Illegal dumping remains an ongoing challenge in Retreat, with businesses also one of the culprits that is often caught on CCTV footage.
Ward 72 councillor Kevin Southgate said in the most recent incident a business was reported to law enforcement after it was caught illegally dumping.
“The illegal dumping has been going on for many years and we’ve tried various initiatives in order to curb the illegal dumping.
“But it just seems to continue. The culprits are often businesses and also the street people who come there with their trolleys.
“We have recently caught businesses on CCTV camera, illegally dumping and we reported it to law enforcement and the company was actually fined.”
He added that the business co-operated and later removed their rubbish.
“They co-operated and actually came out and removed their rubbish themselves. So, whilst we’ve had some positive interventions, we seem to have curbed the illegal dumping by businesses however the street people and the residents continue to dump there.”
Southgate adds that street people are often seen with trolleys full of rubbish that comes from residential homes.
“When we look at the dumping currently you will see street people coming with trolleys of rubbish and the rubbish you can see come from residents’ homes within the area.
“We have tried to say to residents for the umpteenth time not to give their rubbish to street people or trolley guys to dispose of because they never arrive at the drop-off centre, which is just down the road, from Metal Road.
“They dump the rubbish at the first convenient open space they get and then it becomes incumbent on either the residents or the councillor to log a service request and to have the illegal dumping removed.”
According to Southgate, while the city spends millions on removing illegal dumping it is also looking at different ways to curb the problem.
“We also need to start at the origin of the illegal dumping and some of the rubbish comes from small businesses in the area.
“We find that there are a lot of shops in Retreat Road where they clearly have insufficient amounts of refuse bins so they always have an excess of rubbish.
“That rubbish they give to the trolley guys to dispose of and then it’s thrown on open fields and other public open spaces then we have to clean it.”
He added that they city is looking at creating a facility where “trolley guys” can dispose of rubbish they collected.
“It is a challenge. We are looking at creating a facility where the trolley guys can sort their stuff out and dispose of the rubbish in a confined space which would make it easier for the city but that is a long shot. If people can’t take ownership for what we already have then I hold little hope that a designated spot would help.”
