Hillary residents complain of toxic smell from illegal dump site
A toxic smell has kicked up a stink in the suburb of Hillary in Queensburgh.
Residents say an illegal dump site at the top of a valley in Ridgeview and Chesterville, several kilometres across from Hillary, is the cause.
It's thought to be strewn with medical waste and chemicals, with residents saying smoke is perpetually billowing from the mounds.
Newswatch visited the area on Tuesday and was hit by a pungent odour just a few minutes after arriving in Hillary.
Local Mapaseka Mtshali told us what they have had to endure for two weeks.
"Coughing, headaches, and sometimes vomiting and being nauseous. The smell is so bad that you cannot go outside, and the smell is inside the house. When you hang the clothes outside, it smells. We are so frustrated."
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Mtshali says they want the city to take action.
"Ward 65 is very tired, and we are very angry. We don't want to resort to anything that will put us in trouble, but we need a solution urgently."
Councillor Samantha Windvogel says a meeting with various municipal officials that was scheduled for Tuesday afternoon didn't happen.
"So far, nothing is being done. I don't understand why it would take 12 to 13 days to be investigated. There is nothing more to investigate. You do one of two; either have the site suffocated by adding sand or sawdust or have the site, whatever is there, be removed."
Newswatch has contacted the city for a response.
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