Rubbish, vagrant problem litters Westville M13

THE Keep Westville Beautiful organisation, together with Westville Conservancy, are concerned about the public environment of their area in particular the state of the M13, which traverses the centre of Westville.

This follows the discovery of litter strewn along the road after a Westville Conservancy member, Rob Jamieson collected approximately 10 to 20 black plastic bags on Saturday and placed them at the bus/taxi shelter on the M13, near to the Dawncliffe/Josiah Gumede interchange bridge.

ALSO READ: Take responsibility for litter-strewn on M13

According to chairman of the Keep Westville Beautiful NPC, Ivor Daniel, who took photographs of the litter in the vicinity of Josiah Gumede (Old Main Road) on-ramp junction with the M13 and forwarded it to the authorities, the rubbish collected and bagged, was strewn along the entire east bound carriage way over a length of approximately 100 metres, “with all manner of waste from broken glass, food waste, plastics, paper, cardboard and an assortment of other refuse. Refuse had also blown across to the West bound carriage way,” said Daniels.

He said all the rubbish bags were placed at the shelter for DSW to collect on Monday morning.

The concerned Daniel and a security patroller visited the area on Monday to establish what had transpired.

Daniel said they found a man lying on the side of the on-ramp under a blanket, with his clothes hung up in the trees around him.

“We asked him if he was responsible for the mess and his explanation was that another person had fought with him the previous night and had scattered the rubbish. He indicated to us that he was ‘sick in the head’ and that he had a ‘house’ (shack) on the side of the road, which had been removed a few weeks ago.

“He indicated he could not pick up the refuse as he had no clothes to wear as he washed them and they were hanging up to dry on the trees around him. This man is a vagrant and has been seen on Josiah Gumede Road, naked, washing himself and his clothes at Comrades Fountain at the top of Cowies Hill,” explained Daniel.

According to Daniel, the man has over a number of months previously been found sleeping in the bus shelter.

Daniel claims the man removes all the rubbish from the refuse bin and scatters it around leaving an absolute mess.

“He defecates all round the shelter. The stench is making the public use of the facility impossible and a health hazard, therefore unusable. The number of commuters I have spoken to are disgusted with the state of the shelter and ask that someone does something about the situation. Whenever we have previously notified DSW, they have removed the refuse and tidied up the area, only to have the same situation reoccur the next day or so. This has been going on for at least the past six months.”

Daniel said they have attempted to have the man responsible removed from the area and complaints have been lodged with the Metro Police.

“There has been no response or feedback in regarding a solution to this public issue. We understand that the individual concerned may need institutional assistance, however there has been absolutely no response to this ongoing issue.”

In the letter Daniel wrote to the authorities he asked officials to address the issue and decide on a sustainable solution.

“Together we are galvanising private enterprise and have established good relationships with the departments concerned. The objective is to collectively improve the public spaces of our area. Ongoing situations such as the state of the bus shelter and the presence of individuals who are actively spoiling or diminishing the quality of our environment cannot be tolerated. It is a health hazard and a contravention of the City’s by-laws,” added Daniel.

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