Health impacts workshop focuses on lifestyle threats

THE South Durban Community Environmental Alliance (SDCEA) hosted a health and environmental impacts workshop on Wednesday, 19 March at Lotus Primary School in Chatsworth, to educate local residents on illegal dumping, waste and its health impacts and the perils of modern lifestyles.

Preston Chetty from Durban Solid Waste (DSW) addressed the crowd, who complained of the municipality’s lack of commitment in responding to complaints. In response, Chetty outlined the boundaries of the eThekwini Municipality, noting that there is a population of about 3.5-million, hence the amount of work and people to attend to.

He said illegal dumping poses serious threats to public health, safety and quality of life, including negative impacts on plants and wildlife and attracts rodents, snakes and insects which are also a health risk.

“Dumping sites with old tyres provide an ideal breeding ground for mosquitoes, which can multiply 100 times faster in the warm, stagnant water standing in old tyres casings. Property values decrease as the community becomes unattractive to commercial and residential developers and illegal dumping spots can also become a hide-away for criminal activities.”

Residents were urged to use the different types of refuse bags accordingly: the Black Bags for domestic refuse, blue bag for garden refuse and orange bag for paper, plastic and cardboard and to put them out on collection day at 6am.

Residents are urged to take photos of illegal dumpers and report them on 031-311-8804.

Wentworth resident, Romany Roberts from the Mothers’ Prayer Group (MPG) who is asthmatic, recalled the three-day November 2007 Engen Refinery fire, which caused havoc among residents, especially those with respiratory ailments. She discussed her journey with asthma and how it affects her daily life living in an area with high pollutants, like Wentworth.

“The best advice I can give to everyone is to look after your health, exercise, control your diet and promote sports and less TV, especially for children. We must be careful of this modern lifestyle because it’s ruining our health and shortening our lives,” said Roberts.