Illegal dumping headache in Woodstock continues
ILLEGAL dumping in Woodstock has gotten worse over the past six months, as the City was filling up to 200 bags of refuse off the streets every single day.
This is according to ward 115 councillor Ian McMahon, who said despite the City’s solid waste department hiring more than 30 general workers to clean the streets five-and-a-half days a week, illegal dumping continued to persist.
“We have six teams made up of five workers, one supervisor, and three sweepers, and on any day they clean between 12 and 16 streets.
“We are filling up 200 bags of refuse on the streets every single day.
“Late last year, the solid waste law enforcement department did an audit of all the businesses along Victoria and Albert roads to see which were not using the services of either a City or a private refuse contractor.
“And that was not very fruitful at all,” said McMahon.
“We implore the residents of Woodstock to please report illegal dumping.
“There are, in certain cases, rewards if people are found to be illegally dumping, and we can take them to court.”
On Saturday, McMahon noted there were properties with more than 20 people in one house.
“That could be an issue. But again, that’s an anecdotal comment I got from one of the residents, but it is out of hand.
“We can't be having 200 bags a day just picked up from what is on the streets; something else has got to be done in this situation,” said McMahon.
Woodstock resident, Mary Woodward, said more needed to be done in the area to educate people about waste management.
“I believe shop owners are some of the people who create this problem, as some dump their refuse in open spaces every day.
“This is not hygienic and could lead to serious health problems for our families.
“This also creates a very bad image of our neighbourhood.
“More needs to be done to educate people about the implications of illegal dumping,” Woodward said.
Between July and December 2023, 7 778 fines were issued by the City’s traffic service, law enforcement, and metro police departments for illegal dumping.
The current fine for illegal dumping is R5 000.
Illegal dumping can be reported to the City’s Public Emergency Communication Centre by calling 021 480 7700 from a cellphone or 107 from a landline.