After receiving a number of serious complaints regarding a property in the Farmall area, the City of Joburg (CoJ) together with a number of other departments, launched an inspection of the plot in question on the morning of 15 September.
They discovered that the property is being used illegally to recycle plastics.
“The city has received a lot of complaints of illegal activities on this property,” explained Pierre Nel, assistant director of citizen relationship management for the City’s Region A, who was present during the inspection.
“Complaints specifically mention the smell of burning plastic, usually at night, and illegal structures were reported, hence the decision for us to inspect it.”
A number of government departments were involved in the inspection, including officers from the Douglasdale branch of the South African Police Service and the Johannesburg Metro Police Department. Home Affairs officials checked that staff employed on the property, reported to be Zimbabweans, had the correct documentation. Law enforcement officers, knowledgeable in land use management, and members of the environmental health department also accompanied them.
Although it took the officials some time to get permission to enter the property from the people who rented the space, what they found justified the complaints received.
The premises had hundreds of bags of plastic items – such as old containers and plastic bags – both inside the buildings and outside on the property grounds. As the inspection continued, it became clear that the land was being used as a plastic recycling site.
Along with the hundreds of plastic articles discovered, a number of machines used to melt down the items and use them to create plastic beads were found. The plastic beads produced, would then be used to make new plastic goods, such as clothes hangers and children’s furniture, using other machines also found during the inspection.
“The first problem we spotted was that this [recycling business] is definitely illegal, simply because the property itself is zoned for agricultural use only,” said Jan van Niekerk of the environmental health department.
“We could [have given] the man in charge here, who doesn’t own the property but appears to rent it, a fine of R1 000. I believe that if we did that though, he would just pay the fine and carry on doing what he’s doing, so instead we’ll issue him with a notice to appear in court.”
The renter of the property, who cannot yet be named publicly, was given formal notice on a number of issues including:
- A citation by the land use department for running a business on land that is only zoned for agriculture
- Running a plastic recycling site without the necessary license, and without concern for the environmental impact such activity could have
- Water pollution, because of the recycling process used and the contaminated water that was just left to run into a stream on the property.
- The noise and air pollution that the activities caused, is also in violation of several city bylaws
- A total of 11 dogs were found on the property. Only six are permitted on this type of property unless a permit is granted for more
- The stacking and storing of numerous goods on the premises, along with a general lack of upkeep, was deemed a health nuisance and could attract vermin
- Some of the buildings on the property, constructed haphazardly from bricks and corrugated iron, were built without the necessary permission or planning.
While the inspection and enforcement blitz was deemed a success, Van Niekerk warned that this is the start of the process, not the end of it. “We can’t just come and knock down the illegal buildings or get rid of the machines,” he concluded. “There is a months-long legal process that must be followed.”
Details: www.joburg.org.za
