Councillor tackles problematic ‘pickers’ at Glanville dump site

FOLLOWING complaints and concerns of the group of people who are often found outside Glanville Road Garden Refuse Site, ward 64 councillor Gavin Hegter assures the community that measures are being put in place to address the matter.

The presence of the group, made up of mostly men looking for odd work or to make money assisting resident offload their rubbish at the facility, has caused mixed views in the community.

“We’ve had an ongoing problem with the pickers who gather outside the facility. They jump on people’s vehicles because some residents utilise them to go in to help offload their waste. These guys also use this as an opportunity to collect scrap or whatever they can sell off to make some small change. I understand their desperation. They’re not there because it’s fun but because they’re trying to eke out an existence but it has become a major problem. This not only being the litter outside and the mess that they leave behind but it also now a security issue.

“It’s come to a boiling point where residents are not happy that when they pull in with a bakkie, these guys start grabbing stuff off the back. It’s going to get to a stage where it’s going to get ugly. And it’s a very complex issue that I’ve been trying to deal with for a long time now,” said Hegter.

In a proactive approach in addressing the matter, he held a meeting with stakeholders from various relevant departments including law enforcement and Durban Sold Waste (DSW) last week in efforts to find solutions to this problem. He shared that the departments agreed that this would be tackled in a multipronged approach.

“An additional security guard will be placed at the premises and they will not allow any residents who pick up the people outside the gate to bring them in, irrespective of whether they want the guy to help them or not. If you want someone to help you offload, bring your own person with you. Residents cannot utilise the guys outside because what happens is that the resident will take that person inside, offload, give the guy small change and then drive off. That guy is left legally inside the facility and he can help himself to stuff at the dump site. This is what we’re trying to discourage.”

The other issue noted is residents who stop outside the dump site and give the group their discarded waste. “I understand that residents may think it’s considerate to do this as a way of helping them out but it is creating a massive problem.

“We will also have the ward’s safer cities marshals monitor the facility closely. Metro Police and SAPS will also conduct regular patrols in the area. This should roll out in a week or so. We have to put an end to this because sooner or later we’re going to have hijackers using that crowd as camouflage or a resident will be annoyed leading to a confrontation that could result in an assault or stabbing. The DSW staff and security have been attacked by these guys, trying to stab them with broken bottles. There have been reports that the guys use the nearby bush as a toilet and that there’s drug dealing going on there as well. We have to address this.”

An educational programme will also be implemented. This will see the marshals together with SAPS will do awareness programmes around the community and will distribute information pamphlets compiled by DSW to help resolve this problem.

“There will be efforts to get safer cities to address the needs of the group to try and see how they can be assisted,” said Hegter who added that anyone identified offloading their rubbish outside the dump site will have their registration recorded and will be fined or prosecuted for illegal dumping.