A group of residents who did not want to be named said dumping took place on a daily basis in the settlement.
“About six or seven trucks come here a day,” one resident said. “And if you tell the drivers to stop dumping here they shout and swear at you.”
The illegal dumpers dispose of anything from tree off-cuts to building rubble and plywood. These are all good materials for building shacks. “We were told that we could live here but no more people must come,” another resident said. “But now more and more people are coming and using the things that were dumped here to build shacks. In two weeks eight new shacks have been built.”
Another issue was that trucks were dumping right next to the Clay Oven creche, and children have to walk past heaps of garbage to get to their homes. “Kids don’t know, they just dig in anything and try to play with anything,” a resident said. “Last week six children got very sick after they played in a garbage pile next to the creche.”
Ward 106 councillor Stephen Moore said he was unaware of the issue but would speak to urban management and Metro police to see what could be done. “Illegal dumping is a particularly difficult issue to stop as the fine is not very high and the possibility of catching criminals is low.”
He added that the Clay Oven community was supposed to lock the gate leading into the settlement to prevent access by undesirable elements such as illegal dumpers. “When the fence was erected and the chain and lock provided to the community, leadership of the settlement was provided the means to secure the property,” he said. “I’m not sure why they are not doing such.”
What do you think the penalty should be for illegal dumping? Share your views in the comments section below, or tweet @Fourways_Review.
