Image: EUGENE COETZEE
A spate of robberies at the Arlington tip has prompted the Nelson Mandela Bay municipality to hand over identity cards and reflective bibs to authorised recyclers at the site.
Over the past year, stories of crime at the site have been widely reported, with police spokesperson Colonel Priscilla Naidu saying on Monday that the situation had worsened over the past two weeks.
“Police have noted that in the last week there have been incidents of robberies at the Arlington tip,” Naidu said.
“The most recent robbery occurred on June 26 at about 4pm when a 34-year-old man was robbed at gunpoint.
“It is alleged that when the complainant drove into the site he was approached by five males who jumped onto his bakkie.
“He did not know at that time that these men were not working at the tip. They produced a gun and knife and robbed him.”
She said Walmer police were also advising people going to the tip to be extra vigilant and not to accept any assistance from any person.
“There is security at the dumpsite and people are urged to report to the security office who will then guide them where to offload their rubbish.
Police are also appealing to people to leave all valuables at home.
“If instinct should warn you of danger, rather drive off and come back when it is safe to do so,” she said.
A total of 102 bibs and identity cards were handed out on Monday morning, while some will be handed out to absent recyclers during the week.
Speaking to more than 100 recyclers, acting mayor Thsonono Buyeye said the city was committed to ensuring the safety of the recyclers, Bay residents and staff members.
“We are giving you these tools today as a short-term solution to the challenge.
“But as a long-term goal we will build a concrete wall around the site which will be difficult to vandalise.
“We have a challenge of illegal dumping in the city and we always encourage residents to dump waste at the right sites so it can’t be right that our residents are robbed when coming here, doing the right thing and ensuring that our city is clean,” Buyeye said.
Municipal spokesperson Mamela Ndamase said the purpose of the ID cards and bibs was to make sure that only authorised people were within the premises, which would allow the municipality’s safety and security department and police to identify the recyclers and remove trespassers, who were mostly criminals.
She said security guards were on site and safety and security portfolio head Queenie Pink had committed that security guards would be dispatched for day and night shifts.
“The city has plans to build a concrete wall at the challenged Arlington waste site.
“This will assist in curbing crime in the area as the fence now has gaps as a result of vandalism, ” she said.
The DA will on Tuesday be conducting an oversight visit to the dump site.
The delegation will be led by the party’s Eastern Cape leader Nqaba Bhanga.