negative impact of illegal dumping.
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