Resident concerned about growing dumping site

An Ikageng resident says an illegal dumping site has developed across the street from her home. According to Nomvula Langa, she has complained about it countless times, with no luck.

The 36-year-old says she thinks people are simply too lazy to remove their own garbage and end up dumping their filth opposite her house instead.
“This whole place smells like garbage and it is terrible. I have small children here and it is unhygienic. We can’t even eat a plate of food in our house because of the smell,” she lamented.

Nomvula adds that she is concerned she will one day find a snake in her house, as the illegal dumping gets worse. “It will soon become a massive crisis, caused by the shocking failures of the municipality,” she said.
The municipality’s acting communication manager, Jeanette Tshite says the bulk of waste found at illegal dumping sites is household garbage that should be collected by municipal waste trucks.

“Unfortunately, some of our residents always find it convenient to use the pavements or open spaces to dispose of waste instead of using the municipal waste collection services available,” she said.
Tshite further referred to an article in the Herald earlier this month. A municipal employee, who asked to remain anonymous, shared their frustrations, saying their hard work was hardly seen or recognised as the same spots that they clean continue to be littered within a short time.

“According to the team that was assigned to clean illegal dumping sites, a number of areas around Mosidisi Street were cleaned on 9 May. U but unfortunately, the speed of accumulation of waste is much faster than our capacity to manage them,” she explained.
Tshite added that the municipality was looking at sustainable solutions like by-law enforcement as a means of addressing the problem.