Residents dumping garden and household refuse in parks, streets and open areas in and around Louis Trichardt are becoming a bigger problem by the day.

Along North West and Pretorius Street, this practice is causing a headache for inhabitants. The problem is, however, not limited to this area, as the illegal dumping of refuse occurs across town. The open veldt along Kort Street, between Jeppe and Vorster Street, seems to be the dumping site of choice these days and one does not have to wait long to catch someone in the act of dumping their rubbish in the storm water ditch that runs through the area. This is especially the case over the weekends. The area is located right behind the municipal testing grounds and it is uncertain why traffic officials on duty there don’t act against offenders.

Makhado municipal spokesperson Mr Louis Bobodi strongly condemned the practice of illegal dumping on Wednesday, stating that it is a direct contravention of their municipal by-laws. Not only this, he said, it damages the town image and causes a health risk.

Bobodi pointed out that residents should make use of the municipal dumping site along the Vondeling Road. It seems, however, as if some residents are just too lazy to do that and could not care less about how the town looks, as long as the rubbish is not on their property.

Bobodi warned that the municipality will address the matter and urged members of the public to report people illegally dumping garden or household refuse. He said they should try and get a vehicle registration number or home address of the perpetrators, after which they can report it to the municipal traffic department.

“If the traffic department fails to act, residents can report the matter directly to the municipality,” Bobodi said.