Illegal dumping continues

PILES of scrap, plastic pieces, metal filings, polystyrene, and parts of old electronic equipment cover the sidewalk on Acutt Avenue. Northglen News visited the site last year with ward councillor Dean Macpherson who labelled the rubbish pile a health and safety hazard. Fast forward a few months and the problem of illegal dumping is continuing unabated. Residents and business owners in the area have complained about the mountains of building rubble but nothing has been done to rectify the situation.

Hilary Augustus who works at a business opposite the illegal dump said her emails and calls to DSW had also gone unanswered.

“When a customer walks in to our office and asks if they have to come through a rubbish dump to get to us, something really has to be done. The situation at the moment is shocking, embarrassing and a health risk

“The municipality has an advert on the radio every morning saying how proud they are of our beautiful city, but they certainly haven’t looked at the area just off a main road like Chris Hani (North Coast Road) in Acutt Avenue. I was told DSW comes around every six weeks but it’s been more than the allotted time period and the dump grows more and more everyday,” she said.

Augustus proposed the municipality install a skip to help curb the dumping. “At least the dumpers will have something to put their scrap into.”

Ward councillor, Dean Macpherson, said illegal dumping has been a persistent problem on Acutt Avenue and the situation cannot be allowed to continue.

“The municipality or DSW can’t always be cleaning up the mess, perpetrators have to be caught and prosecuted. That is the solution but what’s going on currently is a response to the problem. The issue is that the laws against offenders of illegal dumping only allow for a maximum penalty of R500, if they’re caught, it should be increased,” he said.

He urged residents who see anyone illegally dumping to contact DSW or the Metro Police.

There has been no comment from the municipality or DSW.