Vryheid dumpsite – is it going backwards… again?

VRYHEID’S dumpsite was on the mend; it did look like it was improving, that the town’s rubbish was being managed effectively, but recently, it would appear that the process has stalled. Doug Grewar of the AbaQulusi Residents Association (ARA) makes the following observations. “The dump site problem is far from being solved. At long last the fire, whose smoke has been poisoning Vryheid residents on and off for the last five years, has been stopped, and thanks to the good efforts of various people including the ARA, machinery has been hired to dig holes and push the rubbish into them. “This is completely environmentally illegal and makes a mockery of the many long years and multi-millions of rand that were spent to produce an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA), but thank goodness somebody had the guts to take action before we were all gassed to death. “Last Thursday I visited the dump site but the machines were no longer there. Rubbish was again piling up and the veldt was spread with plastic litter as far as the eye could see. “How long will it be before the fire starts burning and emitting poison smoke again? “The holes that were dug have been referred to as cells. They are not cells they are just holes that will leak pollutants into the groundwater that will eventually end up in Klipfontein Dam and our water supply. Cells (like prison cells) are supposed to keep things inside and there are standard engineering designs for them.” That was the situation when the Vryheid Herald visited the site on Monday. Most of the activity was taking place outside the original designated dumpsite, on what was once an area of grassy veld. There did appear to still be an effort to distinguish different types of rubbish, but there were mounds of presumably general rubbish lying un-managed on the ground from where it could be blown away by any winds. There were cells partly filled with rubbish, and no doubt also acting as dams for the weekend’s rains. Ultimately, this waster will seep into the Bhanya River and into Klipfontien Dam. The old boreholes on the original site have disappeared; the new “unofficial area” has obviously never had boreholes – it’s unofficial – and so no water samples have been taken for years, samples that are supposed to provide information that can detect contamination of the ground water