Tongues wag over Glen Austin tyre depot

Midrand Reporter previously reported on a tyre depot in Glen Austin on 6 April under the headline ‘Residents call for a shutdown of tyre depot’.

More information has since come to light regarding the depot. The City of Johannesburg land use management inspector for the particular plot on which the tyre depot is operating has confirmed that legal proceedings against the owner have begun.

The inspector, who prefers to remain anonymous, said he visited the property during the month of March and conducted a re-inspection on 9 April, which was then followed by the legal action being taken against the owner.

Furthermore, the inspector said the depot should be shut down but they do not have the power to call for a shutdown regardless of whether or not it meets the by-laws. The inspector has refused to reveal who the owner of the property is as well as to confirm or deny whether the Department of Environmental Affairs (DEA) was at fault or not.

Glen Austin resident and former councillor, Janet Schofield has, in response to the initial article, alleged the following:

• No one from the DEA has confirmed in writing that they run the operation until the Midrand Reporter spoke to them
• What has not been acknowledged by the department among all the claims about compliance is that the land on which the depot stands is occupied illegally because the area is an agricultural holding and is not zoned for this type of industrial use.

A consulting town and regional planner, Rob Fowler, has echoed Schofield’s allegations and said, “There is no formal evidence to support the claim that the waste tyre depot is run by the DEA or that it has its formal approval.

“There has been absolutely no consultation with the community whatsoever and the establishment of what is actually a noxious industrial use is a real environmental and health risk hazard for the surrounding area. The property is still zoned as ‘agricultural’ and that zoning in itself would not permit such land use to be established.

“The relevant title deed conditions for Portion 1 of holding 419, Glen Austin AH Ext 1 would also not permit this use to be conducted there. The safety measures that are claimed to exist are hardly appropriate or reasonable,” said Fowler.

The National Environmental Management: Waste Act, 2008 is as follows:

Waste tyre regulations, 2017 states:

Part 2 section 6(2)

• A tyre dealer must mutilate or cause all waste tyres with a load index of 121 or less in his or her possession or control or must cause such waste tyres to be mutilated, which includes but is not limited to:

a) The cutting of the bead of a waste tyre in two places

b) Punching a hole with a minimum diameter of 50mm in the sidewall

c) Making a cut of at least 100mm in the sidewall

• A tyre dealer must manage all waste tyres in his or her possession or control or cause such waste tyres to be managed in accordance with tyres management plan, or by direction of the bureau contemplated in regulation 12(1)(b).

The Department of Environmental Affairs is yet to respond to all the allegations made against it after they couldn’t offer a response within three days of being contacted.

More updates will follow regarding the Glen Austin tyre depot as and when the story unfolds.

Talk to us by emailing our news editor at sarahk@caxton.co.za

Also read:

https://www.citizen.co.za/midrand-reporter/168390/check-your-tyrestyre-safety-tips-2/

https://www.citizen.co.za/midrand-reporter/173331/turn-your-old-tyres-into-something-worthwhile/