Mismanagement exacerbates waste management issues

On March 29, some employees of the Ekurhuleni Waste Depot in Springs contacted this publication in what they called ‘a desperate attempt’ after they felt ignored by their employer.
The issue was reported in the Advertiser’s April 8 edition, ‘Garbage trucks gather dust while waste keeps piling up’ in which the disgruntled waste collectors claimed they had been sitting without work to do for days.
This while Springs residents had been complaining about their refuse not being picked up.
There were also waste collection trucks in the facility.
The employees claimed that most of the trucks had expired licence discs and minor mechanical issues.

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In response to media enquiries about the matter, the City of Ekurhuleni did not disclose how many of the municipal waste trucks are in working condition at the time.
“The depot has 15 rear-end loader (REL) trucks.
“The City has trucks provided by service providers in addition to municipal trucks to ensure waste is collected every week as scheduled,” explained Zweli Dlamini, the municipality’s spokesperson.
When asked why the City found it necessary to make use of private contractors for waste collection, Dlamini stated that the municipal fleet has experienced a higher rate of mechanical breakdown and hired trucks are used to ensure that waste management is provided weekly as required.

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“Waste collection consists of service point removal in businesses, households and industries; litter picking and illegal dump removal.
“Other services such as the supply of bins, manning of transfer stations, replacement and supply of bins are provided as well.
“If there is a shortage of municipal-owned trucks, employees work on hired trucks, deployed to other services indicated above and therefore must be compensated or paid for the work done,” he added.
Dlamini also said, “The area manager’s position is currently vacant and has been advertised; however, P Mudau is acting from April 1, 2021.”
Clr Amanda Davison, DA member of Environment, Resource and Waste Management in Ekurhuleni, in a statement said, “The well-documented waste backlog that has gripped the ANC coalition-led City of Ekurhuleni has now reached unsustainable levels with many depots across the metro being unable to process the mountainous volumes of waste, particularly in Springs.
“Exacerbating the crisis is the shortage of waste collection and processing vehicles at many depots due to a cash flow shortage in the division of Fleet Management.”
During a site inspection, the DA in Ekurhuleni said it was shocked to learn that the depot had not had any collections for over a week.

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“Operationally, the depot requires at least 10 compactor trucks. Currently, only one is functional.
“Twelve rear-end loaders were found gathering dust, while three tipper trucks and a brand-new grab truck were found broken down.
“In addition, a never-been-used tractor-loader-backhoe, or TLB, standing dormant for six years is now being used for parts for other TLBs across the City.
“Shockingly, half of these trucks are operational and only require licensing to operate; however, due to the inefficiency of the Fleet Management Division, the processing of the licences will have to wait until the division can get its house in order.
“In the meantime, backlogs such as these will persist and residents will be the ones who suffer as service delivery continues to decline,” she explained.
The DA finds the current state of waste in these depots appalling and called on the Department of Environmental Resource and Waste Management Services to take urgent action in clearing the backlog by prioritising the City’s vehicles return to operation.

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