ABERDEEN NEWS - Billowing clouds of smoke settled over Lotusville in Aberdeen on Monday, paired with the heavy stench of burning plastic.
The source of the clouds turned out to be burning rubbish at the municipal tip, which created plumes of smoke.
According to Wilca Smith, acting communications officer for the Dr Beyers Naudé Municipality, the municipality was not burning refuse at the landfill site.
However, two vagrants who were scavenging in different areas of the landfill claimed that it was the municipality who had set the fires. The man and woman were not prepared to be named. The landfill site has been an ongoing issue in the area, with litter that has started to encroach the N9.
This, after people started to dump waste on the access road, due to unstructured heaps of rubbish that make it impossible to gain access to the main dumping site. On Monday, access to the road was completely blocked with litter.
A bull was seen grazing by the landfill's fence, in danger of ingesting plastic waste.
The heaps of plastic hold a danger grazing animals. Photos: Sue Shaw
Earlier this month, ward committee member Dick van Wyk showed the Advertiser the mounds of rubbish. "This is a very poor reflection on our municipality for all the tourists streaming past," Van Wyk said.
Despite multiple requests from the Advertiser, the municipality has not yet responded to questions about a new landfill site, thought to be planned for behind the original site.
On the poor maintenance of the site, Smith explained that the yellow plant and equipment have not been operational for most of the year, and there is no machinery available for the landfill site in Aberdeen. "The municipality looked at the option of hiring a bulldozer, but budget constraints prevented the hiring of plant," Smith said.
"The hiring of machinery will be reconsidered in this new financial year, depending on budget availability." She added that municipal employees, with assistance from CWP workers, have started cleaning in the area.
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