Wine town fears bouquet of garbage
THE garbage is not there yet but already there’s a stink hanging over Wellington, where the Western Cape government has backed a 500-ton-aday waste disposal project in the heart of the Cape winelands.
Better known for tourism than trash, Drakenstein municipality has chosen waste firm Interwaste to help resolve the area’s landfill shortage.
Almost R1-billion will be invested in a facility to absorb waste from surrounding towns, including Paarl, Stellenbosch and Franschhoek.
Garbage will be sorted and burnt, generating power to reduce the council’s electricity tariff, according to an environmental impact assessment that identifies a preferred location just outside the picturesque town.
But a coalition of residents is objecting to the plan, which they say will turn the town into a regional garbage hub. They also claim it is legally flawed, partly because there was insufficient consultation.
Western Cape local government MEC Anton Bredell has recommended the go-ahead despite acknowledging legal errors on the part of the municipality.
In correspondence with opponents of the project, Bredell said the council may already have gone too far with it to back out now, and could be liable for legal costs if it did. He advised it to ask the National Treasury to condone its errors.
Opposition has united people across class divides, with “waste pickers” — who scavenge through the existing landfill to make a living — joining forces this week with largely middleclass critics of the plan.
If the project goes ahead it will mean a daily influx of trucks into a 100ha materials recovery facility, a solidwaste pressing plant, an anaerobic digester and an incinerator. It will also handle sludge from the Paarl wastewater treatment works.
Residents are concerned about potentially toxic fumes and chemicals such as dioxin and furan — released when plastic is burnt. They say the Wellington valley already has a heavy burden with smoke from wood and coal fires.
In a letter to a local paper, Wellington farmer “Boet” Malan said: “Is there space in this already overpopulated valley for the whole of the Boland’s rubbish load that will continue to grow along with the towns?
“For many people Wellington was their choice of a peaceful rural place to live — close to the most beautiful mountains with mountain water and clean air.”
Bredell’s letter, sent late last month to Drakenstein municipality, said officials handling the matter had “not adhered strictly to the legal requirements pertaining to the various steps”.
Responding to queries this week, Bredell’s spokesman, James-Brent Styan, said: “The minister is awaiting the outcome of a public participation process into the matter and we cannot comment further until this process has been completed.”
Interwaste referred queries to Drakenstein acting municipal manager
Is there space in this overpopulated valley for the whole of the Boland’s rubbish load?
Jacques Carstens, who said that far from detracting from Wellington’s environment, the project “has the potential to become a further tourist attraction”.
He said Interwaste had only been selected as a preferred bidder and no contracts had been signed. A further environmental impact assessment was under way and public input and appeals were still possible.
Activist group Drakenstein Environmental Watch had been vocal, but relatively few locals opposed the project, said Carstens. It was based on standards used in Europe, “where waste-toenergy plants have operated successfully for years in close proximity to developed areas”.
But Wellington resident Anna-Rita van der Westhuizen believes an alternative solution must be found. She said the municipality appeared determined to proceed despite health and environmental concerns.