In an article published in January, with the headline ‘Dumping site irks W’burg residents’, Review reported that besides the smell, the site has attracted flies and poses a health risk to residents in the area.
“We cannot stand the smell anymore. There is no gate control at the dumping site, people dump at night, and early hours of the morning. We cannot live like this any longer. The smell is unbearable,” said Wayne Southon.
“We are asking the municipality to close the dumping site or timeously collect the refuse every week,” he added.
Southon said residents want a solution to the problem, adding that it is not residents from the area that use this as a dumping site, but those from other areas.
“The litter is coming from other areas in the city. People with gardening services come and dump their garden waste, and those building houses also dump building rubble here. There is no control,” he said.
The Polokwane Municipality’s Media and Stakeholder Relations Officer, Disree Manyane, responded to calls from residents for the dumping site to be removed.
“From experience we know that Westenburg residents are the ones who are dumping waste and rubble. If they stop doing so and keep the area clean, people from others areas will also stop or can be stopped,” said Manyane.
She added there is weekly house-to-house waste collection by the municipality, on each Thursday of the week. “The residents of Westenburg must stop dumping waste there illegally. In order for the dumping site to be closed, the municipality should receive a written or formal request from the community leader through the ward councillor. The dumping site is a necessary facility for management of waste in any area,” she said.
