Frustrated Fynbos residents subjected to a revolting odour from a pile of rubbish dumped near their houses on John Nash Street have called on Buffalo City Metro to clean it up.
The more than 200 households who were moved from shack-dwellings in Buffalo Flats about two years ago into prefabricated structures in Fynbos claim that this area has been a health hazard.
The area where they dump their trash only has one huge steel container which often lies uncollected for months.
One resident, Zelda Hendricks, 42, who lives next to the dumping site, had mosquito bite marks on her body and complained about the stench.
“It is terrible living here under these conditions. The smell is very bad and it gets so bad sometimes that I can’t even cook inside my shack.
“The disgusting smell hangs inside my house and on hot days it becomes so unbearable to be inside that we end up spending the day sitting outside.
“We don’t have another option but to dump our rubbish there and even the waste in buckets that people use as toilets is dumped there,” Hendricks said.
She added that their situation could be prevented if BCM were to remove the rubbish more frequently.
“They removed the container on Wednesday but left everything else. It was the first time in three months that they have collected it, but the place is still a mess.”
Another resident, Mihlali Gqetsha, 20, said the dumping site posed a health risk especially for the children who played close to the area.
“When it is hot the smell becomes so bad … but the biggest concern is that the kids play close to that area and can get sick from all the food that has gone off or pick up some germs,” Gqetsha said.
Mfuniseli Sopepe, 47, who lives close to the dumping site, said motorists often hurled insults at them for dumping as the rubbish spilt over into the road.
“We don’t have another place to dump it and the taxi drivers often swear at us because they say it’s our fault that the road is a mess.”
He said when it rains the rubbish pile spills onto the road.
BCM spokesperson Sibusiso Cindi said while the matter may have been reported to the municipality the residents needed to ask their ward councillor to follow up.
“In a matter like this, the residents need to raise these issues with their ward councillor because if they feel one container is too little they can request that the municipality provide more.
“We have placed a container there which gets collected once a week and if they feel that it fills up quicker before it is collected this can be reviewed, but that line of communication must be there.
“This situation needs urgent intervention,” Cindi said.
Dumped rubbish a health hazard
The more than 200 households who were moved from shack-dwellings in Buffalo Flats about two years ago into prefabricated structures in Fynbos claim that this area has been a health hazard.
The area where they dump their trash only has one huge steel container which often lies uncollected for months.
One resident, Zelda Hendricks, 42, who lives next to the dumping site, had mosquito bite marks on her body and complained about the stench.
“It is terrible living here under these conditions. The smell is very bad and it gets so bad sometimes that I can’t even cook inside my shack.
“The disgusting smell hangs inside my house and on hot days it becomes so unbearable to be inside that we end up spending the day sitting outside.
“We don’t have another option but to dump our rubbish there and even the waste in buckets that people use as toilets is dumped there,” Hendricks said.
She added that their situation could be prevented if BCM were to remove the rubbish more frequently.
“They removed the container on Wednesday but left everything else. It was the first time in three months that they have collected it, but the place is still a mess.”
Another resident, Mihlali Gqetsha, 20, said the dumping site posed a health risk especially for the children who played close to the area.
“When it is hot the smell becomes so bad … but the biggest concern is that the kids play close to that area and can get sick from all the food that has gone off or pick up some germs,” Gqetsha said.
Mfuniseli Sopepe, 47, who lives close to the dumping site, said motorists often hurled insults at them for dumping as the rubbish spilt over into the road.
“We don’t have another place to dump it and the taxi drivers often swear at us because they say it’s our fault that the road is a mess.”
He said when it rains the rubbish pile spills onto the road.
BCM spokesperson Sibusiso Cindi said while the matter may have been reported to the municipality the residents needed to ask their ward councillor to follow up.
“In a matter like this, the residents need to raise these issues with their ward councillor because if they feel one container is too little they can request that the municipality provide more.
“We have placed a container there which gets collected once a week and if they feel that it fills up quicker before it is collected this can be reviewed, but that line of communication must be there.
“This situation needs urgent intervention,” Cindi said.
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