Environmental crimes need to be taken more serious. This is according to concerned residents following the piling up of rubbish and non-biodegradable litter along the banks of the Isipingo River near the Amanzimtoti SPCA. Residents believe that it is an environmental hazard waiting to happen.
Speaking to the SUN, concerned resident, Laura Konig who is passionate about the environment explained that this is an ongoing problem and one that can not be fixed over night.
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“For as long as I’ve been walking dogs at the SPCA this has been a problem. Its been at least six or seven years that this issue has been ongoing. A few years ago I contacted councillor Andre Beetge who, together with a team, managed to clear up the area. However, the area quickly slipped back into its original state and it is actually becoming much worse. We have to work together as a community to eradicate issues such as this from stemming up. This area is also close to the SPCA, which means that less volunteers will want to support the organisation because of health hazard and that to me should not be tolerated.”
The attentive SPCA volunteer believes that a business or a industrial company is responsible for the matter. A few weeks ago, the area was overruled by scores of disposable nappies, which was fortunately cleared up.
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“It is an absolute eyesore. I can only describe it as walking through the gates of hell. This is unacceptable and needs to be dealt with immediately. Illegal dumping is a huge crime and we need to find out who is responsible for this environmental crime. There is a garden refuse site and everything that isn’t allowed to be dumped there, people are now dumping just outside it all along the road. This has been going on for a long, long time but this discovery has sent me into a state of panic. This is a criminal act and it should be treated that way. First rains and these disgusting things wash down the river and into the ocean. Only a hospital or clinic could have been responsible for dumping the nappies as there were thousands upon thousands of them,” added Konig.
Numerous attempts to get a comment from the eThekwini Municipality proved futile.
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