Business as usual at Shakaskraal illegal dumpsites despite orders to halt operations

Despite official warnings and threats of legal action, illegal dumpsites in Shakaskraal continue to operate with impunity.

Two dumpsites just metres from residential homes and restaurants continue to mushroom, providing an ever-growing risk to the surrounding communities.

More than a year ago a compliance letter was issued to dumpsite owners by the KwaZulu-Natal Department of Economic Development, Tourism and Environmental Affairs (EDTEA), compelling them to halt operation with immediate effect and undertake a 90-day rehabilitation plan.

This has clearly been ignored with mountains of waste now dominating the landscape between Shakaskraal and Nkobongo.

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

“These sites are unfortunately still very much operational. The poor air quality poses a serious health risk to those who live nearby, aside from the leachate which could leak into the nearby Umhlali River,” said Dolphin Coast Conservancy chairperson and member of the KwaDukuza landfill committee, Di Jones.

“Bucket tests by the South Durban Community Environmental Alliance (SDCEA) last April established that the air quality at the dumpsite and at a nearby shisanyama were extremely poor, showing first hand the toxic dangers.”

When the Courier visited last week, waste pickers were competing with vermin for the choicest morsels in the piles of smouldering waste.

The continued operation of the dumpsites has made clear the necessity of urgent intervention to ensure proper waste management.

“I appeal to all residents to take responsibility for their waste from cradle to grave. We all need to be a part of the solution, not the problem. If we are to solve this problem, it is well worth paying the extra R100 with the knowledge that one’s waste is not going to contribute to environmental pollution,” said Jones.

Ward 22 Cllr Doeshie Govender said it was his duty as a coucillor to solve the problem.

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“There absolutely is dumping ongoing. The landowner can be violent. We are trying to work on the best way to sort the problem out. He says he is allowed to dump because he owns the land, but obviously the bylaws do not allow that,” he said.

The Courier was unable to reach the EDTEA spokesperson at the time of going to print.

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