Residents of Westdene are accusing scrap metal collectors of targeting their wheelie rubbish bins.
They allege that scrap metal collectors steal wheelie bins to carry their loot.
Responding to the allegations, the Sophiatown Police spokesman Warrant Officer TJ de Bruyn advised residents to report their stolen bins to the police or Pikitup.
According to the Westdene Johannesburg Crow’s Frikkie Botes, theft of bins has been going on for three years now.
Botes claimed he started complaining to the police, then to Pikitup.
“The culprits who are stealing the bins on a weekly basis for carting stolen property, usually come from Westbury,” said Botes.
According to him, the bins were sold to neighbouring residents at R100 each by the thieves,.
But now that the bins are replaced free of charge, the selling of bins has stopped.
“Residents do report these stolen bins but after not a getting report back from the police, they go on, claiming new bins from Pikitup,” he said.
Botes added that on various occasions he had confiscated bins whenever he saw pedestrians pushing them along the streets.
“I traced where they were stolen from and took them back,” said Botes.
Comment from Pikitup spokesperson Pansy Jali Oyedele is awaited.
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