Waste not, want not

June 06, 2008

Zululand OBSERVER

	Waste not, want not Trucker Orphard Musaniwa says truckers have nowhere to clean out their trucks, which is a requirement before new cargo can be loaded Tanya Waterworth TRUCKERS have been dumping their waste, sometimes chemical, on the roadside in the Richards Bay CBD. On Monday morning at the weekly police meeting, it was reported that a trucker was spotted brushing manganese from his truck onto the roadside on Bullion Boulevard. And it was further confirmed that it was not the first time such an incident has taken place. In an interview with the Zululand Observer, the truckers who were parked off the road, said there is no facility available in either the port or the city for trucks to be cleaned. 'When we take cargo into the port, we sit in a long queue until the cargo is unloaded. 'The truck must immediately leave the area. 'But we are not allowed to pick up new cargo unless the trucks are cleaned. 'So we have to clean them somewhere,' said one trucker. Another said they sometimes drive out of the port and turn left into a side road, where trucks are also brushed and cleaned. When it was pointed out that chemicals such as manganese are highly poisonous, the truckers said they have no choice in the matter, as new cargo loads must be collected. There was an immediate reaction from the uMhlathuze Municipality upon receiving the report of the incident. The affected area in Bullion Boulevard was visited the same morning and a meeting held with port officials. The Chief Water Pollution Control Technician for the municipality, Cleopas Mathenjwa said, 'We have requested that a port official ensures the bins from the trucks are completely empty before trucks leave the port. 'We have also requested that truck drivers be made aware as to the dangers of sweeping chemical remnants onto the roadside,' said Mathenjwa. He added that the municipality had also requested that agents in the port monitor what is happening with trucks off-loading cargo and confirmed the agents involved in Monday's incident had been contacted. 'They have indicated that they will clean up the affected area,' said Mathenjwa.