Illegal dumping along Finnemore Street, Paradise, is reaching levels of extreme proportions.
Construction and household refuse and other discarded items such as old toilets and tyres mar the area.
Mark Jacobs from Two Eagles Security claimed illegal dumping had been problematic for years.
“It has been like this ever since I moved to Paradise and this is the filthiest suburb in Newcastle!” Mr Jacobs exclaimed.
While it is uncertain who the culprits are, Councillor Bertie Meiring said he had heard businesses were allegedly responsible for some dumping.
“An emergency Whatsapp group has been started for Paradise and I have asked residents to take photos of people dumping for evidence. I do not want to blame residents, but residents need to take responsibility for their suburb. I am currently looking at ideas on how we can work together and clean the area up.”
He said a possible solution was a skip area in Paradise, similar to the one at the show grounds.
“One of the possible reasons people are dumping is because existing skips were full and people are then dumping their refuse on the side of the road.”
While looking for ways to solve the problem, Cllr Meiring said the most important thing to do was to educate people.
“It is wrong and we have to educate people to refrain from dumping.”
The municipality was contacted for comment, but none was forthcoming at the time of going to print.
