Wasting the Nation.indd - Groundwork

Chapter 6: Down at the dumpsThe current law makes pickers the responsibility of the waste manager – and legallysaddles him or her with the risk should there be an accident. Despite the DEAT’sreluctance to recognise salvagers in the Waste Bill, Redelinghuys says he has hadindications, in discussions with provincial and national waste officials, that pickerswill be accommodated in policy and legislation. He notes that there is a 47%unemployment rate in the area, so it is understandable that people are desperateand must make a living from whatever they can find, including waste. Moreover,pickers with community support can be quite powerful players on and around thedump. Redelinghuys recalls the reaction of the Boipatong community to an electricityblackout caused by an incident on the Boitshepi dump. They blocked the roads andshut down the dump. The more than 1,000 tonnes of waste that arrive each day couldnot be dumped and was simply left in the road.Palm SpringsPalm Springs, opposite Sebokeng and on the border of Orange Farm, is an old quarrythat developed into a dumpsite. “People just started dumping there more than 16years ago,” says Loate. The intention is to transform Palm Springs into a permittedlandfill with 20 to 30 years’ worth of air-space according to Emfuleni’s IDP review. Atthe moment it is a minimal operation, despite the fact that it already receives all of therefuse from Sebokeng.Loate is superintendent of Emfuleni’s three dumps – Boitshepi, Palm Springs andWaldrift – and is directly responsible for the operations at Palm Springs. He managesthe dump within scandalous constraints. The municipality has given him no budgetfor daily cover soil, so he uses soil which has been dumped as waste, and he operatesPalm Springs on a meagre staff: a supervisor, a spotter, an entrance guard, two trafficcontrollers and nine casual workers. Loate has trained the staff himself and thesupervisor, perched on a salvaged chair at the top of the dump, keeps a log of whodumps what. This is used to arrive at the monthly estimate of 1,100 m 3 waste received.The entrance guard is authorised to turn back anything other than general waste butthere is no weighbridge, no fence and no security guards. On the dump itself the trafficcontrollers direct dumpers to the working face. The casual workers are employed assite cleaners, picking up wind blown or spilled litter. Loate’s wish list reflects what ismissing on the dump: running water, toilets, a dedicated compactor, a trench excavatorand other machinery.Wasting the Nation - groundWork - 165 -