WATCH: Metro on CBD clean up bandwagon
The blitz found that some of the residents who discard their waste on the streets for the CBD for the metro to collect, pay nothing for refuse removal, yet the landlords are collecting rent on a monthly basis.
The City of Ekurhuleni MMC for Environmental Resource and Waste Management Brandon Pretorius and his team joined the City Improvement Project (CIP) team to clean the Boksburg CBD and assess compliance with the city’s waste management by-laws on December 14.
The rubbish blitz saw the teams, including EMPD members, engage with several business operators on the importance of complying with the regulations regarding disposing of solid waste.
This is to achieve and sustain a clean and healthy environment.
Both Pretorius and Waste Management divisional head Madikana Thenga pointed out that one of the challenges identified is that the vast majority of the properties in the CBD do not have registered accounts for waste removal to get wheelie bins, which has led to tenants throwing their refuse bags on the streets.
“This means we have to dispatch trucks to collect these bags at no cost since the people responsible are mostly not paying for services.
“Some of the bigger properties with multiple residential units and businesses on the ground floor only have one registered wheelie bin to service the entire population of the building. Because of this, residents dump their refuse on the streets or in nearby open spaces.
“We encourage residents who do not have wheelie bins to open accounts so that they can receive their wheelie bins, which will be emptied per the weekly schedule,” said Thenga.
Illegal dumping
Responding to questions about this scourge across the city, Thenga said cleaning these sites makes a serious dent in the department’s budget, and this has reached an unsustainable level.
“On average over the past couple of years, the city has spent over R200 million per year to clear illegal dumping across Ekurhuleni.
“This money could be better used elsewhere to enhance service delivery. Cleaning efforts don’t last long either – the following day you find that the rubbish is back.
“We are working on new plans to deal with the problem, and these will include harsher punishment for perpetrators of illegal dumping. It’s also important that we get our law enforcement colleagues on board to deal with this environmental health hazard.
“We are finalising our administrative ‘guilty fines’ schedule, which will assist in enforcing fines to curb illegal dumping.”
