Landfill sites in DBNLM in dire straits

KAROO NEWS - Toward the end of last year, multiple complaints regarding waste management at the landfill site and transfer station in Graaff-Reinet were raised. It's apparent that this problem extends beyond Graaff-Reinet, as landfill sites in various towns across the municipal area are facing significant challenges.

This is still ongoing despite the municipality's commitments to prioritise the rehabilitation and maintenance of these sites.

Nieu-Bethesda

The landfill site in Nieu-Bethesda is situated about 2,5km from the village. A concerned resident says that refuse is transported from the village to the landfill site on an open trailer, resulting in some of it falling off along the way.

"At the site the refuse is dumped and very seldom burnt. The wind sweeps the refuse from the site across the Karoo veld. It is an eyesore. An incinerator was planned for the landfill site but did not materialise."

The entrance to the Nieu-Bethesda landfill site.

Steytlerville

According to Hanli Buber, member of the residents and ratepayers action group, the Steytlerville upgrade of the landfill site is an improvement, but it is still not properly managed.

"Instead of filling the landfill site from the back to the front, refuse is dumped next to the access roads and is constantly being blown across the road onto sensitive environmental veld areas and surrounding farms. It is aesthetically unappealing in terms of attracting tourism, as well as a threat to endangered wildlife and farm animals in our area," she says.

She adds that expensive infrastructure built for "recycling" is not being optimised and residents are not being made aware of what can be recycled and what cannot.

Willowmore

The smoke emanating from the burning of waste at the Willowmore landfill site behind the Willowmore Nursery and Aquaponics Cooperative remains a matter of concern.

According to the cooperative members, the burning continues throughout the day and the smoke that emanates from the fire is so severe that they sometimes find it impossible to continue working.

This adversely impacts on the cooperative's day-to-day activities and on the health of cooperative members. Since the landfill site is located close to Willowmore, it also impacts on the health of residents as the smoke permeates almost all neighbourhoods.

This issue has been raised with the municipality on several occasions but to date there has been no positive intervention.

Smoke billowing from the Willowmore landfill site.

Aberdeen

The Aberdeen landfill site remains a sight for sore eyes, and it is evident that there is no waste management plan in place at this landfill site.

After a shocking video that showed how garbage was dumped on the access road to this landfill site, even by a municipal vehicle, went viral in February 2022, Mayor Willem Safers announced that the municipality was in the process of rehabilitating the Graaff-Reinet and Aberdeen landfill sites.

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At present, however, waste is still dumped along the access road to the Aberdeen landfill site, blocking its entrance and spilling over to the roadside of the N9.

Graaff-Reinet

The appalling state of the provincial road from the N9 and the access road leading to the Graaff-Reinet landfill site was also highlighted last year in February and again in October when a video taken by a concerned resident went viral.

At the time the Director of Community Services, Gewnynne Hermanus, confirmed that provision has been 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.

On 1 November last year the municipality announced that the landfill site was closed "as a temporary measure to ensure the realisation of its rehabilitation" and residents and businesses were requested to dump their waste at the transfer station where "the recyclables will be sorted, and the rest will be disposed of in a designated space".

However, during the last week of November residents noticed a thick, dark column of smoke billowing up from the waste transfer station and blowing directly towards the town.

Upon investigation it was discovered that the unmanageable mass of domestic and industrial waste at the transfer station had been set alight.

Based on this, Samantha Graham-Maré, DA MP and Dr Beyers Naudé Constituency Leader, laid criminal charges against the municipality under the National Environmental Management: Waste Act, 2008 (Act No. 59 of 2008) for their alleged failure to fulfil a general duty in respect of waste management.

'Progress is being made'

Subsequently Safers explained that progress is being made with the rehabilitation of the transfer station and the landfill site, but Graham-Maré questioned whether he actually visited the landfill site since she was of the opinion that no actual rehabilitation has taken place.

"Aside from grading all the rubbish onto the sides of the roads, almost nothing has changed."

To this Hermanus responded that a tender for the rehabilitation of the landfill site was allocated to a service provider on 13 December but in terms of legislation the letter of appointment can only be issued to the service provider after a period of 14 days to allow for disputes.

The service provider will therefore only be able to commence with the rehabilitation early in January 2024.

The transfer station will remain closed until it has been fully rehabilitated.

Own yellow plant in the pipeline

Safers also said an application for Municipal Infrastructure Grant (MIG) funding to acquire the yellow plant (earth-moving machine) required to improve the municipality's capacity for maintaining landfill sites has already been approved and a three-year strategic plan to outsource the management of the landfill site until the municipality has acquired the required yellow plant has already been tabled in council.

He said war has been declared against illegal dumping, including dumping along the access road to the landfill site, and those found guilty will be fined.

An enquiry regarding the state of the landfill sites was sent to the DBNLM and its response will be published once received.There are several heaps of garbage just a few metres from the road that leads up to the Adendorp/Graaff-Reinet landfill site. The actual site is further along this road. This photo was taken on 9 January.