Filthy business to clean up illegal dumping mess gets underway
Residents are urged to refrain from illegal dumping and are reminded there are many other landfill sites in Ekurhuleni of which they can make use.
Work is underway to clean the eyesore at the Main Reef Road entrance into Brakpan. It was reported in last week’s Herald, ‘Illegal dumping disaster’, how the entrance and surrounding area of the Weltevreden Landfill Site, which has been closed since October, had become an illegal dumping hotspot.
With the gates closed, people resorted to leaving their rubbish at the site’s entrance and along the barrier where the road has been closed off.
The area is strewn with all sorts of trash and rubble with the volume growing daily. It has also become a haven for unsavoury characters who pester motorists for money.
City of Ekurhuleni spokesperson Zweli Dlamini confirmed the site was closed on October 21 because of the breakdown of key machinery on-site to process incoming waste.
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“This led to a backlog of piled waste on the working face and not having space to receive incoming waste,” he said.
“There was a delay on non-payment of invoices (June, July August and September 2021), which negatively affected the cash flow and led to the site operator being unable to bear the cost of day-to-day operations of the site.”
He told the Herald the site was opened last Friday for only municipal trucks and will be fully operational to accommodate all site users from Monday.
Asked whether the dumped rubbish will be cleared, Dlamini stated the site operator has been instructed to clean the entrance of the site.
“The clean-up operations to clear the dumping will resume in the week of January 24,” he said.
Brakpan DA councillor for Ward 97 Brandon Pretorius is relieved the landfill site has reopened.
“The effect the closure of the site has had on the town of Brakpan has been horrific with a major increase in illegal dumping all over our town,” he said.
“The responsible MMC for environment and waste management did, however, confirm that the department was aware of the challenge and that they were on the verge of resolving the matter.
“I am glad to say that the MMC has kept to his word, and the site is finally operational again. I am sure that it will take time for the site to return to its full capacity but I will do all that I can to help ensure that this happens.”
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Pretorius stated he has communicated with the department of waste management for their assistance in cleaning the areas affected by the illegal dumping at the entrance of the Plastic City informal settlement.
“The process of cleaning up all other affected areas will also continue and I urge residents to report all hotspot areas to the City as a matter of urgency,” he said.
“I will continue to apply all my efforts to ensure we get our town clean once again.”
Residents are urged to refrain from illegal dumping and are reminded there are many other landfill sites in Ekurhuleni of which they can make use, including Rietfontein in Springs, Platkop along the N3 in Vosloorus, as well as Simmer and Jack in Germiston.
