Ekurhuleni’s By-laws become greener
The Member of the mayoral Committee on Environmental Resource Management, Cllr Ndosi Shongwe has called on industries producing carbon missions to adhere to strict environment laws in order to assist the municipality achieve clean air.
Speaking in Germiston at the seminar held to discuss environmental legal compliance, the MMC said the City of Ekurhuleni is working hard to address the 2014 findings by the National Air Quality, which found that the city had the worst air pollution.
“The findings are an unwelcome, poor image on our part and we need you as industries to join hands with us to significantly reduce carbon emissions. One of our priorities is to create a clean and green city and the issue of gas emissions becomes critical, “said MMC Shongwe.
As part of its response strategy to ensuring a cleaner air, Ekurhuleni has established a specialized unit – the Legal Compliance – put in place to assist industries obtain Atmospheric Emission Licenses and providing guidelines on how to comply with set emission limits.
The specialized unit is also responsible for monitoring the industrial community through spot checks and ensuring compliance of the municipal bylaws.
“As industries we need to be mindful of the health risk of pollution to our people. On our part as the municipality, we have begun a process to green our municipal by-laws which will see an amendment to some laws that govern harmful emissions. We believe this will ensure that all industrial and municipal activities comply with the standards and requirements of protecting and caring for the environment,” she said.
