Hundreds in Upper Highway protest over persisting stench
Hundreds of Upper Highway residents made their voices heard yesterday, demanding their right to clean air and a healthy environment.
Residents from Hillcrest, Kloof, Shongweni and surrounding areas took part in a ‘toxic trek’ throughout Hillcrest to raise awareness about a chemical stench that has been wafting through the area for months. Residents are blaming EnviroServ’s Shongweni Landfill for the mal-odour, which they claim is posing a health risk to the community.
Some protestors told Newswatch they want clean air now.
Upper Highway residents are demanding clean air and a pollution free environment #ToxicTrek #Durban @ECR_Newswatch @ecr9495 pic.twitter.com/8JQklRucLe
— Shaun Ryan (@wordsfromshaun) February 4, 2017
"My children go to school in the area and we have the right to breathe clean air," said one resident.
"We find ourselves shutting ourselves inside our homes and it is definitely a toxic smell and not your normal rubbish smell," another resident said.
"It is like a combination of a chemical smell mixed with a smell of something rotting, much like nothing we have ever experienced before," said another resident.
Meanwhile, the Department of Environmental Affairs has issued a notice of intention to suspend or revoke EnviroServ’s Waste Management License for its Shongweni landfill. The company says it was surprised to receive the notice saying it is unfortunate the department has succumbed to public opinion.
The company's CEO, Dean Thompson, says they will motivate fully why the notice is unnecessary. He says EnviroServ remains a compliant and legal site.