Bluff Boardriders express outrage over sea dumping
Local sportsman speak about their concerns for the beach.
THE Bluff Boardriders have added their voice to the chorus of dissent about the leachate being dumped at sea near Cuttings Beach.
“While we are sympathetic to the unfortunate situation that Enviroserv find themselves in with regards to the excessive leachate at their facility in Shongweni, we associate ourselves closely with the views of the South Durban Community Environmental Alliance (SDCEA) and GroundWork in this regard. We feel the area in concern has been the dumping ground for waste such as this for many decades and we have reached saturation point in our tolerance for this action. We unreservedly object to the dumping of leachate in the pipeline that flows 4km out to sea off Cuttings Beach.
It is our view that eThekwini have tried to placate the general public with reference to the tests that the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research have conducted on this leachate. Chris Fennemore’s department is clearly in disarray with no reliable response given as to whether they are indeed the correct authority to issue the trade effluent permit for the dumping of this waste.
EnviroServ hits back at ‘toxic waste’ dumping claims
The fact that they have issued 15 warnings to Enviroserv over the past three years totaling a paltry R3,000 in admission of guilt fines is a convenient way of actually ignoring the problem at hand.
It concerns us deeply that eThekwini has no process of informing the community about the intended action and if it was not for the pro-active work of SDCEA and GroundWork, this waste would have been dumped with the community kept in the dark. This is unacceptable.
For these reasons we are suspicious of the actual physical make-up of the waste and strongly request an environmental impact assessment be conducted by an independent company such as DN Kirk or Eschalaz Osborne to determine the nature of the waste and the possible harmful effects it could have on the sensitive marine environment of the Cuttings and nearby Treasure Beach areas.
Further to this, if the outfall has to go ahead, the appointed researchers can advise on the state of the outfall area and the optimum times relevant to currents when the disposal could take place. We request that Enviroserv disclose their full customer list to allow further investigation into the harmful waste with which they are dealing.
Furthermore, Enviroserv provides the service of recycling and reducing hazardous waste for profit and as such should have adequate and suitable facilities for this process rather than relying on simply dumping the toxic material in the manner proposed. The possibilities for temporary storage of the waste as proposed by GroundWork should be explored to prevent any dumping of the waste. While we understand this process to be costly, we still insist on it rather than transferring the problem to our community.
As regular beachgoers and ocean users we condemn the proposed action and feel we must draw a line in an effort to begin the general rehabilitation of our immediate coastline,” said Duncan Pratt on behalf of the Bluff Boardriders.
Read also:
How the leachate is disposed of at sea
EnviroServ hits back at ‘toxic waste’ dumping claims
Averda clarifies ‘unfounded statements’ about leachate
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