Progress at the dumpsite

AbaQulusi municipality is finally taking steps towards the proper management the Vryheid dumpsite, looking to Durban’s Cleansing and Solid Waste Unit for guidance.
The constant fires at the dumpsite have affected residents’ health for years and rubbish accumulating in piles is an environmental hazard.
Acting municipal manager, Bongiwe Mnikathi, said she was blown away when she had the opportunity to visit Durban Metro’s landfill site recently. “It was so clean that you could actually take your lunch and have a picnic there. You would never say it was a dumpsite,” she said. “In Vryheid, there has been no progress with regards to the dumpsite but we want to change that.”
The municipality has recently been approved for Municipal Infrastructure Grant (MIG) funding to have the dumpsite fenced off, tar the road that leads to the dumpsite, and install high mast lights. According to Ms Mnikathi, once that is complete, a guard house will be built to accommodate 24-hour security, and a weighbridge will be installed.
Ms Mnikathi believes that the fencing and security will alleviate the biggest challenge the municipality faces at the landfill, which she has identified as a lack of access control.
“Once we have access control in place, this will also ensure that we don’t have fires starting at the dumpsite all the time,” she said.
Ms Mnikathi went on to say that homeless people starting fires at the dumpsite to keep warm was a constant problem, and complained that young girls went to the dumpsite to have abortions performed illegally.
While the dumpsite is being fenced, the people who usually scavenge among the rubbish for anything they might be able to eat, sell or use, will be trained on recycling so that they may earn a steady income.
“We want to formalise the recycling so that the activity on the landfill is completely controlled and Durban Metro has offered to train the people at no cost,” added Ms Mnikathi.
Asked if she was met with any resistance when she presented this idea to the people at the dumpsite, Ms Mnikathi said, “They are willing to be trained in recycling. There was no resistance at all because they also want a cleaner environment.”
Still of concern to the public is the fact that AbaQulusi municipality does not have an operational budget for the management of the dumpsite. “We did not know what the scope of our responsibility would be as a municipality,” explained Ms Mnikathi, who is also the director of the Department of Community Services, which the responsibility of the dumpsite falls under.
This means that there still isn’t any money allocated to the digging of trenches and the proper compacting of the rubbish.
“Once we are done with the fencing, we will see what money is left over that we can use for the management of the dumpsite,” concluded Ms Mnikathi.
However, moving MIG capital funding into an operational budget may not be permitted.