He HAD to endure the stench of a rotting animal carcass and household refuse over the festive season, but an illegal dump outside Barrett le Roux’s front gate in Buffalo Flats kept on growing.
The festering rubbish in the suburb’s Arendse Street is just one example of the illegal dumping scourge which has taken hold in the city due to a lack of legal landfill sites within easy reach of most residents.
Le Roux, who moved into a double-storey house in November, said he was in a “constant battle” with his neighbours who he accused of slinging their garbage onto the mouldering heap.
“They send their kids here to dump things or they dump their rubbish late at night and when I wake up it’s there. It irritates me that residents who forget to put their garbage out for the BCM trucks on Mondays, just dump it here instead.”
Le Roux said he had moved into the rented house with an option to buy it, but was reconsidering investing in the property because of the dump.
“During December I could hardly open the door because of the smell. People dumped building material, branches, a broken washing machine and a dead animal.
“It’s not the people who live in shacks nearby, but the residents of this area who are doing the dumping and it’s causing a lot of arguments between me and them.”
Le Roux said he had contacted BCM’s solid waste department to clear the rubbish, but had been told the tipper trucks were in for repair and unavailable.
His neighbour Patrick Ndzuzo said the dump was 24 years old and that he last saw a bulldozer clear it in the late 1990s.
“Last week I buried two dead dogs because of the smell.”
Democratic Alliance PR councillor Sue Bentley said Le Roux had contacted her about the unhygienic problem.
“He had a rather unpleasant Christmas. The refuse became progressively more smelly as each hot day passed.”
Bentley said she had met with officials from the solid waste department in December in a bid to obtain timeframes from them for the removal of illegal dump sites in Teichmann Place, Sunnyridge; Arendse Crescent, Buffalo Flats; West Bank; Santa; Leaches Bay settlement and the road between the Orange Grove informal settlement and Santa.
She was informed there was no budget for this. She said illegal dumping in the city had reached crisis proportions and stemmed from the closure of legal landfill sites in recent years.
“The only legal sites are Riegers dumpsite in Gonubie, Beacon Bay and Roundhill in Berlin. You can’t expect people to travel to dump legally.
“There should be legal dump sites between every two to three wards because complaints about illegal dumping are coming thick and fast.”
At Teichmann Place in Sunnyridge, self storage manager Barry Burger said the illegal dumpsite had been in operation for years.
The dump, which has been highlighted in the Daily Dispatch on a number of occasions, is close to several businesses.
“It’s disgusting,” said Burger. “There is garden and household refuse and businesses dump their rubbish there.
“Last year two no dumping signs were stolen within a week of going up.
“There are not enough legal landfill sites, but BCM could at least put dumpsters there. It’s so bad for business to say ‘turn right at the rubbish dump site’ when you give directions.”
BCM had not responded at the time of writing. — barbarah@dispatch.co.za
Outrage over smelly dumpsite in suburb
The festering rubbish in the suburb’s Arendse Street is just one example of the illegal dumping scourge which has taken hold in the city due to a lack of legal landfill sites within easy reach of most residents.
Le Roux, who moved into a double-storey house in November, said he was in a “constant battle” with his neighbours who he accused of slinging their garbage onto the mouldering heap.
“They send their kids here to dump things or they dump their rubbish late at night and when I wake up it’s there. It irritates me that residents who forget to put their garbage out for the BCM trucks on Mondays, just dump it here instead.”
Le Roux said he had moved into the rented house with an option to buy it, but was reconsidering investing in the property because of the dump.
“During December I could hardly open the door because of the smell. People dumped building material, branches, a broken washing machine and a dead animal.
“It’s not the people who live in shacks nearby, but the residents of this area who are doing the dumping and it’s causing a lot of arguments between me and them.”
Le Roux said he had contacted BCM’s solid waste department to clear the rubbish, but had been told the tipper trucks were in for repair and unavailable.
His neighbour Patrick Ndzuzo said the dump was 24 years old and that he last saw a bulldozer clear it in the late 1990s.
“Last week I buried two dead dogs because of the smell.”
Democratic Alliance PR councillor Sue Bentley said Le Roux had contacted her about the unhygienic problem.
“He had a rather unpleasant Christmas. The refuse became progressively more smelly as each hot day passed.”
Bentley said she had met with officials from the solid waste department in December in a bid to obtain timeframes from them for the removal of illegal dump sites in Teichmann Place, Sunnyridge; Arendse Crescent, Buffalo Flats; West Bank; Santa; Leaches Bay settlement and the road between the Orange Grove informal settlement and Santa.
She was informed there was no budget for this. She said illegal dumping in the city had reached crisis proportions and stemmed from the closure of legal landfill sites in recent years.
“The only legal sites are Riegers dumpsite in Gonubie, Beacon Bay and Roundhill in Berlin. You can’t expect people to travel to dump legally.
“There should be legal dump sites between every two to three wards because complaints about illegal dumping are coming thick and fast.”
At Teichmann Place in Sunnyridge, self storage manager Barry Burger said the illegal dumpsite had been in operation for years.
The dump, which has been highlighted in the Daily Dispatch on a number of occasions, is close to several businesses.
“It’s disgusting,” said Burger. “There is garden and household refuse and businesses dump their rubbish there.
“Last year two no dumping signs were stolen within a week of going up.
“There are not enough legal landfill sites, but BCM could at least put dumpsters there. It’s so bad for business to say ‘turn right at the rubbish dump site’ when you give directions.”
BCM had not responded at the time of writing. — barbarah@dispatch.co.za
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