Rubbish uncollected for one year

Nompumelelo residents are concerned by a heap of rubbish that has not been collected for more than a year now.

Residents say their appeals to the Buffalo City Metro (BCM) have fallen on deaf ears.

Mzukisi Fihlani, a resident in Nompumelelo, said the smell from the rubbish was unbearable.

“It really stinks, especially on hot days, and there are flies. We have tried to burn some of the rubbish but the smoke just makes things worse, because it burns for days,” said Fihlani.

He said he was concerned about the health risks of living with uncollected waste.

“We have children who play near the heap. Who knows what sort of disease they could contract? There are also flies, maggots and other funny flying insects caused by the trash. We really cannot live like this,” he said.

Buseka Maweni, another resident, said in some spots around the township rubbish piles could be as high as 2m.

“People also don’t care anymore, they just throw their rubbish bags anywhere now, and the problem is that if it gets windy, the rubbish gets scattered all around,” said Maweni.

Afika Gana said BCM could at least make sure it was clean around the clinic. Another resident Nomta Jongxi said it felt as though they were being ignored.

“I work in a house in Beacon Bay, and there you would never find anything like this here. Maybe the community is to be blamed but if they do not see the metro showing care why should they,” said Jongxi.

This is not the first time the metro has been put in the spotlight for waste management. The Daily Dispatch has reported on schools and residential complexes that have complained about rubbish not being collected for long periods. Soon after this the metro unveiled a new fleet of waste management heavy machinery to help the struggling waste management department clean up the dirty city.

Questions were sent to the metro, but there had been no response at the time of writing. — ziphon@dispatch.co.za