Landfill site a sight for sore eyes

KAROO NEWS - A viral video by a resident showing the appalling state of the road from the N9 to the Graaff-Reinet landfill site, has compelled Councillor Ewald Loock to demand urgent answers.

The video showed illegally dumped garbage completely blocking the access road.

Loock asked Dr Beyers Naudé Local Municipality Director of Community Services Gewnynne Hermanus what would be done to make the road accessible and to address the ongoing problem.

"The rubbish needs to be removed so that the road can be used. It is after all a public road," Loock said.

Roads cleared

Hermanus explained that it would be challenging to tackle the waste since the municipality does not own a yellow plant (large yellow earth moving machine). However, on 31 October, the same day that the video went viral, Hermanus and his team started removing and burning the rubbish, working right through the night to clear the road.

Hermanus said the waste that blocked both roads were removed, and these roads are no longer inaccessible.

The provincial road was properly rehabilitated and the waste on the access road was pushed to the side to form a temporary buffer to prevent further illegal dumping. No waste was pushed to the side of the provincial road.

Municipality's response

The Advertiser submitted several questions to the municipality relating to the state of the landfill site and the way in which the rubbish was disposed of.

Spokesperson Vuyisa Jantjies responded that the municipality is working on a solution.

He confirmed that the municipality is struggling with yellow plant and has to rely on the services of an external service provider to maintain and rehabilitate the site.

"After the procurement of this service from the municipality's previous service provider, it became evident that this service provider could not deliver the service as outlined in the Service Level Agreement (SLA).

"The municipality then had to commence a process, as provided for in the SLA, to assess and find remedies to the persisting problem. This then resulted in the termination of the contract with the first service provider," he said.

Jantjies said a new service provider has since been appointed.

The municipality has instructed this service provider to start rectifying the situation immediately and that the illegally dumped rubbish must be removed by Monday 13 November.

The service provider will then start with the development of waste holding units to ensure proper management of the site.

Budgetary constraints

According to Hermanus, the deterioration of the landfill sites in the municipal area are caused by illegal dumping and budgetary constraints.

He emphasised that the money available for service delivery is hardly ever enough to address the challenges but, despite this, they do have medium- and long-term plans in place.

He confirmed that provision was made for the rehabilitation of the Graaff-Reinet landfill site and transfer station as well as the maintenance of all landfill sites in the municipality.

Jantjies confirmed that the Munici-pality's Law Enforcement Unit has been instructed to monitor the area to discourage further illegal dumping and an official has been appointed to monitor activities at the landfill site. This official will be supported by general workers who will assist with the rehabilitation of the polluted area.

Jantjies implored the public to cooperate and to keep all areas clean. "The landfill site has been closed as a temporary measure to ensure the realisation of the clearing and rehabilitation of the site. Businesses and residents are asked to use the transfer station to dump waste. Recyclables will be sorted, and the rest will be disposed of in a designated space."