Centurion waste sorting station ‘bursting at seams’
“In December those staying at the site numbered 88. This number has since grown to an estimated 220 occupants.”
Centurion residents said they are worried about a local recycling sorting station “bursting at its seams”.
“It is getting bigger by the day,” residents’ representative Yvette Uys said of the station located on a compound next to West Avenue across SuperSport Park.
“The area is becoming a squatter camp.”
Residents previously drew up a petition to relocate the people staying at the station.
“In December, there were 88 people at the station. Now there are about 220.”
Uys also raised concerns about crime being “out of control” in the area as well as increased pollution in the Hennops River as recyclables ended up in the water.
“The wetland, which is an ecologically sensitive ecosystem, has been destroyed and will require complete rehabilitation.”
Uys said the property owners have also brought an application against the metro to declare it had breached its constitutional obligation towards them and the occupants.
“An eviction hearing will take place on 2 September. What the metro will do if an eviction order is granted remains to be seen?
“With the hearing just two weeks away, we have yet to receive any communication from the metro on their plans on where the occupants will be relocated to.
“And while all legal parties carry on with their endless meetings, we the residents are forced to deal with the repercussions of a poorly governed metro and departments that are incapable of enforcing their own laws”
Uys said it appeared the occupants were also spreading out towards other areas in the immediate vicinity.
“Residents have even proposed two properties, one for sorting and one for housing, to council which they believe will provide an adequate alternative to where the occupants can be moved.
“Council could easily partner with large recycling companies and recyclers through social development programmes.
“Properties can possibly be leased at a lower charge as they are standing empty at the moment. Unfortunately, it seems there is no political will.”
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