DESPITE the removal of tons of rubbish on Ryde Place two weeks ago involving several municipal departments, the good work has been undone almost as quickly as it was completed following more illegal dumping in the cleaned up space.

The clean-up was organised by Rowena Bosman, PR councillor for Ward 110, however the recurrence of illegal dumping in the area has frustrated the community, volunteers and the City.

From January 5 to 9 the road was closed for the clean-up and involved the City’s Roads and Stormwater Maintenance Department, the Waste Management Department (formerly DSW) and Durban Metro Police.

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Illegal dumping on both Ryde Place and Malacca Road have been a longstanding problem in the Glen Hills area and involves residents, contractors, and businesses dumping household waste, building rubble, and hazardous materials in the area.

In some cases, the sheer weight of the illegally dumped materials has led to collapse of the boundary wall around the Redhill Cemetery running along the length of Ryde Place.

“I’ve wanted to get this project off the ground for some time now, with the hope of improving conditions on Ryde Place as well as Malacca. It is an ongoing challenge which has become dangerous at times. The road being so narrow, is made narrower by illegal dumping by both community members and contractors (who are paid to remove rubble), but instead of taking it to a proper site, such as Springfield, they simply dump it on the nearest corner or side of the road,” said Bosman.

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“The constant dumped material has been so compacted into the ground that it has necessitated backfilling to replace the refuse removed after the recent DSW clean-up. This ongoing dumping may result in underground fires developing from build-up of gas/ fumes over time, I’ve witnessed this happen. I have requested intervention by relevant officials, amongst others, additional policing, no dumping signs, crash/ jersey barriers and further proposed to relevant officials a recycling project much like the one currently underway in Umgeni Park,” she said.

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