Gadebe gives answers to the following questions asked by John Turner:
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• The wheelie bins were manufactured by Mondi subsidiary MPact. Did Ekurhuleni purchase these bins direct or was the price increased?
Answer: The 240l bins were purchased directly from MPact Plastic Containers (Pty) Ltd through an open, fair and transparent tender process; the price is as per the tendered amount.
• Who put the lettering on the wheelie bins?
Answer: When wheelie bins are purchased, part of the contract is that the successful bidder will deliver to the municipality a fully embossed or engraved container/bin with the necessary lettering, signage, serial number and any other information required by the client.
• It is obvious to many people (except the municipality) that one wheelie bin would be insufficient for most households.
Answer: Where there is a need for an extra bin, residents are encouraged to request an additional bin and the municipality will provide the bin.
The resident must be prepared to pay for service costs as well.
However, the municipality is also legally responsible for ensuring that all formal households as a minimum have a container for waste, which is why the municipality has embarked on a programme to roll out wheelie bins to residents of Ekurhuleni.
• Has anybody done a time and motion study on refuse collection, comparing wheelie bins to plastic bags?
Answer: In line with the requirements of the National Environmental Management: Waste Act, 2008 (Act No. 59 of 2008) National Domestic Waste Collection Standards, which came into effect on February 1, 2011, the municipality is required by law to provide formal households with wheelie bins, which is why wheelie bins are distributed.
The use of plastic bags poses numerous challenges for the municipality, such as frequent spillages and torn or open bags, resulting in littering, flies and unpleasant odours.
Generally the use of plastic bags creates an additional burden of pollution for the municipality. The collection process for these bags results in delays in waste collection as workers need to pick up individual bags one at a time.
At times some households will have placed more than 10 plastic bags out for collection.
In order to address the challenges successfully and resourcefully, the municipality sought to gradually discontinue the use of plastic bags and comply to the legislation by embarking on a city-wide mass roll-out of 240-litre bins to the communities of Ekurhuleni.
The wheelie bins provide a number of benefits to the municipality and its residents: The wheelie bins have a longer lifespan; provide enough storage space and are durable and easy to clean. They do not expose workers to sharp objects and are vermin- and vector-proof. As they are impermeable to vermin and flies, they also do not allow moisture or rain water to enter and therefore do not discharge any leachate. They are animal-proof and can withstand mechanical damage. They provide for ease of handling and are convenient to move as they have wheels. They also pose far less environmental impacts than plastic bags.
Looking at the few people who have put out wheelie bins, the time to empty two wheelie bins is comparable to the refuse collectors dealing with the refuse for six to seven households.
The question needs to be clearly articulated for a better response.
• As Melanie Dunn stated in her letter, as rubbish is not in bags, the wheelie bins are now tipped over so that one’s refuse can be scavenged.
Answer: In terms of the strategy going forward, residents will be issued with separate bags that are colour-coded for recyclables.
• The resultant mess is left on the verge.
When the rubbish is in bags in can be gone through without leaving such as mess.
The municipality will embark on a programme as part of the waste minimisation strategy to join hands with waste pickers to ensure that separation of waste at source becomes a reality and is done in manner that won’t cause any littering.
• As Rob Carlisle states, we are paying for a service that is not happening. Mr Gadebe, we are already paying for a non-existent service and now you want to charge us more for it. Obviously this matter has not been thoroughly thought out, just like e-tolls.
Answer: The municipality can confirm that waste collection is happening in Benoni and surrounding areas of Benoni. The municipality has already put in place a number of measures to improve efficiencies, such as route planning, a fixed waste collection calendar, round balancing and the necessary resources, equipment and personnel required to deliver this service optimally. This will assist us to reduce and possibly eradicate collection backlogs.
Also read:
Return Benoni to its former glory
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