The Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality officially launched it's R15m War On Waste Campaign in KwaZakhele township on Tuesday.
Executive Mayor, Athol Trollip, said the campaign against illegal dumping formed part of the municipality's priority list.
Community member employed as part of the campaign helped clean an illegal dumping site in the area.
Trollip also warned that the city wouldl implement by-laws when it came to illegal dumping including fines up to R1000 and the impounding of vehicles used to illegaly dump waste and building waste.
He said the Metro was also urging residents to also report perpetrators.
"We've encouraged the community to take photographs, give us names and we are going to be merciless. We are going to clean-up the city. This litter comes from our homes and if we put it in illegal dumping sites it gets washed down the rivers and into the sea and the sea is the area that we can rely on, it's the mine of the city," Trollip said.
Meanwhile, Deputy Executive Mayor, Mongameli Bobani, said the programme would also be rolled out to other areas of the Metro, including Uitenhage, Walmer and the Northern Areas.
Bobani said the programme has also created employment for community members with 450 people employed so far through the Expanded Public Works Programme.
"This is a community-driven project. So, this R15m is going to be spent on cleaning the city and these areas," he said.
