City mission to eradicate illegal dumping
"When you remove illegally dumped waste, people come and dump again"
JOHANNESBURG SOUTH – City of Johannesburg took a road trip to visit illegal dumping sites in Johannesburg with the intention to refrain residents from illegal dumping on Wednesday April 30.
This was after The Citizen Relationship and Urban Management (Region F) noted with dismay the illegal dumping of soiled nappies near Wemmer Pan at La Rochelle in Ward 57.
An integrated service delivery operation in La Rochelle, Ward 57, uncovered the health hazard.
An Environmental Health expert warned that soiled nappies contains human excrement, which in a true sense of the word contains sewage and hence brings the same health risks associated with sewage.
“It pollutes the environment as it brings bacteria and infected substances into the environment, it’s unsightly and needs to be cleaned by our own staff members sweeping the streets.
“There is a risk of disease, not only to the general public, but also to our staff. If it is not cleaned up, it will be flushed away with the next rain and will be washed into the stormwater system, landing up in our water systems.
“Furthermore it attract flies, rodents and dogs, bringing all the mentioned problems closer to the homes of the same people who dumped it and our neighborhoods.”
ANC’s Bev Turk and Mr Edward Mohale, the regional manager for urban management and service delivery at the City of Joburg, encourages residents to make use of dumping sites available to them.
