THE Bluff Rate Payers’ Association (BRA) is the latest to voice their concerns on the dumping issue on the Bluff. In a video, chairman of the association, Ivor Aylward, expressed his displeasure at the continued dumping outside the Road Garden Refuse Site and suggests a new rule be implemented.
“The guys who get caught doing this should actually be fined. How much effort goes into now removing the rubble and everything that goes with it? And then we’ve got vagrants who go through the rubbish and tear open the bags. To the people that we see doing this, my friends, wake up. This is totally irresponsible and it is disorderly behaviour,” he said.
In a recent interview with the SUN, ward 66 councillor, Zoë Solomon, said DSW refuse collection services have been strained due to internal staff issues, the recurring breakdown of trucks as well as the added challenge of adhering to lockdown level three restrictions.
“I have reported the unfortunate mass dumping outside the Road Garden Refuse Site after the dump closed at 2pm. The head of the Collingwood Depot has agreed to assist with this. DSW has admittedly been unreliable according to the regular schedule over the festive season due to many reasons which have been reported ad nauseam. I also wish to dismiss the urban legend that ‘vagrants’ have made the situation worse. The truth is that the recyclers who work at the garden site have employed some guys from the nearby informal settlement to separate and sort the waste that is dumped there,” she said.
The municipality has called on residents to strictly abide by the recent adjusted risk strategy for lockdown level three. It reiterated that waste collection will be as per normal collection schedules. “All garden drop-off sites will strictly operate from 7am to 2pm with immediate effect until Friday, 15 January, and subject to review thereafter.”
“Illegal dumping is a serious offence, if caught the perpetrator will be fined and will be responsible for the removal of the refuse. If the perpetrator cannot remove the waste, it will be removed by council, however, the perpetrator will incur all removal costs,” the city said.
DSW continues to appeal to the public to assist in stopping illegal dumping. If you are a witness to this offence, the city encourages you to take the registration number of the vehicle or the address of the person dumping and report it to DSW immediately on 031-311-8804.
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