Booze bottles and trashy behaviour outside beachfront clubs has raised the ire of the Quigney Ratepayers and Residents Association.
The association has laid a complaint about illegal dumping of alcohol bottles and waste by some drinking establishments in Quigney.
BCM spokesperson Bongani Fuzile said: “We are enforcing the bylaws and those found to be transgressing will face the wrath of the law.”
The association’s spokesperson Lwandy Ngebe said the problem went against the efforts of the community to clean up the beachfront suburb.
“We have a problem of patrons of these outlets drinking outside these clubs in public and in and around their parked cars and then dumping their alcohol cans and bottles in the streets and on the sidewalks.
“In addition, these outlets dispose of their waste on the sidewalks at any time, completely disregarding the BCM scheduled waste collection days.”
This leaves the bags vulnerable to being ripped open and the trash spilling into the urban and ocean environment harming marine life, tourism and the public.
The dumping of nightlife trash was out of control over weekends and was rife in the early hours of Saturday and Sunday.
The scourge of trash was most visible on the corner of Currie and Fleet streets — a main route for tourists wanting to enjoy the Esplanade — East London’s Golden Mile.
“This ongoing littering is an eyesore and a deterrent to tourism,” Ngebe said.
Property values were also damaged by the trashing of the beachfront.
The ratepayers association, with funds from responsible and caring beachfront businesses, runs its own community-based clean up crew.
They are being overwhelmed by the filth thrown down by drunk and indifferent partygoers.
Ngebe said the ratepayers were not happy with the failure to police bylaws outlawing public drinking and littering.
Despite the odds being stacked against them, the association was not giving up on its efforts to keep the beachfront and Quigney clean and safe.
Ngebe said businesses who were failing to comply with the law were threatening efforts to create a clean and peaceful suburb.
“These outlets operate irresponsibly, despite being approached by both ourselves and BCM — and verbally agreeing to improve their waste management – they have failed to take action.”
The association was demanding more urgency and frequency to inspections and bylaw enforcement action. “If businesses are not complying, they must be fined.”
