Councillor raises concerns over refuse site struggles again
“The City should also consider expanding the site to cater for all the new developments in the area to reduce waiting times for residents,” said Foley.
The Kyalami community is once again facing disruptions at the Kyalami Garden Refuse Site, as increasing volumes of garden waste continue to place the facility under pressure.
Ward 94 councillor David Foley, who has been monitoring the situation, said the site has struggled with operational challenges for some time, with demand outweighing capacity and causing long waits for residents to offload refuse. According to Foley, one of the main issues is the shortage of compactors.
“There is a constant challenge with the lack of compactors to take the garden refuse to the landfill dump, combined with the volume of residents and businesses using the facility, as some of the nearby sites remain closed,” he explained.
Read more: Kyalami garden refuse site continues to buckle under pressure
The closure of nearby sites has raised concerns among residents, particularly after Pikitup spokesperson Anthony Selepe told the Midrand Reporter in May that all neighbouring garden refuse sites had resumed operations.
Foley said he has remained in regular contact with Pikitup and understands that employees at the facility are working under difficult conditions.
“I have engaged extensively with Pikitup. The site supervisor is constrained by the limited availability of compactors needed to remove the continuous flow of garden refuse. Both the regional manager and depot manager are aware of the challenges.”
He added that the operational difficulties have inconvenienced many residents, who often arrive to find the gates temporarily closed while waste is cleared, or the site shut for the remainder of the day.
Also read: Pikitup addresses three-day Kyalami Garden Refuse Site shutdown
Despite the ongoing problems, Foley commended staff at the facility for managing the situation as best they can.
He believes the immediate priority should be to increase the availability of compactors and ensure surrounding garden refuse sites are fully operational to reduce pressure on Kyalami.
The Midrand Reporter reached out to Pikitup spokesperson Muzi Mkhwanazi on July 28 and followed up on July 29. Mkhwanazi confirmed receipt of the enquiry and said he was awaiting feedback from the operations team.
A follow–up call was made to both Mkhwanazi and Selepe on August 3, but neither could be reached. Despite repeated attempts, no response had been received by the time of publication.
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