Refuse removal has been the root cause for a fair amount of frustration among home and business owners. Heaps of rubbish bags lying forgotten in some streets have become a common sight in Estcourt.
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This irked a Balsam Street resident last week, so much so that she has referred to it as her ‘biggest fear coming true.’ Anticipating regular refuse removal last week, the resident placed her refuse bags outside her home.
“For the past five weeks I have been taking my dirt to the waste skip near the Forderville ground but last week I was told that the truck was picking up. But my greatest fear came true,” explained the resident who declined to be named.
To her horror, municipal staff rounded up refuse bags from the entire street and piled them in front of the resident’s home. She patiently waited for the unsightly bags to be removed but it remained.
On Saturday morning, the resident contacted a reporter from the Estcourt News. The resident was seething, saying that despite her previously requesting that municipal staff not place the entire street’s refuse in front of her yard if they don’t intend removing it, they still do.
“This is so unhygienic and now I am responsible for cleaning up the street’s dirt. This is not fair. We have people who are paid to do this,” she said angrily.
The resident contacted the Ward Councillor and waited patiently for some action but the weekend passed and on Monday morning, her frustration had increased.
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After a report back to the Estcourt News, the resident made a call to the local municipality. Within 30 minutes, Cleansing Manager Hlanganani Hlongwane was in Balsam Street.
The resident explained that municipal staff were tasked to remove the refuse bags and when they left behind a trail of litter, other staff members returned to clean it up.
Relief flooded the resident and she expressed her gratitude to Mr Hlongwane for personally attending to her complaint.
The resident’s concerns and questions were sent to Inkosi Langalibalele Local Municipality’s Communication Department for comment; however no response was received.
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