Despite signs prohibiting illegal dumping on the R538 near the plantation, community members are still dumping their garbage in this area.
This after the City of Mbombela (CoM) had cleared the place on several occasions and placed warning signs prohibiting dumping.
Some of the people who dump their garbage, who wanted to remain anonymous, claimed they have nowhere else to dump their rubbish, and that the skip they are supposed to use is situated too far from their houses.

They maintain that no trucks are designated to collect their rubbish, and this was another challenge.
“We suggest that we must have our skip placed at Mganduzweni, or they must just put it next to where we already dump our garbage to resolve the problem. For now we will continue using the area as our dumpsite, and since no one is punished for dumping, there is nothing stopping us,” they said.

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One of the farmers in the area, Gerald du Toit, said the municipality cleans the area regularly and erected a warning sign, but people are ignoring it, and law enforcement is not effective.“I am in support of the suggestion that they must put a skip where people are dumping their garbage. Even if we close the area with a fence, people will not stop, but will find another place to dump their garbage not far from the current one,” he said.
The spokesperson for CoM, Joseph Ngala, said people must report illegal dumping or send photos with the perpetrator’s car registration to customerservice@mbombela.gov.za.

This information will then be sent to the traffic department, which will issue fines.
“It is difficult to stop the dumping, as most of it happens at night. We have erected warning signs at most of the illegal dumpsites. We will continue to raise awareness on the impact on the environment, but the public is encouraged to report these activities.”

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Ehlanzeni District Municipality (EDM) will be embarking on awareness campaigns about illegal dumping within its local municipalities to ensure all communities adhere to the by-laws.
“The district wants to keep all the communities clean, and we believe this campaign will yield positive results. We need the municipalities and the communities to come together to make sure that we protect the environment and stop the illegal dumping,” a spokesperson for the EDM said.