The Westlake community came together and rolled up their sleeves and restored Fiscus Park, one of the play parks to its former glory recently.
For nearly a year the children’s park was used as an illegal rubbish dump and the Westlake Village Community was fed up about the piling litter, said resident Mea Lashbrooke.
“In some places the litter was knee deep, noxious and unhealthy. The area was covered with mattresses, suitcases, rubble, metal, plastic, glass and organic matter,” she said.
The clean-up was organised through a group effort involving various stakeholders such as the Westlake Development Forum (WDF), local sports clubs, Westlake Neighbourhood Watch, Westlake River Friends Group and some learners, Lashbrooke confirmed.
Westlake community leader Tami Mahashe said they filled 150 black bags and four fully loaded trucks with rubbish.
“The park is part of a hotspot for illegal dumping. We are also planning to do an upper-river clean-up as well as tidy the sports field on Mandela Day,” Mahashe said.
One way of monitoring the dumping in the park at night is to lock the gates and have security patrolling by day to ensure the area is safe for children.
“In just one day they cleared most of the park. The community brought their own tools, gloves and bags. More cleaning supplies came from Westlake United Churches Trust, Sand River Catchment Forum (Westlake River forms part of this catchment, flowing into Zandvlei), and the Ward 71 councillor, Carolynne Franklin,” she said.
The council trucks removed the collected waste.
Lashbrooke said the trucks would continue to work in the area with a giant grabber to remove “untouchable waste and rubble”.
Jenny Louw, chair of Zandvlei Catchment Management Forum, said it was wonderful to see the community working together.
“The forum is here to support collaboration of all stakeholders in addressing pollution in the catchment. This community initiative has been supported by various stakeholders. What happens in this Upper Westlake River area directly affects the local community, communities downstream and the health of Zandvlei itself, so this work is really important, and very appreciated.”
“Councillor Franklin was also heartened to see constructive community action and has faith that this will jump start a responsible approach to litter, refuse, and recycling in the area,” Louw said.
The City describes the illegal dumping occurring at Ficus Park as a “challenge” to control.
“The Recreation and Parks Department is aware of the illegal dumping at the park.
The Department has made efforts to clean the park periodically including appointing Expanded Public Works Programme workers to manage maintenance,”said the City’s the Recreation and Parks Department.
The City’s Law Enforcement Department was also consulted to monitor the park and has repaired the broken fence at the park.
“In the last week, the Department repaired fencing at the park by closing all open gaps to help mitigate the situation and has collaborated with a community member who will assist in managing the pedestrian gate by locking it in the evenings. The Department would like to extend a word of thanks to the community for their great efforts and volunteering,” the City said.
Residents are encouraged to report illegal dumping and any vandalism to community facilities by contacting the City’s Public Emergency Communication Centre by dialling 021 480 7700 from a cell phone or 107 from a landline.
