Residents sick of rotten, smoking dump

PEOPLE living in Swakopmund’s northern suburbs are complaining about the stench and smoke of burning rubbish floating in from the nearby municipal rubbish dump, especially when the east wind blows.

There are also complaints of sinusitis and chest ailments believed to be triggered by the smoke from the dumpsite. The smoke is caused by spontaneous combustion, according to the Municipality’s Health Services General Manager, Clive Lawrence.Lawrence told The Namibian that nothing can be done at the moment, since the spontaneous combustion of organic material is fuelled by windy conditions.He said the municipality could send people to the dump to cover the burning rubbish with sand during working hours, but that this would only be a temporary solution.”This is not just one person’s problem.The whole of Swakop suffers,” he acknowledged.He said the waste management company managing the Windhoek rubbish dump, Enviro Fill Namibia, will likely take over the management of the Swakop dump by September.”They promised they would solve this problem,” he said.Lawrence said the problem of plastic bags being blown around by the wind would also be solved.”Council has approved a team to tidy the area up but we decided that it won’t be worth it because the wind will just blow more plastic around.We’ll rather wait for Enviro Fill to manage the situation,” he said The Executive Director of Enviro Fill Namibia, Samson Kaulinge, said Swakopmund’s landfill was only a fraction of the size of the Windhoek dump.”There will be no problem; we’ll solve it.Just come to Windhoek’s site, and you’ll see how effectively we manage it,” he said.The smoke is caused by spontaneous combustion, according to the Municipality’s Health Services General Manager, Clive Lawrence.Lawrence told The Namibian that nothing can be done at the moment, since the spontaneous combustion of organic material is fuelled by windy conditions.He said the municipality could send people to the dump to cover the burning rubbish with sand during working hours, but that this would only be a temporary solution.”This is not just one person’s problem.The whole of Swakop suffers,” he acknowledged.He said the waste management company managing the Windhoek rubbish dump, Enviro Fill Namibia, will likely take over the management of the Swakop dump by September.”They promised they would solve this problem,” he said.Lawrence said the problem of plastic bags being blown around by the wind would also be solved.”Council has approved a team to tidy the area up but we decided that it won’t be worth it because the wind will just blow more plastic around.We’ll rather wait for Enviro Fill to manage the situation,” he said The Executive Director of Enviro Fill Namibia, Samson Kaulinge, said Swakopmund’s landfill was only a fraction of the size of the Windhoek dump.”There will be no problem; we’ll solve it.Just come to Windhoek’s site, and you’ll see how effectively we manage it,” he said.