Rubbish piles up in Empangeni
ILLEGAL dumping in Empangeni is on the rise, with much rubbish piling up across residential suburbs.
Waste materials including discarded furniture, bottles, and plastic, among others, are found strewn across now-vacant parks.
Affected areas are Starling Crescent, Union Street, Nkululeko Road and Louis Botha Street.
Ward councillor Andre de Lange said the City of uMhlathuze needs to urgently communicate with waste management contractors in developing a plan to deal with the issue.
He said the illegal littering problem stems from vendors being unable to perform their tasks.
'Contractors do not take the waste they collect from people's homes to the landfill site as they are charged money to do so,' he said.
'They lose work if they charge clients for both their labour and the landfill fee, so some of them charge a standard rate and dump the waste illegally in these open areas.'
While there are by-laws in place to govern illegal dumping and fine those responsible, they are not prosecuted.
'The municipality can charge a fine of up to R5 000 if found guilty, but it is often impossible to prove that the accused are guilty,' said De Lange.
'We plan to resolve this matter over the next six months. The biggest issue is that the municipal vehicles used to collect bulk waste and transport it to the landfill site are undergoing repairs,' he explained.
'We run social media groups on which we communicate and report such issues.'
The uMhlathuze Municipality urges residents to assist in putting an end to illegal dumping by reporting such activities.