Community members of Block A3 in Nkomazi say illegal dumping appears to be one of the escalating problems in their area.

They say these dumpsites are usually on the vacant plot of land close to many residential units.

According to them, this has become a great cause for concern for homeowners who are forced to bear the stink of the garbage and unhygienic conditions daily.

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“Whenever it is hot and windy, the bad smell comes into our homes. Secondly, when it rains, all the rubbish drifts up to our houses and pollutes the streets,” he said.

Lubisi said they have reported the matter to the municipality, but nothing has happened.

“This is a matter that is known to the ward council and the municipality as a whole. The issue of people throwing trash in the streets started five years ago when the municipality failed to collect garbage. They promised to go around our area and collect the rubbish once a week, but did not fulfil their promises.”
He said he has now taken over the site, and clears and burns the waste in an attempt to clean the area.

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“I decided to clean the place since we have not received any help from our municipality and from the people who are being hired to clean the local roads. For the sake of having a healthy and clean area, I try to contribute by doing it myself,” he said.

He was later joined by other residents, Leya Ngomane, Ayanda Mkhonto, Life Nkosi and Zibonelo Khoza.

He said he wants the municipality to collect garbage once a week to avoid illegal dumpsites springing up in their area.

“We want the municipality to task a team that will clean our local areas and take care of issues such as refuge bags by way of a collection truck for the garbage once a week. They should assist by cleaning the area or move the trash with a TLB to the nearest hole that was dug long ago. I could use some help from anyone willing to assist, since we are being failed by our own government. We want to erect a sign saying ‘No littering – Violators will be prosecuted’. Charity needs to begin with us and by working together, we can do more.”

By the time of going to press, the Nkomazi Local Municipality had not responded to queries.