PE municipality clears hazardous rubbish dumps
Garbage in Motherwell removed following GroundUp report
On 20 January GroundUp reported that rubbish was accumulating in NU8 and the informal settlements of Powerline and Endlovini in Motherwell, Port Elizabeth. The Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality has since cleaned the area.
Municipality spokesperson Mthubanzi Mniki said: “We will be launching a programme towards the end of February to focus on illegal dumping.This programme will include awareness, cleaning of illegal dumping sites and giving fines to those who are caught dumping illegally.”
Long-time resident of Powerline, Akhona (surname withheld), lived alongside one of the dumps that had gone uncleaned. She said she was excited that there was no more rubbish around the shacks in her area. “We feel safe now because there is no more the sight and smell of rubbish. People should desist from dumping here. There are designated places to dump their rubbish but they prefer this place. We will soon gather and form a committee that would guard this place and prevent people from doing so.”
Motherwell NU 8 resident Damara Kano said he would now revert to using his usual road when going to the shops. The small road was previously blocked by overflowing rubbish posing a health threat to him and other residents. “The municipality should enforce dumping laws because people are just throwing their rubbish everywhere which is not good for our health. Rubbish has been ruling the roost in this area for the past two months and it’s a relief that it has been cleared.”
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Letters
Dear Editor
This is fantastic. If we can continue to do this all over the country we will be promoting the good health of all South Africans and significantly improve our prospects for attracting overseas tourists and foreign investment.
Dear Editor
This is good news, but unless we resolve the cause, which the reporter correctly identifies as illegal dumping, within a few days, the area will look like it did previously in the first report.
Taking large amounts of refuse and rubbish to the dump is time-consuming and costs money - it is understandable if regrettable that those on the breadline might choose to spend their money on other things.
One of the solutions must surely be to make easy and free access to rubbish removal available - say a skip on each corner / intersection, coupled with educational and promotional programmes to encourage residents to use the skips and not throw their rubbish on the ground.
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