MOSSEL BAY NEWS - Mossel Bay Municipality once again warns against the illegal dumping of asbestos.
Residents who dump asbestos-containing waste illegally into the veld are warned especially.
The illegal dumping of waste costs the municipality - and by implication, the taxpayer - an enormous amount every year, even more so when the dumped waste contains asbestos.
Where asbestos is involved, its removal must be handled in a prescribed manner. For any alterations to buildings that include asbestos, the owner or building contractor must ideally provide proof of an appropriate landfill certificate.
Health hazards
Experts believe that society should take the health hazards of asbestos seriously. Although asbestos in construction is banned and no longer in use, the risks regarding existing asbestos still apply. Processes such as drilling, cutting, high-pressure cleaning, demolition, or even the natural weathering of asbestos disrupt the asbestos dust, which may release fibres into the air that may be inhaled.
Many residents do not realise asbestos may not simply be disposed of along with any other building material. Sometimes people who replace existing roofing sheets with new ones will do the work themselves or even use temporary labour.
With such a process, building plans are not necessarily submitted, and the municipality cannot preemptively warn the owner. Asbestos sheets are often dumped, often illegally, as those aware of the specific process of handling asbestos waste usually know the costs involved and go out of their way not to incur the costs.
Residents are warned against operators doing a small job but probably not handling asbestos waste properly.
Unlawful dumping
The municipality is aware of the asbestos recently offloaded illegally at Sonskynvallei's transfer station and has already removed it, as per the necessary protocols.
Removing asbestos from premises requires an appropriate dumping certificate when the hazardous waste has to be handled, whether it follows demolition and/or the removal of some asbestos sheets.
Substantial fines
Mossel Bay Municipality is erecting cameras across the greater Mossel Bay are and, in some cases, footage from these cameras has already been used in the successful prosecution of people dumping refuse illegally.
If the municipality can positively identify anyone who dumps waste illegally, a criminal complaint will be lodged with the police.
The incident has to be reported to the departments of Environmental Affairs and Labour. Should the case be successfully prosecuted, a fine of up to R100 000 or ten years' imprisonment could be imposed.
The municipality will not hesitate to take action against any offenders, considering the cost to the local government, and by implication, taxpayers, of safely removing the asbestos waste from where it was illegally dumped.
The municipality has a specific contractor on a three-year tender to safely and legally remove hazardous waste. The contractor will inspect the waste upon request. Once the contractor has sealed and removed the asbestos, it is transported to a landfill in Gqeberha, and the municipality is issued a Safe Certificate of Disposal (SCD). The weight of asbestos waste dumped illegally cannot be determined in advance, and consequently entails further, unnecessary costs for the municipality.
Residents are invited to contact the municipal offices to determine whether asbestos is involved in disposal and for the necessary advice. Should residents notice illegal dumping, footage can be made available to admin@mosselbay.gov.za, so the municipality can investigate.
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