Hillbrow service lanes cleared of waste

12 June 2017

 

Officials of the City of Joburg’s Environmental Health Department and waste management entity Pikitup on Friday, 9 June mounted a major cleanup of service lanes in Hillbrow in their ongoing drive to rid the inner city of grime.

 

Service lanes are arteries used by waste collection, emergency and delivery vehicles to access highrise apartments to provide tenants with the necessary services.

But in areas like Hillbrow, in Region F, service lanes are creaking under the weight of illegal dumping as some tenants of high-rise buildings toss their waste material out their windows, creating severe environmental and health hazards.

The campaign was preceded by a public education programme a week earlier during which City officials engaged residents about the importance of living in a clean environment.

“As environmental health practitioners we have a role to play in giving people information about what may be dangerous to their health,” said Region F Environmental Health Practitioner, Masego Sehohlo.

Sehohlo said the department sought to create a clean, litter-free and liveable city with well-maintained buildings, where the water is clean, the air is fresh, by-laws are enforced and the community is acting responsibly.

She said illegal dumping could lead to serious health-related problems and the spread of rodents. “Prevention is the best solution for rat control. We have to eliminate the conditions in which they thrive and for this we need residents to co-operate,” said Sehloho.

Two service lanes were cleared during Friday’s campaign, resulting in tonnes of waste having to be transported to landfill sites by Pikitup.

Sehohlo was, however, not entirely happy with residents’ participation. But she hoped that in future more people would understand the purpose of cleaning up Johannesburg. “We would have liked for residents to join us so they could reprimand those who dump waste illegally," she said.

“Realising a clean city requires community involvement and law-abiding citizens with a deep love for their city and its wellbeing. We are happy that community leaders joined us and hope their involvement will encourage more residents to get involved in cleaning up Johannesburg," said Sehloho.

Resident Thandazile Ndlela, who lives near one of the service lanes, was one of the people who took part in the campaign.
“I decided to come and clean the service lane because it's my responsibility as a resident. We all complain about the stench emanating from the rubbish in the service lane but we don’t do anything about it,” said Ndlela.