Volunteers tackle dumping hot spot

Volunteers have cleared a pile of garbage from Ravensmead’s De La Rey Street drainage ponds, which the ward councillor says are a hot spot for illegal dumping.

About 30 volunteers from Save the Earth from A to Z (ASEZ) met at the ponds on Sunday September 26 for the big clean-up, according to the group’s spokeswoman Nokukhanya Ndlovu.

ASEZ are volunteer university students representing the Church of God and they do clean-up campaigns in poor communities.

“The most common pieces of litter we collected at the ponds were tyres, wooden boards and personal property such as mattresses and suitcases,” Ms Ndlovu said.

The volunteers, including students from University of the Western Cape and the Cape Peninsula University of Technology in Bellville, spent two hours cleaning the drainage ponds within a radius of 1.5km.

“I took the initiative to participate in this clean-up campaign because it could inspire others to lead more healthy lives,” said Sive Nyembezi , 21, from Bellville South.

Ms Ndlovu said: “It seems like the ponds are becoming a dumping site, but I believe if the place is constantly cleaned and maintained it could become a non-dumping site.”

The drainage ponds have fallen prey to frequent illegal dumping, according to ward councillor Jackie Visser.

“The ponds are a dumping hot spot in the area, but the City cannot keep up with all the cleaning. You clean today and tomorrow they’ve dumped again,” she said.

“We hope that the people who are doing the dumping will gain respect for their area. I’ve been helping the ASEZ group for a few years now with their clean-up campaigns, and we plan to do these kinds of projects regularly. We appreciate the effort they put in and are grateful for their support.”