The Grahamstown branch of the Wildlife and Environment Society of South Africa has asked two of its members to investigate the smoke that often billows from the municipal dump into nearby residential areas.
The Grahamstown branch of the Wildlife and Environment Society of South Africa has asked two of its members to investigate the smoke that often billows from the municipal dump into nearby residential areas.
This emerged at a meeting of the Grahamstown branch of the Wildlife and Environment Society of South Africa (Wessa) last weekend, where the smoke problem, as well as other aspects of managing the facility, were discussed.
Addressing the branch's AGM on Saturday, chairperson Margaret Crampton said a 40-metre section of the fence surrounding the dump had been stolen, allowing vehicles to freely enter through the gap.
She said an investigation by the organisation earlier this month had revealed that while there were guards assigned to monitor the dump, it was difficult to deal with the many vagrants who were desperate and sometimes aggressive.
A former guard had been attacked and badly beaten up there. An investigation by the organisation earlier this month revealed some of the causes of the continual burning.
In the piece, 'What's behind the dump site fires' (Grocott's Mail 15 February 2013), these were identified as the breakdown of the site's bulldozer; scrap metal collectors burning plastic and rubber to expose wire on cables and tyres; an arson incident inside a shed of the Masihlule Recycling Project and the inadequate security described above.
Now Wessa members, professors Pat Irwin and Ted Botha, have been asked to find out how toxic the smoke is.
A former dean of the Rhodes education faculty, Irwin founded its Environmental Education Unit. Botha is a botanist based at the university.
