The eThekwini Municipality is encouraging the community to report illegal dumping. Many wards have been on the receiving end of dumping where residents and businesses alike discard their waste on street corners, next to electricity boxes and even on open plots.
The state of these areas has become worse and while there seems to be no solution to this “disease,” community activists are taking the lead on reporting illegal dumping.
“Illegal dumping is the discarding of waste in an unauthorised manner on any public or private land. Illegal dumping hinders the objectives of the City to keep a clean and safe environment,” said a municipal spokesperson.
Illegal dumping affects public health, safety and quality of life as it serves as a breeding ground for mosquitoes, rodents, snakes and cockroaches. It also discourages economic development because it impacts on real estate values and affects tourism.
The community can be part of a sustainable solution to curb dumping by taking out refuse only on collection days and using street litter bins that are strategically placed in and around the city as well as reporting any illegal dumping sites and perpetrators using various platforms. “We have a collective responsibility to keep the environment clean,” added the spokesperson.
Active Citizens Coalition PR Councillor, Mohammed Ismail, said that residents should first take forward the drive to keep their own street corners clean. “We must familiarise ourselves with the days that DSW make their rounds to collect refuse. We have also seen that residents are not in the habit of using garden dump sites where we just dump building rubble, old cupboards and everything else either outside a building where we live or on a street corner.
“We are encouraging landlords and body corporates to take a close look at what is happening on and outside their properties. Everybody needs to play their part to keep the very street that they live on clean. We are steeped in a culture of throw what you want anywhere that you like. We need to go back to the basics of community pride and activism,” said Ismail.
Walk-in complaints can be reported to the CSW reception at 17 Electron Road, Springfield. A reference number is generated once the query is logged onto the faultman system, which is an internal system used to log queries. The query will then be directed to the relevant region for investigation and clearance of the illegal dump.
Residents can report an illegal dump by calling the Cleansing and Solid Waste helpline on 031-311-8804/36 or by emailing DSW@durban.gov.za.
