Brakpan is drowning in rubbish

This poses huge risks to human health, plant health and animals that live in these territories.

January 22, 2021

Brakpan Herald 1 minute read

Christine Coomans writes by email:

The City of Ekurhuleni is home to approximately 3.18 million people, and yet, I’ve watched my small town of only 73 000 people become one with the rubbish that has absorbed the whole of Brakpan.

For the last six months, I’ve been paying particular attention to the amount of waste and litter around Brakpan, notably the central and northern areas.

I did this as part of my Sundays For Future movement, where I clean up areas that have become overpowered and polluted by wayward litter and illegal dumping.

I was astonished to see how uncommon it is to see or find huge piles of waste, old household items, construction waste, car parts, gardening waste or used products dumped by the roadside, woodland areas or non-designated dumping sites.

There is no denying the pandemic has put an extreme delay on service delivery and freedom of movement for all sectors, but I am not sure our municipality is trying its best to deliver services for which we pay taxes, nor is it finding innovative solutions to meet all demands.

I am worried about the increase of litter not only in the streets and parks but also in every field and every forest.

This poses huge risks to human health, plant health and animals that live in these territories – such as frogs, birds, tree squirrels, owls and field mice.

The individuals who partake in this illegal dumping are being unlawful, and the more we leave the trash, and the more we allow these individuals to dump without consequences, the more polluted and dangerous the areas will become.

This will lead to more land, water, soil and air pollution as well as fire hazards.