We must object to the metro’s plans for Weltevreden
Terrence Krebs from Brakpan North writes: I would like to appeal to the Brakpan Herald to make the public aware of the permit applied for by Ekurhuleni to the Gauteng Department of Agriculture and Rural Development (GDARD), to change the permissible working height of the Weltevreden Landfill Site from 10m to 40m, to extend the life of the site.
One needs to only drive into Brakpan past the site to see the obvious effect it is having on the town.
The site is non-compliant.
According to their existing permit, of which I have a copy, the access to the site must be controlled.
Clearly this is not the case as there are hundreds of illegal miners and waste pickers entering the site illegally daily.
I have sent a complaint to GDARD about this numerous times over the years, and their response is that the site is trying to control access and doing the best they can under the circumstances.
This is not acceptable. I have copies of these letters.
The notification on page 14 of the Brakpan Herald (Classifieds, September 12) also mentions that raising the height from 10m to 40m will extend the life of the site by at least 12 years.
This is misleading the public, as it has been in operation since 1993 and has not yet reached 10m.
I attend the meetings held at the site every three months (unfortunately 99 per cent of the time I’m the only resident of Brakpan to attend these meetings), so I’m aware that the extension of height is expected to raise the lifespan to 100 years.
I have minutes of meetings to verify this statement.
The site boundary fence is only 230m from my house.
I have had to put up with the odour from the site, having to first check wind direction before having visitors at the house.
The smell of burning plastic from the plastic squatter camp is also unbearable.
I would be happy if the site closed tomorrow, for obvious reasons, and object to any extension of the site and all the problems that have arisen because of it.
The site is far too close to a residential area and should be closed.
Objections must be made by October 13, so we are running out of time.
Editor’s note: The notification states that all interested persons are invited to register on the database of Interested and Affected Parties (IAPs) and to submit written comments or objections in writing to the Environmental Assessment Practitioner. Comments or objections can be faxed to 011 447 0355 or emailed to prime@resources.co.za
