Tshwane said the Rooihuiskraal garden refuse site has not closed since July, as the city grapples with the backlogs at its various garden refuse sites.
This is despite residents reporting at the end of November that they had been turned away from the site, and asked to use private dumping facilities instead.
“The site is operational and was never closed since the beginning of the financial year 2023/2024, which started in July,” said city spokesperson Lindela Mashigo.
Mashigo said the backlog at the site was due to the disruption in waste management services during the municipal workers’ strike from July.
During the strike, which ended in October, metro garden refuse sites were badly affected, including Rooihuiskraal.
“During this period, haulage of garden waste from the site was a challenge due to intimidation by striking members, leaving the sites to overflow,” said Mashigo.
“Since the restoration of service as from October, the department has been working on addressing the backlog and towards restoring the sites back to normal operations.
“Prior to the strike, daily operations at the facility were in order, with the storage of small quantities of garden waste on site. This was achieved by ensuring daily removal and transportation of garden waste from the site [happened].
“The city is still committed to ensuring its facilities have a good operational status.”
While the metro said it was working hard to clear the backlog, it also added that this may be affected by high incoming garden waste volumes at this time.
“During rainy seasons, the garden waste facility is operating at its peak as most households engage in garden services and maintenances of their green spaces,” said Mashigo.
The metro reminded residents they did not require a permit at the facility to dump garden waste of up to 1 ton once a week.
However, commercial operators, and anyone who brings more than a ton for disposal at the site, must apply for the necessary permit.
“The transportation permit is part of a prerequisite that all waste transporters within Tshwane must comply with as per the waste management by-laws,” said Mashigo.
Chapter 10, Section 32 of the waste management by-law prescribes that:
– no person may operate a waste management service within the city without the written permission of the municipality
– any person who renders garden waste management service must be duly registered and permitted as an authorised service provider by submitting a written application accompanied by the prescribed application fee as per the approved tariff schedule
– an authorised waste management service provider will be issued with a sticker or label for each vehicle used to transport waste, which must be displayed for ease of identification upon access to any waste disposal facility for garden waste dumping purposes.
Should the facility be closed due to unforeseen circumstances, residents can visit the following waste disposal facilities instead:
– Bronkhorstspruit in Zithobeni Road, Bronkhorstspruit
– Ga-Rankuwa in Molefe Makinta Road, Ga-Rankuwa
– Soshanguve on the corner of Molefe Makinta and Soutpan Road, Soshanguve
– Hatherley in Solomon Mahlangu Drive, Nellmapius, Mamelodi.
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