Inspectors roped in to deal with Leander Road illegal dumping spot
The property in question belongs to a private owner.
The Tshwane metro has vowed to find ways to sort out the eyesore in illegal dumping on a property in Leander Road in Olympus AH, east of Pretoria.
Every year, the city clears thousands of tons of waste from illegal dumping hotspots, which has a negative financial implication for the metro.
Residents have raised concerns about the illegal dumping in Leander Road, which has been reported since June and said illegal dumping is associated with health problems.
Metro spokesperson Lindela Mashigo said the property where the illegal dumping of waste is taking place is privately owned.
“The complaint is currently being attended to by the Environmental Management Inspectors and Environmental Health Practitioners who are responsible for enforcing the by-laws against the property owner.”
He said the metro is in the process of enforcing by-laws against the owner of the property.
Mashigo said while it is private property, it affects other residents and it remains the metro’s responsibility to ensure and maintain the general cleanliness of Tshwane streets.
He said the city calls on communities to work with it to combat illegal dumping.
“The dumping of waste in open fields, including construction rubble along roads and in streams, is unacceptable human behaviour that will be punished harshly.”
Mashigo said the city is looking at several long-term interventions, which among others, include waste separation at source to reduce the amount of waste that requires disposal while upscaling waste diversion from the landfills.
“This intervention will assist in educating our communities to see waste as a commodity that can be beneficiated for the production of new materials rather than sending it to the landfill for disposal.”
He said the city is looking at establishing waste drop-off facilities to provide different waste management options that can be accessible to the communities.
“By-law enforcement will be strengthened to deal with the perpetrators as well,” Mashigo said.
Ward 101 councillor Malcolm de Klerk said the owner of the property has been found and that the environmental inspector will follow up.
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