The City of Tshwane has launched a campaign to clear more than 600 illegal dumping sites across the municipality which is led by the Environmental and Agricultural Management MMC, Dana Wannenberg.This litter is primarily dumped by residents who leave the rubbish on open fields, roadways and outside municipal facilities.
According to Mayor Randall Williams, although eradicating illegal dumping sites was a mammoth task, the City was making inroads.He alluded to a long list of identified unlawful sites amounting to at least 600, saying it would take time to accomplish the task at hand.
“We are certainly winning the fight against illegal dumping. We have started a massive campaign to clear out these illegal dumps. It is a very long list that we are working through, but we are systematically working through it,”said Williams.
Last month, Community safety and emergency services MMC, Karen Meyer promised to crack down on illegal dumpers by deploying a team of metro police to hotspot areas. She receives weekly statistics on the number of illegal dumping cases reported, the number of incidents they responded to, and the number of incidents proactively identified and addressed.
The chief of police, the deputy chief of police responsible for specialized policing, and the Tshwane Metro Police Department’s by-law enforcement unit regarding enforcement of the City’s waste management by-laws were brought on board to assist in the campaign.
Although they are starting to see good results, Williams said he was aware of challenges posed by people with tendencies to dispose of rubbish in the non-designated spots. “You can’t just clean up the dumps and then you move on to the next illegal dump and then the one you have cleaned before becomes an illegal dumping site again,” said Williams. For this reason, he pleaded with residents to assist the municipality by guarding against any illegal dumping practices in communities.
