A well-intentioned community initiative to address household waste disposal in White River has seen widespread abuse.

According to the chairperson of The Power of 8000 community group (TPO8000), Rhodes Abell, the group installed waste skips at strategic locations in and around White River to serve residents living outside municipal refuse collection areas. The initiative successfully reduced informal dumping in town but has now created another problem.

“The skips are being grossly abused by commercial contractors, garden refuse services and private individuals, many of whom are dumping loads loads of waste at these sites. These overrun the skips within minutes and with no space, rubbish is once again dumped around them,” he said.

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The skips are meant for small-scale household refuse only.

“What we are seeing now is organised, illegal dumping which completely defeats the purpose of the initiative. Community members who had attempted to stop this or explain the rules reported being met with aggression, abuse and outright refusal by offenders. This behaviour is unacceptable; it shifts the costs and responsibility of illegal dumping onto volunteers and workers who are already giving their own time and resources to keep White River clean,” he added.

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TPO8000 volunteers and workers once again had to clean up such a site, strewn with garden refuse, household waste and loose debris. TPO8000 has made it clear that illegal dumping will be tracked, reported and acted upon.

Members of the public are urged to photograph illegal dumping incidents and capture vehicle registration numbers and licence discs.

These should be sent to The Power of 8000 or reported on 082 900 7378. Where offenders can be identified, fines and further action would follow.