Do your part to help reduce waste and save the planet for future generations.
Martin Williams said that residents should not expect a big-bang, all-systems-go approach from 1 July.
“1 July will mark an increase in the tempo of a campaign which has been in slow motion since 2009. The separation will be phased in at a much faster rate, with education and awareness campaigns.”
He said failure to separate waste at source in the affected suburbs will be an offence and details of the affected suburbs will be available at Pikitup depots and on the Pikitup website.
“As councillor of a ward with a large number of trolley-pushing waste-pickers, I should like to see their work incorporated into the recycling industry in a more constructive way than is currently practiced.”
Williams said he has made a suggestion to some relevant players because illegal dumping and littering cost Pikitup more than R60 million a year.
“That is a waste of money. A more integrated waste collection system could save money and provide jobs.”
There is a separation at source scheme in some suburbs in Ward 90. “Most residents seem to favour the idea of recycling. The implementation has not always been as good as it could be, and this may have made the reception less enthusiastic than it should be.”
He said education and communication both need to be improved, radically. All of us need to be educated about recycling.
“People need to understand in simple terms, why recycling is necessary, and what exactly they should be doing.”
Some residents have complained about the newly introduced scheme. “They complain about bags. Sometimes the bags are not collected, or replacement bags are not left behind, or residents do not know how to get hold of new bags.”
Williams said he saw waste-pickers take entire bags of recyclables, and throw these into their trolleys. “This would result in no replacement bags for the households conscientiously recycling.”
“Effective recycling will prolong the lives of landfill sites and help reduce waste and we should each realise that we cannot leave recycling to others.”
Williams asked the people to find out whatever you can from any media, especially your local Caxton newspaper, about recycling in your area.
“Be active. Join the monthly A Re Sebetseng clean-ups. And spread the word,” ended Williams.
