Residents of the Polar Park informal settlement in KwaNomzamo, Humansdorp, are at their wits’ end as waste continues to pile up alongside their homes.
The area has been described as a “pigsty,” prompting residents to call on the Kouga Municipality to provide a permanent solution to the problem.
Xolani Woni, a concerned resident who has taken personal initiative to address the problem, described the dire situation facing community members.
“People are throwing rubbish, dirty water, urine, you name it, here. They do this because we don’t have a place to throw these things away, and there are no roads for cars to drive to get to this spot,” said Woni.
The health implications are a primary concern for Woni, who suffers from asthma and has four children.
“It’s a health risk for everyone staying here. There are children who play close to that dumping site,” Woni said.
“It’s personal for me because I have small children who are at risk of getting sick because of it. And I’m an asthmatic.”
According to Woni, his children are “always feverish” and he has had to use his asthma medication more frequently than before the waste situation deteriorated.
He said that when it is a hot day, they can smell the stench emanating from the site.
Woni said that the situation intensifies with dirty water and urine also being dumped at the site throughout the day.
He said that the problem stems from a lack of basic infrastructure.
Woni said that previously, residents used an abandoned pigsty as a dumping ground, but that area has since been occupied by new shacks, forcing residents to create an improvised dumping site closer to their homes.
He said that he has made personal efforts to address the situation, even conducting his own cleanup operation on April 4.
“I cleaned the site myself. I raked the rubbish and burnt it, but two days later, it was back to square one,” said Woni.
“The people living right next to the site don’t care. They say that they have no alternative place to dump, so they might as well live with it.”
Despite reaching out to local municipal officials who conducted a cleanup operation, Woni said their efforts barely made a dent in the towering piles of waste that continue to plague the area.
“Municipal employees only picked up papers and bottles. That didn’t make much of a difference, as on the same day, people threw their waste there, and it still looks as if nothing was done,” said Woni.
He said that the fundamental issue is a lack of proper infrastructure and services.
“For the municipal trucks to get to our shacks, we need roads. There is no access for vehicles of any sort to get to this place,” said Woni.
“We need to be provided with garbage bags for refuse. We need a big garbage bin, but even if we got one, how would they get it to the site?”
Woni called on the municipality to provide more comprehensive solutions.
“We need proper houses, roads, and running water. We need to be relocated to a better place where we can get all these things, as it is within our rights to get them,” said Woni.
Woni’s neighbour, Siyabonga Makwela, moved to Polar Park four months ago, as his parents stay in the area.
He said that the dumping of waste is not good, especially for children.
“Sometimes there is an overflow of waste in the area,” said Makwela.
Kouga Municipal Manager, Charl du Plessis said that the municipality is aware of the situation in Polar Park and is actively working to maintain cleanliness in the area.
However, he said that they remind residents that responsible waste disposal is a shared responsibility, and they encourage everyone to refrain from daily dumping to help keep the community clean.
As part of their waste collection schedule and protocol for Polar Park, Du Plessis said that solid waste skip bins are installed inside the settlement with solid waste collectors moving the waste twice a week to the main collection point.
“There is one skip bin stationed in Polar Park, collected weekly. Unfortunately, residents dump waste next to the skip bin and not inside,” said Du Plessis.
He further said that due to a shortage of litter-picking personnel, it has not been possible to station a dedicated team in Polar Park daily.
“In line with the waste management programme, a team has been deployed to the area twice a week, as resources need to be distributed across various areas and service requests are received daily,” said Du Plessis.
“However, we are pleased to share that new Expanded Public Works Programme beneficiaries have recently been appointed, and a team is now assigned to work exclusively in KwaNomzamo every day.”
Regarding the road infrastructure in Polar Park, Du Plessis said that the municipality’s Civil and Water Services is currently conducting assessments of roads across the Kouga region as part of efforts to develop a comprehensive road upgrade plan.
While the environmental health section does monthly inspections, he said that there is a need to raise community awareness around the issue of illegal dumping through targeted educational campaigns.
“The Waste Management Section would welcome the opportunity to engage with residents to discuss collaborative initiatives and explore ways to strengthen community support,” said Du Plessis.
He further said that a comprehensive “War on Waste” campaign is being planned and will be rolled out in partnership with residents and ward committees to address the ongoing challenge.
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