Nick Rautenbach from Sophiatown writes (edited):
I live in Milner Street, Sophiatown and unfortunately, the area in front of my house has been selected as one of many wheelie bin assembly points for the flats in Sophiatown Park.
If we really were a proud and effective nation, this would not be a problem as the rubbish would be removed and the streets would remain clean.
Unfortunately, we have to deal with a vast complexity of problems, resulting in a lot of rubbish left behind. Besides the bad smell, the wind blows a lot of the rubbish onto my driveway up to my front door. Every time, I end up as the sucker who has to clean up the street.
There is a range of bad habits in our area, and probably the whole country, that contributes to this problem. To start with, residents are afraid that their bins will get stolen, so they dump their bags in other bins instead of putting out their own.
If there is no more space in the bins, they simply leave it next to the bins. Some even turn their bins upside down to shake out the last bits of rotten food, peels, and cigarette butts. This gets squashed into the tarmac. In addition, informal waste collectors all take a turn in searching through the rubbish for recyclable material.
Now, I know they play a vital role in reducing costs of raw materials through recycling but it is a myth that they ensure the cleanliness of cities and protection of the environment.
Although they show a degree of consideration by putting the rubbish back in the bins and bags, the area becomes even more scattered with litter. This is the main reason why I separate my own recyclable material from the rubbish and keep it aside for the recycle truck. I want to encourage more residents to do the same.
To make matters worse, Pikitup refuses to collect rubbish in any form unless it is in a wheelie bin. On top of all this, we have to deal with some residents in the area who put out bulk rubble, such as old seats, mattresses, carpets, and tiles next to the bins.
Also, some dump their rubbish on the corner of Tucker and Milner streets in Sophiatown.
This dumping has been going on for months and it seems to happen when no-one is looking.
Why can’t they use the same energy to simply put their rubbish in wheelie bins? Sadly, this is a tendency from more than one household. People who don’t want to put out their bins, simply dump their black bags under the staircases at the flats.
I can understand that someone who lives in an area where there are no municipal services, can eventually lose their sense of pride and give up on keeping their area clean.
However, if you are fortunate enough to live in an area where municipal services are delivered, you can at least do your part and follow the simple rules that ensure that the service will continue.
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