No solution to curb paper hawkers
A local businessman is at his wits end with the waste paper 'operation' in Alan Paton Road, which he said is an eyesore.
WASTE paper sellers who operate from the canal in Alan Paton Road have raised the ire of local Gale Street businessman, Anthon Dreyer.
According to Dreyer, the hawkers have broken through the fence to reach the water in the canal which they use to wet the cardboard they collect, making it heavier. The sellers are paid per weight of the cardboard and paper they collect. However, the sellers leave the canal and surrounding area in a mess, which is what has riled Dreyer. He has approached the city, the waste paper contractors who buy the cardboard and various other parties but has had little success in curbing the mess.
“I have spoken to the guys who wet the cardboard, but they just laugh at me. I have spoken to the people buying it from them but to no avail, I don't know who is driving who. If there is no demand these guys will stop wetting the cardboard and leaving all the rubbish in the canal and on the sidewalks. I am sure Mondi would not be happy knowing one of their suppliers allows this,” he said.
“This is not illegal, but it is immoral, and the whole area is an eyesore. The men are also poisoning whatever is in the canal. There are mosquitoes, flies, you name it. I cannot allow our area to degrade in such a manner and need help in stamping this out,” he said.
He said he had approached surrounding businesses to help clean up, but was told that they pay rates for the municipality to do this, which he said was quite correct.
“DSW cleaned up on Friday, but ten minutes later these guys were back. It's something that happens every day. Unless we can chase them away, more and more men arrive. I can't do this alone, I have a business to run,” said Dreyer.
In response to queries by Berea Mail, the owner of a local recycling company said it was not the only waste company that bought wet cardboard, but agreed to speak to his drivers to stop purchasing wet cardboard.
“Other waste companies also need to stop buying. We don't want to buy the wet cardboard as it damages our baling machines, however by other waste companies purchasing it, we don't have a choice as hawkers prefer selling the wet cardboard to get more cash than selling dry cardboard to us and getting less cash,” he said.
A representative from DSW said the situation had been brought to their attention and they were dealing with it, although a solution had not been found as it involved many other stakeholders. They said recycling activities had taken place in and around Durban but the problem started when vagrants realised they could make money by collecting cardboard and selling it.
The representative said DSW Education was educating them to keep the streets clean and had appealed to them to stop wetting the cardboar. They were also engaging with recycling companies to encourage them to stop buying cardboard as this just motivated hawkers to keep wetting cardboard.
Ward 33 councillor, Nicole Graham, said the fence had been fixed on two occasions but hawkers just broke it to gain access to the canal. It really looks awful and needs urgent action from those responsible.”
