Wasting the Nation.indd - Groundwork
Wasting the Nation.indd - Groundwork
Wasting the Nation.indd - Groundwork
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Chapter 6: Down at <strong>the</strong> dumpsIllegal dumping in SebokengIllegal dumping on open ground is still commonly practiced by businesses, big andsmall, hospitals and individuals. The municipality itself dumped illegally in <strong>the</strong> pastand it is not quite clear that it does not do so now. The legacy of past illegal dumpingstill imposes on people’s lives. Most of it was dumped in or next to black areas andEmfuleni’s IDP review says <strong>the</strong> council has picked up 16,858 m 3 of waste mixed wi<strong>the</strong>arth but 57,192 m 3 is “still lying throughout <strong>the</strong> townships region” [2008/9: 79].This is part of <strong>the</strong> history of apar<strong>the</strong>id’s neglect of black townships. Many of <strong>the</strong>illegal dumping sites were created when township authorities did not provide servicesor infrastructure remotely comparable to what was provided in <strong>the</strong> white towns.According to <strong>the</strong> 2006/7 IDP, <strong>the</strong> former black local council – unseated in <strong>the</strong> VaalUprising – “used Kwaggastroom” in Zone 7 and a dump and burrow pits in Zone20. Sharpeville was also a site of illegal dumping “since <strong>the</strong> early 1980s” [122]. VEJAmembers have observed ongoing illegal dumping in Kwaggastroom.The Golden Highway runs alongside Sebokeng. Over a stretch of at least five kilometres,<strong>the</strong> land between <strong>the</strong> highway and <strong>the</strong> houses has been used as a dumping ground forhospital and industrial waste as well as general household waste. At <strong>the</strong> nor<strong>the</strong>rn endof this stretch, wetland vegetation is discoloured and indicates severe leachate pollutionin <strong>the</strong> groundwater. At <strong>the</strong> sou<strong>the</strong>rn end, in Zone 20, is <strong>the</strong> old dump that now formsa hillock. The old burrow pits pock mark <strong>the</strong> ground over a wide area leading up tothis dump. The entire area was evidently used for indiscriminate dumping over a longperiod and almost certainly started before <strong>the</strong> era of <strong>the</strong> black local council. A ditchcut behind one of Iscor’s former hostels channels a stream through this area. Rubbishis exposed in its bank to <strong>the</strong> depth of about a metre.Being illegal, none of this appears on maps and plans but everyone knows about it.Never<strong>the</strong>less, a part of this dumping ground was graded over and RDP houses builton top of <strong>the</strong> rubbish. Sello Di<strong>the</strong>ko is a long term resident of Zone 20 and has livedin one of <strong>the</strong>se houses for <strong>the</strong> last 12 years. Sometime in <strong>the</strong> late 1980s, he recalls “achemical syrup which left a strong smell” being dumped. In front of his house, <strong>the</strong>burrow pits are now being filled in. Di<strong>the</strong>ko had recently seen new waste brought inand says <strong>the</strong> municipality is flattening <strong>the</strong> waste into <strong>the</strong> pits and <strong>the</strong>n covering it. Itappears that this is a mixture of earth and waste removed from o<strong>the</strong>r illegal dumpingsites by <strong>the</strong> municipality.<strong>Wasting</strong> <strong>the</strong> <strong>Nation</strong> - groundWork - 161 -