Residents volunteer for a cleaner environment
Five residents, Karabo Kodisang, Makgalemele Xaba, Bucie Moletsane, Racheal Xaba and other members of the community recently teamed up to promote a green environment for the community of Seventh Avenue in Katlehong.
They cleaned an illegal dumping site and turned it into a park.
Although people continue to dump their waste in the park, it does not discourage the residents from keeping the environment clean, especially for children who use the park for their sporting activities, as well as the community at large.
Kodisang said the space has been used as a dump site for as long he can remember. He watched the space become a toxic environment since he was a young boy attending primary school.
“We started cleaning the park on Mandela Day back in 2017 and we have encountered challenges along the way; the main challenge being people who continue to use this vacant space as a dump site,” said Kodisang.
“The community was not helpful in this process. The only help we need is for them to stop littering or even make a donation for the park to have waste bins because we understand that people are not willing to work for free. But we all have a responsibility to sustain our environment and to raise children in a clean and healthy environment,” said Kodisang.
Xaba said he saw the need to volunteer because it was unsafe for children to be exposed to or play in unhealthy spaces.
Ward councillor Johnson Matabane said they have tried numerous times to stop the community from using the space as a dump site since they have refuse collection once a week. The municipality realised that the old bins were too small and that was when the municipality saw the need to distribute 240-litre waste bins, but the problem is that people are using the bins for storage instead.
“We encourage people to use the 240-litre waste bins that the municipality provided because it charges you for those services even when you do not use them,” said Matabane.
“We are happy that we have volunteers taking care of the space even though it is not registered as a formal park because the land belongs to the provincial government, but because it is within our area of residence we cannot leave it untidy so I am happy that the community took the initiative to start a cleaning programme,” he added.
He proposed that the volunteers and the community members should write a notice board to inform people that no dumping is allowed and also include a fine for those who disobey the law. He said the volunteers should consider identifying people who disobey the municipal rules by taking photographs of them as proof when reporting the matter to the municipality.
The volunteers also pleaded with the councillor for sponsorship for outdoor waste bins that could be utilised by people who spend time at the park.
According to Matabane, the municipality cannot allocate rubbish bins to an unregistered park as the park does not belong to them and is not included in City’s budget.
“The municipality allocates waste bins to registered parks when the bins are distributed. But we encourage community members and local businesses to lend a helping hand by making donations for the installation of bins at the park,” said Matabane.
