Ravine clean-up: Illegal structures, rubbish removed

Law enforcement agencies, security companies and Johannesburg City Parks and Zoo staff descended on the Kloofendal ravine adjacent to Christiaan de Wet Road, embarking on a much-needed clean-up operation on Thursday, July 24.

According to the area manager for Beagle Watch, Cobus Botes, they received a call from the Honeydew police, requesting interested parties to assist in the planned operation.

“Of course, we were in,” he says. “It is well-known that this open area is frequently used by vagrants who conduct illegal sorting and storage of their recyclables.

“More recently, there have been some people who decided to move into the area, erecting illegal structures, and destroying the natural environment in the process.”

Botes adds that a significant percentage of petty crimes committed within suburbs can be attributed directly to the rise of garbage picking and illegal recyclers.

“This consists overwhelmingly of petty thefts, but in some cases, we’ve seen an increase in street robberies.

“There have also been incidences where garbage pickers act as informants for more formidable criminals, such as vehicle thieves, burglars, gate motor thieves, and house robbers.”

Teams gathered at the Sasol garage at Christiaan de Wet Road and Wilhelmina Avenue to discuss their plan of action, from where they started their push into the ravine.

“It was hugely successful,” says Botes. “We managed to remove a lot of accumulated rubbish from the area.”

He adds that the recyclers tend to separate the recyclable material from everything they collect, simply discarding whatever they can’t sell in the veld.

“We were quite surprised at the number of illegal structures and shelters that had been erected here since our last visit. These were taken down, and the building material was removed.”

Among the entities involved on the day were Honeydew police, JMPD, Gauteng Traffic Wardens, JCPZ, Beagle Watch Security, BCI Security, Papamani Security, and Maganyeni Security.