From the outside looking in many affected residents would suggest that not much has been done to solve the problem of the smouldering heaps of compost at the Panorama Compost site in Allen’s Nek.
But it isn’t the case, as the Northsider is able to report from first-hand experience gathered on site on Friday, 9 October when personnel from the Krugersdorp branch of Working on Fire (WoF) were using every single resource at their disposal to extinguish the fire in the burning compost.
However, their efforts of excavating, raking, spraying water from tankers and using a front-end loader seemed in vain, with WoF project manager, Phineas Mphela, admitting that, “Indeed it will take us a while to extinguish the fire, also depending on the availability of water and the extent to which it continues to spread. We estimate about two to three weeks to complete this task,” Mphela said.
However, the Pikitup spokesperson Muzi Mkhwanazi hoped for more rain to resolve the problem sooner.
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The compost has been burning for over two weeks already – posing a threat to the environment and the health of many residents, some as far as Helderkruin and Florida.
The compost caught alight when a substation exploded on the premises on 28 September. Although this theory was arguable judging by the distance between the compost and the electricity box, it was proven as a fact.
Allen’s Nek resident Ashtyn Mckenzie, a committee member of a forum that is against the compost site, helped to get the African Reclaimer Organisation (ARO) and other environmental experts to visit the site to assess the problem.
Speaking to the Northsider, ARO organiser Luyanda Hlatshwayo alluded to the toxicity of this environment. “This landfill site has plastic all over it which shouldn’t be here. This is not going to stop anytime soon – Pikitup needs proper assistance on this. The City was supposed to prioritise this site by getting its management to stop toxic waste from entering this premises,” he explained, adding that the City also needed to regulate the landfill sites properly, “… because if this could happen to all our landfills, the city would be in a huge mess,” he warned.
Touching on the health aspects of this matter, Louis Mahlangu, who travelled from Dobsonville, refuted the claim that the smoke was not impactful. “When these decomposing organic materials burns, they form gas which I do not think is healthy to inhale. Although we cannot confirm the level of toxicity now, such smoke can cause someone’s health to deteriorate,” he suggested.
Lorin Leuci, a resident who integrates informal recyclers in the community, cited their way forward on the matter. “We have formed a task force and put out a public group for all community members, including businesses, to deal with the ineffective response from Pikitup, the councillors and authorities. We are also starting a database to include doctors’ letters from residents heavily affected by this disaster,” she explained.
In addition, Lorin said that they plan on engaging the Department of Environment, Forestry and Fisheries to launch an investigation based on the environmental impact and management of the site to hold those negligent accountable.
Ward 126 councillor David Brand concluded by indicating that he has previously engaged Pikitup to close the site and for the Johannesburg Roads Agency (JRA) to close the dirt road from Hendrik Potgieter Road. “The area attracts a lot of unemployed persons who think they can get money from offloading bakkies or recycling material. To have them removed we need the Department of Home Affairs, but they keeps letting us down. Without them, the police and Johannesburg Metro Police Department (JMPD) cannot do anything to resolve this problem,” he explained.
This is a developing story.
