STRIKES at Durban Solid Waste Mayville depot have frustrated ward councillors as no waste was collected, leaving black bags at the mercy of winds, vagrants and monkeys and resulting in rubbish strewn across roads in Wards 33 and 66.
According to ward 33 councillor Mmabatho Tembe, the frustration started a few weeks ago with trucks breaking down and trucks that were off the road because of a lack of proper maintenance and service plans.
“There has been a delay in area collections and at times, when collection is meant to happen, it only happens the following day. This causes much confusion amongst residents as they assume collection days have changed and they were not informed. The lateness of collection also encourages the homeless to ravage through the black bags and they leave these bags open, then the monkeys and the winds cause the rubbish to be strewn all over the roads,” she said.
Frustration grew all too intense last week when the Berea South and Mayville areas were left with no collection due to strikes within DSW.
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“Residents have still not recovered from the massive strike a few weeks ago that was city wide, which left the areas in a mess and a backlog of collections throughout. With the latest strike and the shortage of trucks, the affected areas face an even longer time for collections to return to normal for residents. Residents are tired of paying rates to a failing municipality where the basic services are not being met,” she said.
The service resumed after hours at the end of last week, however there is still a big backlog due to the strike. Councillor Tembe said she was glad the service had resumed, however bags were left open and litter is now lying on the pavements and needs to be cleared as well. Tembe said she would speak to DSW and contractors about sweeping and clearing up the litter.
“We appeal to the Deputy City Manager of Human Settlements and Infrastructure that handles DSW issues to please sort out the maintenance of trucks within this depot and the internal issues swiftly,” she said.
If rubbish in your road still has not been collected in the past week, email: ward33@ethekwini.org and Councillor Tembe will forward this to DSW.
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