‘Why do we have so much rubbish in Soweto? Why in the suburbs don’t they throw rubbish all over the place? Rats are everywhere, they eat everything, even our clothes and the car’s electrical wiring. They are part of our families,’’ a desperate Diepkloof resident told me.

It’s not surprising because I see how Diepkloof and Orlando are haunted by the dumping of rubbish. When walking around it is unusual if you don’t find a place where rubbish is dumped. On the walls of houses you will find it written, “NO DUMPING”. But still people will be dumping rubbish next to that wall! 

In these dumping sites, there are many different types of rubbish — rotten food, dead animals, nappies and used condoms. (Photo: Tshabalira Lebakeng)

People don’t care what you write on your wall; if they want to dump, they will dump. You will wake up and find there is a pile of foul-smelling rubbish next to your wall.

People don’t care. They are throwing rubbish everywhere. Next to school walls, church walls, clinic walls and highways.

If you are renovating your house and you don’t have money to hire containers, you can hire someone to take that rubble away and throw it next to someone else’s house. No one will question you.

Terrible smell

In these dumping places, you will find rotten food, dead animals, nappies and used condoms. So you can imagine what a terrible smell that causes.

People don’t think about the health of others.

In Orlando West I met the Maloka family. At their gate I was met by a pile of rubbish. It’s not their rubbish; it’s rubbish that was dumped by someone at night. 

Thoko Maloka, 67, said it’s embarrassing to wake up in the morning and find rubbish next to your gate.

Recycling people remove what they can sell to help, but the rubbish keeps on adding up every day in Diepkloof Zone 1, Soweto. (Photo: Tshabalira Lebakeng)

“Just imagine when people are passing here, they think we are a filthy family. We are having these huge dumping places next to my house. We and other families are living like dogs or pigs.

“When it’s raining, you can see the rubbish flowing on to the street. The houses that are next to these places, you will find rubbish in their yards. 

When it’s raining the rubbish spreads into the street in Orlando, Soweto. (Photo: Tshabalira Lebakeng)

“Even during the day, you will see people throwing rubbish in the open spaces. When you ask why they’re doing that, they tell you in your face that the open space is not yours. When you are telling them that throwing rubbish everywhere is a health hazard, they tell you that it’s your choice to buy or build a house next to the dumping place,’’ said Maloka.

She says there is nothing she can do because people have the right to do whatever they want in South Africa. She’s got nowhere else to go — her house has been turned into a dump. 

‘Dangerous place’

In Diepkloof Zone 3, I found Ingrid Mokoena, 50, standing next to her yard, looking at rubbish that’s been dumped alongside her house. She and her family tried to put up a barrier of rocks to protect her yard from the rubbish. 

Ingrid Mokoena from Diepkloof Zone 3 says it has been a while since the community started dumping next to her house. They do not get help from the municipality. (Photo: Tshabalira Lebakeng)

“It’s been a while since these people started dumping next to my house. I have been to the municipal offices to report this matter. It’s been more than five years since then, but nothing has happened.

“I’m standing here because I didn’t sleep… it is windy at night. The dust from the dumping place is suffocating me with its poison. This is a dangerous place. I took my grandchildren to their parents because when they are around, they get sick. No child will survive this thing. I lost the right to live with my grandchildren because of this rubbish.

Rats and bad smells come from the rubbish. Some residents living near the site are suffering from sinusitis. (Photo: Tshabalira Lebakeng)

“In summer, the rubbish smells like hell. I have been to different doctors because I have been suffering from sinus. They said it’s the environment I live in.

“Most people see this as a business place. They want to clean it and make it fit for business. Also, artists could do their shows here. But the municipality disagreed, saying these places are not safe for business. But they don’t clean it, they just put a board that says, ‘NO DUMPING’.

“I went to the offices at Braamfontein to complain, but they told me I should take my complaint to my nearest Pick it Up offices. I went to Klipspruit Pick it Up offices and luckily they came to check out the place. They promised to come back, but they didn’t,” said Mokoena.

Residents complain that they can’t sell their houses because of the rubbish. (Photo: Tshabalira Lebakeng)

While talking, she wiped tears from her eyes, saying if she could get money she would leave. She told me she tried to sell the house, but people always say ‘while they would like to buy the house, it is next to a hazardous place of rubbish’.”

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Thabo Planck, 30, rents a room in Diepkloof. He said life has been difficult since he started living there. He wishes the government can stop the dumping across South Africa.

Thabo Planck says he is getting sick from the dust coming from the dumping site in Diepkloof Zone 3, Soweto. (Photo: Tshabalira Lebakeng)

“It’s not just Jozi that’s got illegal dumping places… I’m telling you, you can’t breathe when it’s windy… the smell that comes from these places is killing me.

“In summer, I have a spider problem. They are coming from outside. I was once bitten by a spider from that place. I thought I would die. It was painful, my arm was in pain. Yooo, we will die here, I’m telling you!

“First thing we need is to love and respect ourselves, before we can say government must collect our rubbish a hundred times a week.’’

Why are we not taking care of our environment? Where is this rubbish coming from? Does our government do enough work in waste management? Or do we as the community need to love and respect our environment more?

We need to protect our world from the dumping of hazardous waste in open spaces. We need to protect our planet. Cleanliness is next to healthiness. DM/MC