Drive along James Herbert Road in Caversham Glen, or down Rudloff Road in Mariannhill Park, and you’ll see them. Not just piles of waste, but a demoralizing cycle on display: bags of refuse, construction rubble, and discarded furniture that seem to regenerate like stubborn weeds, no matter how often they are cleared.
For communities in Ashley, Caversham Glen, and Mariannhill Park in Pinetown, illegal dumping is not an occasional eyesore; it’s a recurring, pervasive plague. Despite the eThekwini Municipality’s Durban Solid Waste (DSW) department conducting clean-upslike the one along James Herbert Road this past Thursdaythe rubbish often reappears within days or weeks.
A Ward Councillor’s Frustration
Ward 16 PR Councillor Nomfundo Khubone has watched this dispiriting pattern play out across her ward. “There is a lot of illegal dumping,” she says, a frustration evident in her voice. She has taken to local social media groups, pleading with residents to “meet the municipality halfway.”
Her call to action is direct: report offenders, and if safe to do so, capture photo evidence. “Nobody knows whether it is people in the area or people who come from outside. Some residents have claimed that businesses are behind the illegal dumping but evidence is needed,” she stresses. Without identifiable culprits, enforcement is nearly impossible.
The Municipality’s Response: Clean, Educate, and Now, Guard?
The eThekwini Municipality acknowledges the intractable nature of the problem. Communications Director Mandla Nsele confirms James Herbert has been a “persistent challenge for several years,” surviving past education and enforcement drives.
The current strategy is threefold:
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Daily Removal: Using shared plant machinery to clear sites daily.
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Ongoing Education: Continuing awareness programs at hotspots.
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A Proposed Permanent Fix: A proposal is on the table to install a boom gate and provide 24-hour security at the James Herbert site, submitted through the ward councillor’s office late last year. “Planning around this intervention is currently underway,” Nsele states.
While DSW tackles the operational side, Councillor Khubone believes the critical gap is in “education and raising awareness.” It’s a sentiment echoed by the sight on Rudloff Road this week, where waste was strewn roadside even as officials promised a clean-up by Friday.
A Community at a Crossroads
The situation presents a stark crossroads. The municipality can clean, and even contemplate gating and guarding problem areasa significant and costly escalation. However, the solution also lies with the community. The anonymity of dumpers thrives in silence.
Until residents actively become the eyes and ears for enforcement, providing the evidence needed to fine and prosecute, the cycle will continue. The piles will return, a testament not just to environmental disregard, but to a breakdown in the social contract that keeps a neighbourhood clean and dignified. For Pinetown, the real clean-up requires a change in mindset, not just a garbage truck.
