Rubbish dumping in Hawston area

Rubbish dumping in the Hawston Fisherhaven area has become a serious problem.

In cities around the world the reduction of landfill sites has become a priority, because we are throwing away more rubbish, we have become more aware of the accumulation of non-biodegradable rubbish and the resultant pollution resulting from fill sites.

Recycling is now of critical importance to primarily reduce land fill. Costs of rubbish disposal have now become huge and we can no longer afford to just throw rubbish away where it is out of sight, in the sea or hidden in the bush.

Ward 8 has traditionally become the rubbish dump of Hermanus and the people of Hawston, Fisherhaven and Middelvlei have become accustomed to throwing builders rubble and mixed rubbish into the bush.

The question is why this has become the norm, every track into the overgrown bush has many piles of rubbish. For example the burnt area across from China Marais has over 25 000 cubic metres of (recent 2-3 years) of dumped rubble and rubbish. Parts of this will decompose, the vegetable matter, most of it will still be there in 2050, if not collected and removed at exorbitant costs.

Refuse sites need to be easily accessed, at all times and be convenient otherwise they do not get used. Bins should be widespread and cleaned regularly. Without this we will continue to generate a culture of throwing things away, even if just over the garden wall onto the plot next door (many examples in Fisherhaven). Attempts to do recycling hardly make a dent in the problem.

The major problem is access to refuse sites. The site in Hawston is at least used during the day, even there bakkie’s go past to dump in the bush. The site is closed and locked after hours with the result that rubbish piles up at the gate overnight or get dumped in the bush, this is when people have got home from work and have the time to cart rubbish away. At least there is no cost involved in entering the site when it is open. However, there are restrictions of volume of rubbish. Large loads, or a second load in a bakkie, have to go to Karwyderskraal.

The Karwyderskraal site has opening hours that are a severe restriction to its use. In addition is the cost of dumping there. Firstly, is the travelling cost, distance to the site. Secondly, the site now requires a special permit to gain access, and the rubbish you tip there you have to pay for. The price goes up considerably if the rubbish is not sorted. These two factors alone pose severe restriction on the use of the site. For years there has been an accumulation of rubbish in and around Hawston. Some wetland areas are buried more than a metre deep. Policing is completely inadequate and the feedback at Ward level is that people are expected to photograph illegal activity of their relatives, friends or neighbours and report them.

The entrance to Fisherhaven is very convenient for some but it does not look great, and is not cleaned regularly. Maybe it should be retained, the more places which are convenient, the less gets thrown in the bush (around that area the bush has more rubbish than elsewhere, including blowing plastic). With some imagination we can screen the site and appoint someone to keep it tidy.

Hawston is requesting dump containers to be positioned at strategic locations. The costs of removing full containers is much less than trying to pick up the rubbish afterwards. This has still not happened 2 years later.

With imagination, employing out of work people we can achieve a general culture of cleanness and improve the environment around us. There is also much evidence that overall costs can be reduced considerably, especially in the long term.

During lockdown, the dump site in Hawston was closed and locked. The OSM complained that people should not be dumping rubbish and suggested they keep it till after lockdown.

This is wrong in so many ways

Health hazard, especially as we were locked down for health reasons
Fire hazard, it is against the fire regulations to leave piles of flammable material in the yard or even in the bush
The smells generated by some of the rubbish.

The problem of rubbish dumping in the Hawston area, appears to be ignored in this area of the Overstand. No or little policing occurs and fines are seldom issued. When reports are made, they either get ignored OR the local council sometimes removes the rubbish at great cost to the to the taxpayers.