With no end in sight yet for the Pikitup strike, residents have been asked to attempt to reduce their waste as much as possible.
Ward 102 councillor David Potter said, “I recommend that you try to reduce waste as much as possible by cleaning and recycling all paper, plastic, tin and glass.” Residents can also take their refuse to the a garden site, either in Greenside on Victory Road, Greenside, just off Barry Hertzog Avenue or Bryanston William Nicol corner Ballyclare Drive.
Potter further suggested that residents can also use the services of some of the private companies that are offering to collect refuse. Some suburbs have arranged this via their resident associations. He warns residents to make sure that private collectors are in fact taking refuse to official refuse sites and not dumping it in a field or in another neighbourhood.
According to Potter, Pikitup has been trying to do collections on skeleton staff and through private contractors in the middle of the night, but intimidation continues to be a problem. “We are no longer getting responses from Pikitup as to whether normal collections or catch up collections will take place,” he said.
He warned the community to please bring their bins inside until further notice to avoid having their bins being stolen. This is after Pikitup told the public to keep their bins outside while they implement contingency measures to collect garbage.
“I recommend that you try to reduce waste as much as possible by cleaning and recycling all paper, plastic, tin and glass,” said Potter. He said that residents can also take their refuse to the a garden site, either in Greenside on Victory Road, Greenside, just off Barry Hertzog Avenue or Bryanston William Nicol corner Ballyclare Drive.
Residents can also use the services of some of the private companies offering to collect refuse, some suburbs have arranged this via their Resident Associations. Potter warns residents to make sure that private collectors are in fact taking refuse to official refuse sites and not dumping it in a field or in another neighbourhood.
“The situation is not ideal, councillors are doing their best to get their suburbs noticed for late night refuse collection but there is just not enough contractors able to cope with the demands and intimidation,” said Potter.
Potter urged the community to hold tight and said that they are in for an interesting pre-election in a few months.
The Pikitup strike is still ongoing, the South African Municipal Workers Union (SAMWU) don’t seem to be backing down any time soon. The strike is due to pay increase demands and the removal of the Pikitup managing director Amanda Nair.
Details: Ward 102 councillor David Potter david@oursuburb.co.za, 0828859688.
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