“People need to be held responsible for their actions and I refuse to just drive past this mess every day and pretend it is not there,” said Kelvin resident, Kathy David. “Illegal dumping simply cannot be allowed,” she said. “Someone needs to take some action. I am sure the ward councillor has no idea as to what is happening in the area she is responsible for. I am an obliging taxpayer and rates payer and I need something to be done about this,” she added.
Ward 109 councillor Lillian Kekana said she was well aware of the illegal dumping in the Kelvin area. Kekana said the Metro police’s regional director, Liziwe Makoro-Ntshinga was heading the project to find appropriate land for legal dumping. “We’ve been looking at land in the Malboro area,” said Kekana.
She said culprits that were caught dumping illegally were fined R1 000. “Even with this penalty fee in place, it does not seem to help much, illegal dumping still takes place,” she said. “We’ve discovered that most of the people guilty of illegal dumping are actually the residents.”
Kekana said foreign national truck drivers hired by builders to remove building rubble have also been busted for illegal dumping.
“At the end of the day it is the people in the suburbs that build and their builders dump the building rubble illegally,” explained Kekana. “People in the suburbs must be responsible and ensure that their builders dispose of building rubble appropriately.”
The Metro police bylaws department have encouraged residents to report illegal dumping. Illegal dumping may be reported to the Johannesburg Roads Agency on 011-490-1688.
The agency requires the name of the street and the area in which the illegal dumping was witnessed, and the registration number of the vehicle. “Dumping is unsightly and devalues the environment and our properties,” said Kekana.
