City dumps fines on illegal dumpers
ON Sunday, 18 August at about 11am, a five-ton truck with the registration NCW 15700 was seen dumping rubbish on the banks of the Illovo River, below the steel bridge in Lower Illovo.
” When the driver was approached and asked what he was doing, he said he was told to do this by his boss. He said he was just the driver of the truck and he was from Umkomaas,” said a member of public who witnessed the incident.
Photos were taken of the truck, the driver, the vehicle’s number plates and the rubbish.
Illegal dumping raises significant concerns in terms of public health and safety, property values and the quality of life. “The uncontrolled disposal of waste has adverse impacts on the city. It costs Durban Solid Waste (DSW) R20 to R50 million a year to clear illegal dumping. Although other forms of waste may impact the city, litter is the main culprit. Illegal dumping is a serious offence, if caught the perpetrator will be fined and will be responsible for the removal of the refuse. If the perpetrator cannot remove the waste, it will be removed by council, however the perpetrator will incur all removal costs,” said DSW PRO, Neeri Moodley.
Some of the threats posed by illegal dumping are:
• Serious threat to public health and safety, and the quality of life.
• Rodents, snakes, and insects are attracted to dumpsites which poses health risks.
• Dump sites with scrap tyres provide an ideal breeding ground for mosquitoes, which can
multiply 100 times faster in the warm, stagnant water standing in scrap tyre casings.
• Dumping activities can have negative impacts on plants and wildlife.
• It attracts criminal activities (overgrown bush and grass – becoming hideaways for
vagrants and criminals)
• May decrease property values as a result it decreases tourism, which affects the economy.
• Can cause damage to the council’s grass cutting equipment, and may delay grass cutting cycle.
DSW has various illegal dumping control programmes that concentrates on community involvement and law enforcement to eliminate or reduce illegal dumping.
The department appeals to the public to assist it in stopping illegal dumping. If you are witness to an offence, take the registration number of the vehicle or the address of the person dumping and report it to DSW helpline on 031-311-8804, email DSWCustomer.ServiceLine@durban.gov.za or the Ombudsperson on 080-020-2020.
The new Lovu landfill site which was to open to the public on 1 July, has unfortunately not opened as DSW has encountered delays with the project. The contractor is close to completion and it is expected the site will open on 1 September. It will cater for the southern regions of the city.
