A missing machinery part may be all that's needed to silence persistent complaints from Grahamstown residents about the toxic smoke that has been belching forth from the municipal dump for the past two months.
A missing machinery part may be all that's needed to silence persistent complaints from Grahamstown residents about the toxic smoke that has been belching forth from the municipal dump for the past two months.
The smoke produced by the combustion of plastics and tyres smells terrible and experts warn that it is a serious danger to the health of residents, particularly to those who have breathing ailments.
It has been reported that people who live on the dump site routinely set fire to the rubbish in order to find metals that they can sell as scrap.
The paper and plastics burn away, leaving behind only the marketable metals.
This practice, which has been going on for many years, has not caused problems until now, because the municipality usually uses its bulldozer to smother the burning piles or garbage with sand.
The situation became serious in November last year, however, when the bulldozer broke down.
It appears that it needed an expensive part to be repaired and the municipality has not been able to purchase it.
Without a bulldozer to cover the burning piles of rubbish, the fires continued to smoulder no matter how often workers try to douse it.
It appears that the fires continue to burn in the ground unless they are completely stifled.
In the meantime people who came to live in Grahamstown especially because of the excellent air quality have been forced to close their windows at night because they cannot tolerate the noxious fumes emanating form the dump.
Municipal officials have not been available to comment on this piece, as they are at a Legotla at the Fish River Sun.
