Unused baby nappies dumped

LINMEYER – The suspicious activity of a man who was being tailed by an officer of the Moffatview Community Policing Forum (CPF), Don Hooper, led the crime fighter to the find on Risi Avenue, Linmeyer.

On January 13, Mr Hopper spotted five large bags packed full of unused disposable baby nappies under a tree opposite the Lighthouse Stimulation Centre for children with cerebral palsy.

Some of the disposable nappies are suspected to be rejects because a number of the nappies in the bags were damaged.

“The nappies seem to be rejects,” said Moffatview Community Policing Forum officer, Fernando Limas. “Most of them are damaged, shredded and some don’t have the sticky elastic that holds the nappie together.

On January 8, the CHRONICLE reported that a resident had witnessed “thousands of blue disposable Baby Pamper nappies dumped among other household refuse” on an open council property in October last year, which could be seen clearly when travelling south from Booysens Road.

This recent incident of crucial resources discovered dumped in a public area is the second to happen just weeks after a pile of antiretroviral medication were found discarded on a pathway frequently used by children on their way to the Southern Suburb’s pool and other residents.

While websites such as OLX and Gumtree have numerous advertisements posted by suppliers selling “various high quality” rejected baby diapers in bulk, there are also people who look to these sites to find usable “no name” disposable diapers at affordable prices.

The officers believe that these wasted resources could have been donated to the poor who have little or means to afford baby diapers.

The Moffatview SAPS reportedly were of no assistance to the CPF when they notified them of the dumped antiretroviral medication, only advising the officers to flush it down a toilet. The CPF officers said they would not report the discarded baby diapers as they believed no action or investigation would have taken place.