ILLEGAL dumping along Electron Road, near the Bisasar Road Landfill Site in Springfield Park, has once again earned the ire of local residents.
This comes after tensions flared on Wednesday as vagrants in the area petrol bombed two Durban Solid Waste (DSW) trucks and blocked several roads with burning tires.
It is unclear what sparked the violence, however, KZN Police spokesperson, Thulani Zwane, confirmed the incident saying a case of public violence had been opened at Sydenham Police Station.
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Since then Sunningdale resident, Daryn Maritz has expressed outrage and frustration over the ongoing illegal dumping that was taking place outside the landfill site.
He said it was generating a potentially dangerous situation for the public as the dumping had fostered opportunities for the vagrants.
“The vagrants have become accustomed to people being turned away, as the site no longer takes solid waste and other materials, and so as soon as someone stops down the road from the dump they swarm around the vehicle to see if there is anything worthwhile. They are quite aggressive, and as they riffle through the waste it is left there on the side of the road,” he said.
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What’s more, he said he had recently noticed that medical waste was now also being dumped at the site.
When the Northglen News inspected the area with Maritz last week Thursday there were dozens of fluid drip tubes.
Some seemed to have been used while others had been dumped still wrapped in their packaging.
According to the resident, the area is cleaned by DSW once or twice a month, but there has been no effort to prevent the illegal dumping.
Maritz said it was disappointing that the issue had escalated once again, just as the world commemorated World Environment Day on Tuesday, 5 June.
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The annual campaign was launched to raise awareness on pollution, human overpopulation, global warming, and sustainable consumption.
“Durban has become known as Dirtbin, and it seems that with our municipality’s lack of interest our city is living up to its infamous name,” he said.
In September 2016 Maritz, who runs a skip hire company, had first raised concern, saying the illegal dumping had ‘spiraled out of control’ after the landfill site in Springfield Park began rejecting certain waste materials.
At the time, Loganathan Moodley, of DSW, confirmed that they had ‘downsized’ the operations at the landfill site, saying they now only accept garden refuse, builders rubble and sand or cover material.
He said a plan had been put in place to “restrict people from stopping in this area to drop waste illegally” by placing enforcement officers at the site.
However, this time neither the eThekwini Municipality or DSW had responded at the time of publication.
Alternative sites locals can use include the Mariannhill, Buffelsdraai or Lovu landfill sites.
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