Controversy over closure of landfill site
The committee had been warning RNM for months, saying that unless the municipality installed an extension liner - the site would legally have to close its gates.
Ray Nkonyeni Municipality (RNM) has accused some members of the Ramsgate Ratepayers’ and Residents’ Association of insinuating a crisis situation at the Oatlands Landfill Site.
This comes after John Murray of the association who sits on the Oatlands Waste Disposal Site Monitoring Committee, recently released a statement on the possibility of the landfill site having to close on September 30.
In the statement, Murray said the committee had been warning RNM for months, saying that unless the municipality installed an extension liner – the site would legally have to close its gates.
Murray said at a recent meeting, TGC Engineering informed Averda (waste management company) that without the extension there was no further ability in law to increase the height of the tip.
“Averda then correctly notified the committee that they would therefore have no alternative but close the gates on September 30 and would ensure that all safety protocols for the site were maintained,” said Murray.
In a statement on Friday, RNM spokesperson Simon April said the municipality is disappointed and concerned that there are individuals or formations with no regulatory status issuing statements on the challenges at the landfill site.
April said: “These individuals or formations happen to sit or be represented on the Oatlands Waste Disposal Site Monitoring Committee, that sadly uses the information on the discussions of the committee to issue statements with no substance, but more disturbing insinuating a crisis situation.”
He added that it is not the first time that there is a report on capacity constraints in terms of space, adding that every time they were faced with this situation, it was dealt with.
Although the municipality has not outlined its plan to deal with the issue of space on the site, it said it is working closely with the relevant provincial and national departments to deal with capacity constraint issues.
Meanwhile, Murray said it should not be necessary to have to publicly embarrass a municipality to do a job it is paid to do.
Also, Paddy Norman of the Wildlife and Environment Society of South Africa told Fever that the landfill site will shortly run out of space, adding that unless the municipality comes up with a good plan, the site will have to close temporarily or operate illegally.
“The monitoring committee is only responsible for the landfill site so anything else the municipality may have come up with, it does not have to tell the committee but I think the public needs to know about those plans and what they are,” said Norman.
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