Whether residents should keep on paying for waste removal or not has been a concern since the Pikitup illegal strike started three weeks ago.
Residents are angry because they are paying for a service they are not receiving. Requests have also been received from residents who feel that they should be reimbursed the monthly service charge for refuse collection because Pikitup could not provide the service.
The City of Johannesburg’s waste management entity, Pikitup explained in a statement that the refuse removal services fee is a monthly charge that is based on the value of property as per the promulgated tariffs.
The charge cannot be itemised or allocated to a bin, the number of lifts per bin, neither is it based on the quantity of the waste collected. The total of waste services includes bin collection, street cleaning, illegal dumping, litter picking and landfill operations. These are all funded from the tariff as stipulated in the Tariffs Policy and City of Joburg’s Waste By-Laws .
In the case where refuse is not collected due to unforeseen circumstances that may include planned or unplanned strikes, general service delays caused by bad weather conditions or truck breakdowns, Pikitup implements a contingency plan to deal with the backlog of uncollected refuse.
Pikitup said that they regret any inconvenience caused as a result of the ongoing disruption to refuse collection services and would like to assure Joburg citizens, and in particular, ratepayers that they are doing what they can to maintain the daily operations.
Pikitup is collecting as much as they can as per the contingency measures in place and they are aware that many residents have had their collections missed. There are services that are running during the night to deal with these kinds of delays. Where possible, Pikitup is sending out extra crews and prioritising areas that have been affected the most.
Regrettably Pikitup said that it is not possible to provide a refund or credit during or after an illegal strike. Even though there has been disruption to the collection, the law does not permit ratepayers to withhold payment of their refuse charge.
Pikitup continues to encourage residents and business owners to collaborate with the company by continuing where possible, to drop off waste at the nearest Pikitup garden refuse or landfill sites.
