While the City of Cape Town is attempting to stop dumping on fields by placing waste containers, residents say this is becoming the new hideout for skollies.
Shereen Bennett, 59, has been living in Paulsberg Road in Tafelsig, Mitchells Plain, for over 30 years.
A few days ago, the City brought a waste container to a field right opposite her home.
She says her home has been burgled more than 10 times over the years and that her family has been forced to secure their home with burglar bars and gates.
Just this week, she saw men and even children rummaging in the skip for waste to recycle.
On Wednesday night, the container was used for a galley fire.
CONCERN: People making fires at container. Picture:supplied
She is now worried it will lead to a crime spot where drugs and weapons can be hidden, after finding a make-shift knife in her garden recently.
“I understand why the City has placed it here, due to dumping,” she says.
“But the container has not even been here for a few days and I already had to chase children away who climbed inside to look for waste. This poses a health and danger [risk] for them.
“Summer is coming and this will breed flies and rats that will come into my home and those of the neighbours.
“I found something that was made into a weapon with a large nail, and tomorrow they hide behind that container and hide goods there.
“Now they are using that area for fires.”
Mayoral Committee Member for Water and Waste, Xanthea Limberg, says the waste containers are there to help curb dumping: “The Tafelsig area experiences a very high volume of illegal dumping, to the extent that it happens daily at some hotspots.
“This is also very challenging to police due to the huge scale of the problem and the limited Law Enforcement resources we have available.
PIEMP ’EM: Xanthea Limberg
“In communities where dumping happens very regularly, whether a skip is present or not, the City believes the benefits of placing a skip outweigh the downsides.
“Law-abiding residents suffer the consequences of decisions made by those who choose not to dispose of their waste in a safe and legal manner.
“But, in order for this to change, we need their help in reporting offenders.