Simon Mokwena, a resident of the Clay Oven informal settlement, said community leaders recently met with residents after complaints were raised about smoke regularly affecting neighbouring areas.

Mokwena said while he understands the concerns, many residents in the settlement rely on fires for various reasons.

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“People need to cook and people need to keep warm. Not everyone has electricity, so we understand where some of the smoke is coming from.”

However, Mokwena said the meeting focused largely on the burning of rubbish, particularly plastics, which community leaders believe is contributing unnecessarily to the problem.

According to Mokwena, rubbish often accumulates near the entrance of the settlement and some residents burn it instead of waiting for it to be collected.

“We spoke to the community about not burning rubbish because that is what makes the smoke worse.”
Mokwena urged residents to make use of waste collection services, saying refuse collectors regularly remove rubbish from the area.

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“The waste collectors do come. If the bins are full, people should leave the rubbish next to the bins and

allow it to be collected instead of burning it, so that we don’t get complaints from our neighbours.”
While some smoke from cooking and heating fires is unavoidable, Mokwena said reducing the burning of waste could help ease concerns raised by neighbouring residents. “We understand why people are complaining.

What we are trying to do is address the things we can control, and one of those is the burning of plastics and rubbish.”

He said community leaders hope the discussions will encourage better waste management practices, while helping reduce the impact of smoke on surrounding communities.

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