THE environmental upgrade in the form of a buy-back centre for recyclable materials beneath the Connaught Bridge will be complete in a few weeks.

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Ward 36 councillor Heinz de Boer said the new recycling and buy-back centre will help restore order, create employment and end years of illegal occupation and dumping.

The initiative, which has been long in the pipeline, was implemented last year and is valued at more than R700 000. It is being driven by the NPO Use-It, with local and international donor funding and support from the provincial Department of Economic Development.

“For years, people have been living and trading illegally on the land beneath the bridge,” said De Boer who met with those staying there last week.

Durban Solid Waste (DSW) workers were also present in efforts to clean up the site.

“I explained to them that by doing this they are turning the community against them. I hope this will be the start of a turnaround for the area.”

He added that regulating informal recyclers — many of whom dig through bins — is a key part of the plan.

“Not everybody likes people digging through bins, and I understand that. We have to regulate it so that the people looking through bins will be registered to the buy-back centre with proper identification. It will be easier to manage.”

De Boer said ongoing illegal dumping along Riverside Road, as well as informal structures erected among the mangroves, remain major concerns.

“We’ve asked Metro Police to patrol regularly and remove structures along the mangroves which is a separate issue to the buy-back centre. Once people are removed from the bushes they simply move into other areas. This is why we need initiatives that are going to uplift people so that this no longer remains an ongoing issue.”

He also appealed for private security assistance.

“If a security company can come on board and get a camera up there so we can catch perpetrators and issue fines, that would be great.”

He added that the recycling hub could become the first truly sustainable attempt to address homelessness, informal recycling and waste management in the area.

“There has been no other sustainable solution to these problems. Nobody has been able to control this. Communities need to start working with initiatives like this,” he said.

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