Residents frustrated by ongoing refuse collection failures are being called on to sign a petition demanding accountability from Pikitup over repeated service disruptions affecting suburbs serviced by the Marlboro and Randburg depots.

The petition, organised by Ward 93 councillor Vino Reddy and the Fourways Constituency, argues that residents continue to pay for weekly refuse removal despite collections being missed or significantly delayed.

Read more: Pikitup rejects claims of three-week refuse collection delays in Farmall

According to the petition, residents have endured a range of problems, including labour disputes, staffing shortages, too few operational refuse trucks, obstructed depot access, and poor communication from the city.

The disruptions have resulted in refuse bags remaining outside homes for days, attracting flies and rodents, creating unpleasant odours and contributing to illegal dumping.

In some cases, residents have reportedly paid private contractors to remove their refuse after municipal collections failed to take place. “Refuse collection is not a favour from the city. It is a paid municipal service,” said Reddy.

Among the demands, the petition calls on the entity to immediately restore reliable refuse collection, clear all outstanding backlogs, and publish a suburb-by-suburb recovery plan.

Also read: Johannesburg residents continue to face refuse collection delays

In response, Anthony Selepe, spokesperson of Pikitup, said that, until yesterday, a group of anti-workers had been intimidating employees, prompting the city to enlist law enforcement to deal with the violent individuals.

“As of today, there are no longer any delays caused by blocked depot gates, and our teams are now focusing on clearing the refuse collection backlog. By Monday next week, we expect to have made progress in addressing the backlog.

“As for those individuals, they want to be employed by Pikitup because they are casual workers and contracted via our contractors.

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We have a hiring procedure in the city, but that process is currently on hold for more workers because of budget constraints.”

Reddy said residents have until 17:00 on August 10 to add their names.

The petition is expected to be formally submitted on August 11, together with supporting evidence including photographs, records of missed collections, and, where available, proof of private refuse removal costs.

This is the link to the petition: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfG0Af2mhWOrU1B-aWq6SaIkDQGMVWSeLKGWQT3embhWtY1FA/viewform

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