Accused of dumping on vacant land

A resident of Aster Crescent is fuming after being accused of illegal dumping by the nuisance inspector.
The woman was at home on Wednesday last week when the municipality’s nuisance inspector arrived and told her she is the person who is dumping on the vacant land at the corner of Aster Crescent and Azalea Drive. A letter was handed over to her, saying she must clean the area within seven days. The lady is adamant that she doesn’t dump anything in the area. “I leave my refuse in rubbish bags outside my house in the knowledge that the municipality will pick it up every Monday morning,” says the outraged resident.
She told the nuisance inspector that she knows who is dumping in the area and could point them out to him. The woman is a pensioner who lives with her daughter and grandchildren. “All the rubbish that is dumped there is building material people have used in the repairing of their homes after the hailstorm damage, so how can it be me when my house isn’t even fixed yet?”
Not knowing what to do, she contacted Councillor Abbas Warasally and he, in turn, contacted municipal officials and held a meeting with them at the scene where the dumping is taking place. It was established that the litter is deposited there by a person who looks for plastic bottles; he looks through the rubbish, takes what he wants and dumps the rest of it at the side of the road.
Emnambithi/Ladysmith Municipality say they are doing everything in their power to clean up the town. Cllr Warasally commented that, “It’s disturbing that people pay rates to have their rubbish picked up from their homes, yet they still go and dump in other areas.” He is happy that the municipality has taken serious action with regards to dumping in town.
If people are caught dumping, they will receive a notice telling them to clean the area within seven days. If this is not done, council will clean the area and send the bill to the person they have caught dumping. An appeal is made by Cllr Warasally not to dump in ‘no dumping’ areas. “Keep your rubbish at home in bin bags and council will pick it up from your gate!”
The woman in question was found to be not guilty of dumping in the area and council are currently trying to find the guilty parties so that action can be taken against them.