Years of accumulating waste affects residents

A toxic odour emanating from the dumping site near Trench town, Ward 21, began the year on a horrible note for the residents.

For almost 10 years, residents have had to deal with the accumulating waste which they have become accustomed to over the years.

Dipuo Mokoshane who moved to the area, five years ago, lives directly next to the site and she says her family have been negatively impacted by it. “Just days ago, we found rats in the house that came from the site,” she said.

“As we are sitting here, it would not be a surprise if one ran past us, it has become a norm,” she added.

Although residents admit that they have not complained about the issue directly to the municipality, they are certain that they are aware of their situation as other residents have brought it to the councillors’ attention. “Municipal workers were here in December 2022 and they cleared the area, it has not even been two months and the place is filthy again,” another resident, Nana Segelari lamented.

According to Segelari, the municipality often takes months before they come and clear the area. “If they provided us with skips and did a check-up now and again, then maybe the area would be kept tidy,” she said.

The issue is especially concerning for residents because people often dump medication and injections in the area. “We have small children who play around there and pick these items up, it isn’t safe at all,” Segelari emphasised.

In a previous article, municipal spokesperson, Jeanette Tshite, said the municipality’s ongoing cleaning campaign is meant to cover all areas and wards within the Municipality’s jurisdiction. “Unfortunately all hotspots cannot be attended to at once and the scale of waste accumulation in those hotspot areas increases on a daily basis,” she said.

Tshite added that there is currently a plan to place mass skip bins in certain prevalent areas as a means of intervention to reduce illegal waste problems. She further added that information concerning illegal dumping that needs to be cleared at various areas normally gets reported to the Department of Community Services by ward councillors. “The challenge of illegal dumping at reported areas will be addressed as soon as we consult with the relevant war.