Wasting the Nation.indd - Groundwork
Wasting the Nation.indd - Groundwork
Wasting the Nation.indd - Groundwork
You also want an ePaper? Increase the reach of your titles
YUMPU automatically turns print PDFs into web optimized ePapers that Google loves.
Chapter 6: Down at <strong>the</strong> dumpsBisasar RoadBisasar Road is said to be <strong>the</strong> biggest landfill in Africa. It is constructed in a valleyoff <strong>the</strong> Mgeni River as a series of steep terraces backing up to <strong>the</strong> hill top at <strong>the</strong> headof <strong>the</strong> valley. At its foot is <strong>the</strong> Springfield estate holding big bulk retail stores. This isprime flat land turned over to development following <strong>the</strong> removal of <strong>the</strong> Indian shacksettlement of Tin Town in 1964. On <strong>the</strong> fenceline of Bisasar is <strong>the</strong> Kennedy Roadshack settlement. It houses some 6,000 people in tightly packed shacks made of wood,corrugated iron, tarpaulins and plastic sheeting. Higher up <strong>the</strong> road is <strong>the</strong> beginning ofClare Estate, a working class Indian neighbourhood with a fringe of wealthier familieswho found that <strong>the</strong> houses <strong>the</strong>y had bought for a view of <strong>the</strong> sea were to be on <strong>the</strong>fenceline of <strong>the</strong> expanding dump.The calculus of costBisasar now takes up to 5,000 tonnes of rubbish delivered by around 1,000 vehiclesevery working day. The average is 3,800 t per working day or 2,300 t/d for <strong>the</strong> fullweek. Larger vehicles, including municipal waste compactor trucks, grind up <strong>the</strong> hillto deliver <strong>the</strong>ir load directly to <strong>the</strong> work face. Smaller vehicles off load on <strong>the</strong> recyclingpad at <strong>the</strong> bottom of <strong>the</strong> waste terraces. Some of this waste is sorted for recycling, but<strong>the</strong> bulk is scooped up by giant front end loaders onto tipper trucks which circulateendlessly up and down between <strong>the</strong> pad and <strong>the</strong> working face. Water trucks alsocirculate in what appears a vain attempt to suppress <strong>the</strong> dust kicked up by <strong>the</strong> heavytraffic. At <strong>the</strong> face, <strong>the</strong> bulldozers and heavy steel-wheeled compactors work over <strong>the</strong>waste, pushing it in place and rolling it to save air-space. At <strong>the</strong> end of <strong>the</strong> workingday, <strong>the</strong> cover material is taken to <strong>the</strong> work face. This is a combination of soil andgarden waste which has been ground up by <strong>the</strong> ‘wood hog’, ano<strong>the</strong>r large and noisymachine located on <strong>the</strong> recycling pad.This is an energy intensive process. Fuel and vehicles account for some 70% of <strong>the</strong>landfill’s operating costs. Transport takes a similar proportion of <strong>the</strong> budget of <strong>the</strong>entire waste system and costs are rising with <strong>the</strong> rising fuel price. On landfill managerLogan Moodley’s estimate, it now costs around R9 to carry one tonne one kilometre,up from R6 a year ago. 8888 Moodley was interviewed in May. The volatility of <strong>the</strong> oil price and <strong>the</strong> Rand may have altered this estimate,or more likely, made any estimation of cost highly uncertain.<strong>Wasting</strong> <strong>the</strong> <strong>Nation</strong> - groundWork - 139 -