Illegal dumping remains a thorny issue
Polokwane Municipality spokesperson, Matshidiso Mothapo, says the cleaning up of illegal dumping in the city is still a work in progress for the municipality
POLOKWANE – This comes after residents wanted to know what the municipality was doing to combat illegal dumping all over the city.
Complaints were received from residents in Bendor, Ladanna and the Central Business District (CBD), where residents say they have found illegal dumping instances, sometimes right in the city’s streets.
Residents complain that the illegal dumping brings unwanted elements to their neighbourhoods looking for food or things to sell. Others say they are exposed to terrible odours in their homes or businesses from the refuse dumped illegally in their areas and that they have a problem with a sudden influx of rodents due to the illegal dumping.
As a warning to illegal dumping, the municipality is placing more notice boards near open fields to make sure people who engage in illegal dumping are being educated to the illegality of their actions and the consequences they face.
Mothapo urges residents with complaints to contact the municipality and to report all illegal dumping to the municipality so they can act on the complaints and the reports to eradicate illegal dumping from the city.
He says the municipality has teams in place to clean up the city, but that the main challenge is that as soon as an area is cleaned, there is someone dumping illegally again.
“The action plan on dealing with illegal dumping in the city includes awareness and education, ‘No Dumping’ boards, notices and fines (law enforcement), and regular clean up action with front end loaders and tipper trucks,” Mothapo says.
He adds that a maximum amount of R1 200 in fines can be issued for illegal dumping and such matters can be reported to the municipal waste management section on (015) 290 2532/2543/2366/2367.
