Residents tackle illegal dumping in Glen Anil
The park, situated at the corner of Glen Anil Street and Plane Street, has seen an increase in illegal dumping in the last few years, including alleged criminal activity with the stripping of copper cables.
HUNDREDS of bags of rubbish illegally dumped in a park in Glen Anil were collected by residents and workers on Saturday.
The park, situated at the corner of Glen Anil Street and Plane Street, has seen an increase in illegal dumping in the last few years, including alleged criminal activity with the stripping of copper cables.
Residents now plan to apply to the eThekwini Municipality to adopt the spot and fence off the area to stop the activities, which they say show a total disregard for the community at large.
Avi Pillay, one of the organisers, said they have formed a community group called the Glen Anil Precinct to help clean up the area.
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“We want to look after the area and our green spaces so that our community can enjoy them and feel safe in them. Unfortunately, this park has become the dumping ground of various items on an almost daily basis. Worryingly, we found evidence that suggests people are living in the park and using the thick foliage to hide in when they strip cables. We found metres and metres of copper cables strewn across the tall grass.
“Besides fencing off the area, which we have found a sponsor for, we also plan to put in a few benches and control access to the park with a key. When we started our clean-up, we collected 26 bags of rubbish from the pavement and entrance to the park alone. We were shocked to see how much worse it was the farther we ventured into the park,” Pillay said.
Another resident, Nathanael Naicker, said the quantity of some of the items dumped suggested that companies were also involved in illegal dumping.
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“I live on The Curl, and I’m shocked by what we have found in the clean-up. The mentality of the people involved, to not consider the community, and to show a flagrant disregard for health, tells us all we need to know about them. We feel companies are also involved in this as there are large quantities of items being dumped in the park. The residents also paid for workers to come in and help us clear the area, and we hope this will put a stop to this disgusting practice,” he said.
