THE St Lucia Ratepayers Association (RPA) has sent an open letter to KZN Premier Senzo Mchunu, urging him to appeal to the provincial Department of Economic Development, Tourism and Environmental Affairs (EDTEA) on its decision to order the closure of the St Lucia landfill site.
The notice of closure was issued by EDTEA on 31 March and gave 90 days to initiate proceedings. In its six-page appeal, the RPA stated the landfill site had been established before the proclamation of the iSimangaliso Wetland Park as a World Heritage Site and, to its knowledge, its closure was not a UNESCO requirement.
Numerous alternatives were set out in the appeal, including the use of the existing waste transfer station in Khula Village.
The station was reportedly constructed at a cost of R2.1-million and later refurbished at a cost of R4.2-million, yet it has not been in use for at least the past year.
According to reports, after the closure of the landfill site, St Lucia’s waste will be transported to Nordale landfill site, some 25km away.
This, according to the RPA letter, will incur tremendous transport costs.
The RPA has proposed the implementation of a proper waste separation and recycling system at source, by introducing colour-coded bags for recyclable waste.
The already-sorted recyclable waste could be transported to the existing waste transfer station and onward to a recycling plant.
Residual recyclable waste could be destroyed in smokeless incinerators while a small business could be set up to employ Khula Village and Dukuduku residents to compost garden waste.
Mchunu has not issued a response.
According to the notice of closure, the landfill site did not comply with the National Environment: Waste Act 59 of 2008 and it had reached its carrying capacity.
Its location in an environmentally sensitive area and proximity to the estuary were also taken into account.
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