SECUNDA – Illegal dumping of refuse or rubble is a criminal offence.
Ridge Times heard of contractors currently installing fibre lines in the area, who have allegedly been illegally dumping cables and rubble in Ext 23 in Secunda.
A resident spotted the team discarding their rubbish in an open field. The resident, who is also in the construction business, dropped his workers off at an intersection close to where the dumping was taking place.
“I drove to where they (the contractors) were to see what was happening and I asked them what they were doing,” said the resident.
He said the men told him that they were quickly dumping and that they were going to leave and were sorry. They then just continued to dump their rubbish. The resident told the men to discard their rubble at the local rubbish dump.
“They said it was too far for them to drive,” said the resident.
He said that the men had also said it is too late and that it is “shayile time” (knocking-off time).
Mr Donald Green, acting head of communications at Govan Mbeki Municipality, said that the illegally dumped waste and litter is visible within our business and residential areas, access roads and public open spaces.
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“Illegal dumpers have no responsibility towards the environment as it is contributing to an environment which is harmful to our health and not conducive to future generations; a basic constitutional right of every citizen.
“By littering or dumping illegally, the person is failing to take ownership and responsibility of the waste they generate and conveniently shift the responsibility to the municipality,” said Mr Green.
The main function of the municipality is to render an integrated waste management service, whereby they encourage minimising waste at the source, collect containerised waste, transport and dispose of waste at licensed landfill sites.
By rendering unnecessary additional services, such as picking up litter and illegal dump clearing, escalates the operational cost of refuse removal.
“In an attempt to combat littering and illegal dumping, the municipality has placed numerous awareness and notice boards at strategic places throughout our towns and access roads; regular education and awareness campaigns are held at schools and community meetings; all businesses and residential stands do get a weekly refuse removal service; litter picking is done daily in the central business areas; access roads, public open spaces are litter picked frequently and regular clean-up campaigns are held to remove illegally dumped waste from street corners and public open spaces.
“Unfortunately, these attempts seem not to be effective, as the community do not pay attention to our requests and efforts to keep the towns clean; litter bins and notice boards get vandalised, burnt or stolen and waste is still dumped illegally in open spaces and public areas,” said Mr Green.
He said the state of our environment is therefore greatly dependent on the attitude and behaviour of the community, which will only change once everyone has realised their responsibility towards its environment, the community and itself.
“The community can be of great assistance when they see someone dumping illegally in an open or public space as law enforcement officers cannot be present all the time.”
The municipality has a law enforcement unit, which is responsible for the enforcement of all local bylaws, including the Cleansing Services/ Waste Management Bylaws.
“When a community member has identified a transgressor, they can assist by taking a photo of the person or vehicle with registration number, whilst in the act,” said Mr Green.
He said the registration number of the vehicle must be visible on the photo, to trace the correct owner.
The municipality will require an affidavit from the witness, which can be handed in at the municipality with the photo evidence, where after the person or owner of the vehicle will be summoned to court.
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The court will lay charges against the transgressor. The witness may be summoned to appear as a witness and to testify in court.
The law enforcement unit can be contacted at 017 620 6335, or report complaints via the call centre at 080 060 0001/2/4.
Ridge Times has since reached out to Open Serve regarding this matter who in return responded that they immediately escalated this matter to their complaints department and take this matter very seriously.
The newspaper was informed that the contractors were made to return to where they had dumped their rubble and to clean up the area.
“We are pleased to let you know that the contractor concerned has cleaned up the area and undertaken to meet with staff for this not to happen again,” said Ms Melinda Beckmann, speaking on behalf of Open Serve.
