Rubbish collections over the festive period
However, some households face having to wait up to two weeks between bin collections over the festive period
The City of Ekurhuleni announced that waste removal services will continue as usual during the festive season.
However, refuse collection which is usually weekly will, during the period, be fortnightly for some.
Ekurhuleni residents who get their waste bins emptied on December 25 will have to wait until January 1, as per the waste removal calendar.
The disruption means that December 18 will be the last collection day for those who get their waste collected on Wednesdays.
This will on the other hand allow the waste and recycling teams to enjoy some proper time off and celebrate Christmas with their families.
“On all the other days including New Year’s Day, waste removal services will continue as usual,” explains metro spokesman Zweli Dlamini, who encouraged residents to take out their bins as usual during the holidays.
Meanwhile, members of the public are warned against giving Christmas gifts to municipal workers during this time of the year, as this is against council policy and affects service delivery.
“This practice is prevalent during the festive season as some residents tend to give small gifts of gratitude to municipal workers.
“This may be an act of kindness, but we have had incidents where residents have reported abuse to the city at the hands of workers for not giving them gifts.
“This practice is also a major distraction to the workers and affects the turnaround time to service delivery issues – especially in the waste removal services sector, where a truck can be delayed due to workers soliciting Christmas boxes and therefore being unable to finish their rounds on the day,” expands Dlamini.
Municipal management also discourages its staff from ‘soliciting’ any festive gits from members of the public.
“We pay our staff for performing their duties and therefore, the public does not owe them anything.”
Members of the public experiencing any waste removal interruptions are encouraged to escalate these to the city via the call centre – 0860 54 3000.
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