WATCH: Illegal landfill site operators in Shakaskraal ignore orders to cease and desist

The two illegal waste sites operating at Shakaskraal without licences to receive waste continue to flout environmental laws.

This, despite the department of economic development, tourism and environmental affairs (Edtea) stating in February they would pursue criminal charges against the landowners after they failed to respond to the compliance notice issued in December 2020 to force them to remove the waste.

This week Edtea spokesperson Bheki Mbanjwa confirmed that criminal charges had been filed at Umhlali Saps against the landowners of the two unlicensed sites situated at 73 and 74B Cemetery Lane, Shakaskraal. Both cases were registered on March 3.

This has done little to deter the waste operators as a recent site visit by the Courier showed there has been no effort to clear the sites and rehabilitate the land.

The dumping of waste material is regulated by 13 different pieces of legislation in South Africa, and Mbanja said contravention of environmental legislation was a criminal offence.

While waste crime has serious environmental impacts, civic groups and community activists say the motive is money. It offers high rewards, relatively low risk of substantial penalty and takes work away from legitimate waste operators.

A Shaka’s Head resident who asked not to be identified said he had become despondent as he had reported the illegal dumping area near his home, but nothing had happened.

Foul smells from rotting refuse, pollution and smoke from tipper trucks affect the nearby community while rodents, insects and other vermin attracted to the dump site also pose health risks.

Air quality officer Bongani Mthembu, from the environmental justice organisation South Durban Community Environmental Alliance (SDCEA), who visited the area with the Courier pointed out that a disproportionate number of toxic waste sites tend to be located in or near low-income communities, in part because such communities often have fewer resources to oppose such activities.

“The by-products of solid waste deposited in an uncontrolled landfill has adverse effects on the surrounding environment and the community living close to the landfill sites, who are exposed to unhealthy and potentially dangerous levels of airborne pollution. Indeed, the community nearby is affected by the smoke from burning debris and the smell of decomposing waste,” said Mthembu.