eMba police want the GMM to collect their garbage because of the health risk
Constable Busi Mthethwa claims they are forced to use resources meant to fight crime to transport the police station’s waste.
Garbage is piling up at the eMbalenhle Police Station. The police claim that the accumulating rubbish is a health risk to their members and the community.
According to Constable Busi Mthethwa, the eMbalenhle Police spokesperson, the last time a refuse removal truck from the Govan Mbeki Municipality (GMM) collected waste from the station was three years ago.
Mthethwa said Sasol donated waste bins to the station, but if they use them, the rubbish piles up and overflows because it does not get collected.
“The last time the municipality collected our garbage was before the spread of Covid-19. Back then, we thought the lack of service was due to the stricter measures to prevent the virus from spreading.
“Since then, we never again saw a truck collect garbage at the station. We bought refuse bags to remove the garbage from the station.
“By moving these full refuse bags to the gate, we hoped the refuse collectors would see them when passing, but the garbage remained there for days. They collected nearby businesses’ waste, but not the bags from the police station,” said Mthethwa.
Mthethwa said they do not know why the municipality employees do not collect garbage from the station.
The police have hired a pest control company to curb the influx of rodents attracted by the garbage.
According to Mthethwa, the police have resorted to removing the rubbish and dumping it at the Kinross dump site.
“We are forced to use the resources meant to fight crime to transport waste,” she said.
The municipality refuted Mthethwa’s claims about the waste not being collected from the police station for years.
Donald Green, the municipal spokesperson, said their waste truck collects waste according to a schedule.
He said the waste gets collected from the police station and surrounding areas on Mondays and Fridays, but they don’t find waste at the police station gate. Green appealed to the police to put out their garbage on those scheduled days.
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