In a public notice, Municipal Manager Mandla Mnguni says, “It has come to the attention of the municipality that some businesses are not complying with the municipal by-laws, especially in terms of storage and the disposal of general waste.”

The municipality discovered that some businesses do not have waste disposal facilities to dispose of their waste on a daily basis, as a result thereof they utilise street refuse bins on sidewalks that are meant for pedestrians.

There is also a growing tendency by some businesses, especially commercial service providers, to dispose of waste in open fields or public open spaces instead of using the municipal landfill site.

It should be noted that all commercial waste collection service providers must have a valid scheduled activity permit granted by the municipality.
Furthermore, all businesses that utilise commercial waste collection services must notify the municipality regarding such services.

It is an offence in terms of the by-laws not to adhere to the Municipal Solid Waste Management By-laws, Mr Mnguni says.

Illegal dumping is a huge problem in Middelburg, and during last Tuesday’s council sitting, Mayor Mhlonishwa Masilela again said that measures would be taken to pick up black plastic bags from residences where overflow waste cannot fit into the green wheelie bins.

He, however, reiterated that specialised waste collection trucks can only pick up wheelie bins.

Municipal Manager Mr Mandla Mnguni added that according to national legislation, all municipalities now have to conform to safer wheelie bin and recycling waste collection systems.
According to Mr Mnguni, a municipal waste collector was seriously wounded by a needle contained in a bag recently, resulting in a devastating injury.

More and more businesses are, however, also dumping to sidestep municipal waste collection tariffs, which fluctuate depending on the size of the containers.

Law enforcement officers have been tasked with prioritising illegal dumping, with more than 120 fines issued last month.