UMHLANGA ward councillor Heinz de Boer has voiced his anger at a suggestion by the city that residents leave the beach clean-ups to them. The suggestion came during a heated debate on Monday morning at an Exco meeting after medical waste was dumped on Beachwood Beach. When the discovery was made, the City took the decision to close the affected beaches. 

According to De Boer the City asserted the clean-ups were dangerous and potentially hazardous to those cleaning it.

“We informed EXCO that an NGO, named DUCT, had done an amazing job in helping clear tons of recyclable plastic off the beaches. We suggested that trash booms be fitted across rivers, and EPWP staff then be employed to remove the trash and then recycle this.

“Instead of supporting what was essentially a fantastic public effort to clean the beaches, the City instead attacked the initiatives, saying it was dangerous for people to collect rubbish. The City said it should have been asked for permission,” he said.

De Boer said the assertion was ridiculous.

“We had been emphatically told that it was only plastic medication bottles, snuff bottles and unused condoms that had washed up. There were no sharps or needles among the supposedly dumped items. So the comments are a clear indication that the City did not, and does not know what the situation was on the ground,” he said.