Illegal recycling plant still active
It's business as usual at the illegal recycling plant, along the N1 near 14th Avenue.
The illegal recycling plant adjacent to the N1 near the 14th Avenue offramp is still active, despite efforts by security companies and landowners to shut it down.
During a recent visit to the site, the Roodepoort Northsider noted that some effort has been made to close access to this piece of land that runs alongside the N1 North from 14th Avenue up to 9th Avenue, from where it winds its way through various neighbourhoods, eventually ending at the Beyers Naudè Drive Drive offramp.
The stretch of land directly behind the Constantia Office Park, which also borders on numerous houses and residential complexes, houses a significant illegal recycling plant. It is also home to a small informal village, housing about 40–50 vagrants.
According to Panorama Residents Association chairperson Dave Baxter, it is business as usual for the illegal recyclers that use this area to store and sort their collected wares.
“The landowners cleared a patch of land and started closing the cul-de-sac with large rocks, but they never finished,” he says. “This means that the trolley pushers still have unrestricted access to this piece of land.”
Baxter, who is also on the committee of the Honeydew CPF, affirms that the illegal recyclers pose a threat to residents of the area since they often work as ‘spotters’ for criminals that target houses. They are, according to Baxter, also responsible for most of the petty crime in the area.
The Northsider made contact with Renico Construction’s sales manager Johan Louw, who confirmed that Renico owns a portion of the land.
“We cleared all the land that we own in this area, as well as a portion of land belonging to another company,” he says. “Unfortunately, when it comes to securing the land, there is not much one can do. If you install a wall, they will carry it away brick by brick. If you install a fence, they will cut it down and sell it as scrap metal.”
According to Louw, the land occupied and used by the illegal recyclers does not form part of their land.
“Our land is mostly used as a thoroughfare to access the piece of land on which they operate. Unfortunately, this is not the only way to access the land, so even if we could find an effective way to secure our land, they will simply use one of the other access points to get there.”
Louw says that there is an agreement in place with a local security company, which makes sure that illegal occupiers do not settle on their land.
“Getting rid of the illegal occupiers on this stretch of land will unfortunately require the efforts of law enforcement agencies. Neither we nor our private security providers have any power to legally remove them from the land.”
The Northsider has approached JMPD spokesperson Xolani Fihla with questions regarding this matter. His comment will be added once received.
