Illegal dumping concerns all

Councillor Helen Carstens, chairperson, Sub-council 3

One of the illegal dumping culprits has recently been caught in the act and fined in Bothasig.

Illegal dumping is the epitome of the act of defiling an area.

The dumped rubbish leads to health problems as well as lends to the perception that the area is not being taken care of.

This cannot be further from the truth.

Departments cannot be in every area on a daily basis to clean up after residents.

That is the cold hard fact.

I have engaged with law enforcement on this issue and thank them for their perseverance in nabbing this one.

The community must take ownership of their areas and not tolerate this type of activity.

The “not in my backyard” train of thought should expand to “not in my street” and “not in my suburb”.

Illegal dumping is not merely taking your overloaded garden refuse and dropping it on Bains Way or Bosmansdam or any one of the lanes, it includes littering and discharging oils, etc into the stormwater drains.

If we can take pride in our surroundings, then we would not partake in this type of activity.

The City spends millions of rand to clean up illegal dumping, and this money could be better used for the upliftment and maintenance of areas rather.