Help catch dumping offenders

RESIDENTS in Glenwood have had enough of mounting rubbish and people's disrespect for the by-laws.

Crart Avenue resident, Emma Sethaba, said rubbish is put out on the pavements whenever residents feel like it, as she said they are 'too lazy' to take their garbage out on a Monday, when it is collected, and it is placed in whatever bags they can find.

“This makes the area filthy, and there are a lot of rats as a result of this. In November the municipality inspector visited me and asked who was dumping in the roads. This is an ongoing problem. I am tired of living like this,” she said.

Business owner in Devonshire Avenue, Joyce Morton, said garbage bags had been piling up in Devonshire and Godfrey Avenues, and hadn't been collected for weeks.

“This started before Christmas. It seems vagrants are picking up garbage bags and sitting in Godfrey Avenue, which is sheltered from sight, to go through the bags. These are then left dumped in the road. We have had chairs and mattresses piling up here as well,” she said.

Joyce said she spoke to Durban Solid Waste (DSW) eight months ago, and received the response that they were 'on it'.

“This is a difficult situation for the municipality, but if we care enough to report what is going on we expect a response,” she said.

Ward councillor, Nicole Graham, said: “Effectively, we need some kind of evidence in order for the Department of Health (DoH) to issue a spot fine to a specific individual and pursue the matter. This means people must able to get photos of the dumping taking place, not just of the rubbish, or are able to affirm via an affidavit that they have seen people dumping. It seems to be the same blocks of flats that is the problem in many instances. The 'No Dumping' signs we have had put up are repeatedly taken down.”

She said at the recent meeting convened by the Deputy City Manager, Dr Musa Gumede, to discuss Ward 33, Deputy Head of DSW, Brian Mthembu, confirmed two additional posts for enforcement officers would be advertised and hopefully filled shortly.

“This is due to complaints from councillors and the public. Currently there are only three officers for eThekwini, which results in limited enforcement. I have made it clear that enforcement is key to preventing littering and dumping. The new refuse by-law also includes higher fines for these infringements. I encourage residents to email me with this information so that we can deal with offenders. Hopefully, by working with residents and officials from DSW and the DoH, we can start to curb this horrible new trend and keep our community clean,” she said.