Complaints of illegal dumping by residents and businesses have once more surfaced, with calls again being made to the local Council to take action to eliminate the ongoing problem.
Residents say that the Council’s Tshwane Metro Police responsible for monitoring the transgression of by-laws, should have a full time vehicle in the area so that the culprits involved in illegal dumping could be prosecuted. Calls have also been made for the council to provide bulk refuse containers at various spots prone to dumping and for the opening of a dumping site nearby, so that residents would not have any reason to dump rubbish or waste on street corners. One of the dumping spots which residents have been complaining for years about, (which was also featured many times in the Laudium Sun) is on Emerald Street (near the 8th Ave intersection), which authorities seemingly have turned a blind eye to, as the dumping continues. Residents say the area near the pedestrian passage linking Emerald Str to Pearl Street in particular, remains a dumping problem, despite complaints to the authorities numerous times. Emerald Street resident Alpha Sharma shared her concerns with the Laudium Sun, saying, “The illegal dumping on Emerald Street by the passage corner, is an old time story and there is nothing new to talk about. No one listens to us, neither the filthy residents who dump there, nor the officials of the Council. The culprits are even the various hawkers trading around the passage area, many of whom sell food also, despite the restriction imposed by the President of the country on all food vendors. It is time that we, as the residents of Emerald Street, take pride in our neighbourhood and start by stopping those living in the area to stop the dumping. We need to raise this issue of illegal dumping very seriously and rigorously. Our children are getting sick as the air around the dumping place is getting polluted. We can’t even walk past the passage or nearby, as the stench is horrible. Our Councillor must get the Council to put up big signs warning residents of the fines imposed for illegal dumping. We also need these huge bin containers in various areas, so that residents could throw their rubbish in there. What I cannot understand is why does the Council not allocate some open space nearby for the dumping of rubbish, as this is much needed and will be controlled. But it seems that the Council is ignoring our pleas. This illegal dumping of rubbish which includes rotten food, is bad for our health and for the environment as the stench is so bad and rats breed there.” Another resident living in the area on Emerald Street, Rayhan Iqbal commented, “I can’t even pass the Emerald Street passage corner. The smell is so horrible.
I don’t know who dumps all their junk there, but I’m sure whoever it is, does not care about the environment they are harming and the pollution they are causing. They seem to only care about themselves and not about other people’s right to live in a clean environment. The illegal dumping of waste is very bad for the health. I hope that the Council will fix this problem permanently, not temporarily.
Another resident from Emerald Street, Cleo Mujibha, told the Laudium Sun, “This illegal dumping in our neighbourhood is really terrible and it’s making our children sick, as they are forced to breath in this bad stench every time they walk past it. When it rains, the place smells even worse. This is really disgusting and the Council must do something to fix this problem permanently. We don’t need any short term plan but a long-term solution.”
Yet another Emerald Str resident, Bilal Ahmed, said, “The illegal dumping on our street is a long-standing problem, and the Council must wake up and fix it permanently to save our planet and our lives. We also need a dumping site nearby so that the bigger businesses can easily go to this site to dump their heaps of rubbish and waste. It is also the responsibility of the residents to say no to illegal dumping.”
