NMBM CALLS FOR CAUTION IN WASTE HANDLING
Published: February 06, 2025<< BACK TO NEWS
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The Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality (NMBM) has called on residents and businesses to exercise caution and follow safe handling and disposing of all types of waste, most especially hazardous waste, as failure to do so exposes people to serious health hazards.
This follows the unfortunate death of a 13-year-old child who is suspected to have consumed a poisonous substance from a refuse bag in Bluewater Bay recently.
Subsequent to the unfortunate incident, the Waste Management Sub-directorate under the Public Health Directorate, has embarked on an intensive stakeholder awareness and engagement programme to empower the public and businesses regarding guidelines on how to safely manage hazardous waste.
The stakeholder awareness and engagement programme will form part of a project called Separation at Source Programme (SSP) currently underway.
Separation at Source is a practice of sorting waste materials into different categories (like paper, plastic, glass, etc.) at the point where they are generated, like in a household or factory before they are disposed of, essentially preventing recyclable materials from going to landfills by separating them from other waste streams at the source.
These sessions will include public education meetings, conducting door-to-door registration in Blue Water Bay, where the second phase of the SSP will be introduced.
Speaking to residents in one of the public engagement meetings held in Bluewater Bay on Wednesday, 5 February 2025, the Member of the Mayoral Committee for Public Health, Cllr Thsonono Buyeye committed that the work currently underway will place special focus on hazardous waste handling and disposal.
"We will be working in partnership with waste pickers, households, businesses and the Nelson Mandela University (NMU) to improve in this area. It is unfortunate that the child’s death occurred at the time when the Directorate was about to launch the SSP in Bluewater Bay and surrounding areas,” said MMC Buyeye.
The first phase, that was introduced in Ward 9, has proven to be a huge success with many residents participating.
Engagements with business will include the education of businesses on segregation of recyclable and non-recyclable materials, with the intention of reducing the opportunity for waste reclaimers accessing dangerous waste items and to ensure that hazardous substances are safely disposed of.
The Directorate is also engaging with the NMU to get access to and benefit from the wealth of knowledge and expertise in various fields, including environmental science, waste management, and chemical safety.
The NMBM also hopes to benefit from the university’s research to improve its waste management practices, especially concerning the safe handling and disposal of chemicals.
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