9 September 2024
The only children’s park in Dunoon is clogged with rubbish. Photo: Peter Luhanga
The City of Cape Town has moved to clean up chronic dumping in overcrowded Dunoon following a warning from the Western Cape environment department.
In a “pre-directive” issued to the municipal manager on 27 August, the director of Environmental Law Enforcement in the provincial Department of Environmental Affairs and Development Planning Achmad Bassier said “large amounts of general waste” had been dumped in the local park, along the roadside and in a dam next to the N7, “which is not only causing significant pollution of the environment but also impacting negatively on the health and wellbeing of the residents within the Dunoon township”.
Bassier said the City had not taken “reasonable measures” to prevent pollution.
The City was given a week to explain why the pre-directive should not be made a directive.
This follows the accumulation of piles of rotting garbage and broken furniture in the park. The dam behind the municipal hall, which is surrounded by shacks, is clogged with refuse. Plastic bags float on the stagnant, murky water, and the banks are littered with heaps of trash.
Bassier said the City of Cape Town had 30 days to execute a clean-up and submit a comprehensive Waste Management Plan, complete with budgets and responsible officials. The plan must also outline weekly clean-ups, waste collections, and community awareness programs on pollution. Failure to comply could result in severe penalties, including fines of up to R10-million or up to ten years in prison.
On 29 August, the City announced in a statement that refuse collection in Dunoon would increase to three times a week from 1 September, in a bid to tackle severe dumping.
Wouter Kriel, spokesperson for Anton Bredell, the Western Cape MEC for Local Government, Environmental Affairs, and Development Planning, said the City of Cape Town had responded to the pre-directive with a Waste Management Plan on 5 September, along with evidence of clean-up efforts and a progress report.
He said the City had indicated that while some pollution was unavoidable, it was committed to minimising and rectifying environmental damage through regular waste collection and sanitation services.
“The Department is engaged in ongoing discussions with the City to find amicable solutions to the environmental challenges, including those affecting Dunoon Township,” Kriel said.
Luthando Tyhalibongo, spokesperson for the City of Cape Town, said the old quarry site near the N7 had been a challenge to clean but a new cleaning project had been started. With regard to general dumping around the area, he said, including the Mnandi Road site, the City provided 240litre wheelie bin refuse removal services for all formal households, and a door-to-door refuse removal for informal settlements, with area cleaning seven days a week.
“We are looking at other innovative ways to improve the level of cleanliness in informal settlements. This, however, will require communities to partner with the City to ensure success,” Tyhalibongo said.
He said the City’s Waste Management Plan, awaiting approval from the regulator, involved ongoing cleaning and operations to remove illegal dumping, education and awareness efforts, and law enforcement interventions to penalise and deter people who dump.