Illegal dumping may not seem like a problem to you until it begins directly affecting your family’s health and opening the windows for fresh air only lets the stinky polluted and unhealthy air inside the house.
Residents from Diepkloof Zone 4 have had to live with the fact that their area is just next to an open space which has turned into one of Soweto’s dumping spots where people dump all the rubbish including rubble, old building materials and event leftovers.
Molefe Molefe, a highly concerned resident exclaimed in disbelief about the fact that people cannot even open their windows from around the dumping area without polluting the air inside their houses.
Molefe said, “This dumping area has not been cleaned for so many months, Pikitup used to come and clean up but they have since stopped, we only hear about their strikes on the news.”
The Pikitup Media Liaison, Muzi Mkhwanazi asked for the spot to be identified so that he could inquire about the area and send people to get it cleaned.
Molefe explained that the illegal dumping issue has been weighing down on his family and neighbours and explained that this was not even a political issue but a health matter.
Apart from noting the unhealthy consequence from having a dump site, Molefe explained how this has even worsened rat’s infestation and how people even arrive at the spot late at night with their cars to dump with no regards to the people who reside in the neighbourhood.
Mkhwanazi said, “Pikitup has not neglected the site, please note that there have been service disruptions due to the insourcing project where job seekers demanded to be forcefully employed by the waste management entity.
“In an attempt to force the entity to employ them the job seekers blockaded the Pikitup gates at Central Camp Depot which services the area before torching and setting alight one building inside the depot. Therefore, Pikitup services have been disrupted and it is only now that services are slowly returning to normalcy and the illegal dumping will be cleared.”
The people are advised to report illegal dumping by calling the Joburg Connect at 0860 562874 or 011 375 5555.
Follow Us Here:
Catch the latest news by visiting our other platforms: