Johannesburg - Joburg residents burning the Pikitup trash that is lining their streets may be damaging their health, city officials have warned.
“Almost all forms of waste can emit a range of pollutants when they are burned,” said Professor Angela Mathee, director of the Medical Research Council's environment and health research unit.
Burning food items and packaging releases particles that can penetrate deep into the lungs and cause or exacerbate diseases such as asthma and bronchitis, she added.
Waste fires also release carbon monoxide that can cause headaches, nausea, fatigue and vomiting, dioxins that can stunt children's growth and ash that can contain toxins such as mercury, lead and arsenic.
However, many residents may not be able to heed the advice, especially those who live in townships and informal settlements.
These residents find themselves trapped between two evils: disease from toxic fumes if they burn the waste and disease from rats and bacteria if they don't.
“Yes, we burn trash and plastic because we don’t have any alternative,” said Eric Tyalo, a tourist guide and community liaison person for Motsoaledi, an informal settlement in Soweto.
“If we don't burn the waste, then our squatter camp will be a breeding ground for rodents,” he said.
Tyalo said Motsoaledi residents usually receive plastic waste bags from the municipality to fill and give to Pikitup workers to bring to the refuse dumps.
But since the Pikitup strike began, the informal settlement is without plastic bags, service from Pikitup or means of transporting waste to a proper dump-site.
Gauteng Department of Health spokesman Steve Mabona couldn't offer any solutions to The Star.
The Star