President Park resident, Sharon Garson is fed up with the stench of rubbish collected late or not at all by Pikitup for the past three months.
Pikitup is supposed to collect the suburb’s rubbish on Wednesdays. However, Garson alleges that for the past three months rubbish has been collected on Thursdays or Fridays and sometimes, it is not collected at all.
She said part of the problem residents are experiencing is that they have to take their dustbins to the top of the road and, as a result, there is no control over who digs in the bins, leading to piles of rubbish lying around every week.
“The dustbins are not being collected on a Wednesday. The longer they are left out the bigger the mess. My dustbin has been stolen twice in four months, not to mention how many times it was stolen last year,” she said.
Spokesperson for Pikitup Muzi Mkhwanazi said rubbish has been collected as per the schedule. Adding that although there could be operational challenges, it is not entirely true that the area has not been serviced for a month or more. He, however, admitted that rubbish is collected on Thursdays on some occasions.
“Furthermore, delays are communicated to residents via the regional visible service delivery group and ward councillors who are part of the group inform residents about the delays. In addition, residents are informed about delays through the residential WhatsApp group,” he said.
Garson added that as they no longer have dustbins, they have to put plastic bags at the top of the road. The bags are emptied out by recyclers who use them to carry their goods. “The mess is just horrendous. I called to purchase yet another dustbin and was told that there is a shortage of dustbins and that they couldn’t help me. I called Pikitup, once again, and was told that they don’t have trucks. The trucks have broken down, they also don’t have dustbins or gloves,” she added.
Garson explained that each time a dustbin gets stolen she has to pay R500 for a replacement and despite paying rates and taxes every month, she is not receiving the service she is paying for.
Mkhwanazi revealed that the bin shortage issue has been resolved, adding that the replacement of a stolen bin is free. “Residents are advised to report missing bins to the Pikitup call centre and they will be issued with a reference number. The reference number will be forwarded to an office closest to resident – in this case, the Midrand depot – after which the resident will be contacted and the bin delivered,” he concluded.
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