Litter mars Margate
Many street cleaners could be seen, but trash was strewn everywhere.
LITTER and heaps of black bags were left behind after thousands of partygoers welcomed the New Year in on Margate beach last week.
Two days later, the streets and beachfront of Margate were still strewn with filthy litter.
The Herald fielded calls from business and restaurant owners who were disturbed by the unpleasant sight of the dirty streets and the strong stench of urine.
It was also reported that holidaymakers did not want to go to the beach as it was strewn with broken bottles.
Margate was however, looking a lot cleaner by Friday afternoon, except for William O’Connor Drive, which still had piles of refuse bags waiting to be removed.
A business owner said street cleaners were often seen walking through the streets, swinging their brooms with empty packets, while rubbish lay strewn everywhere.
A number of customers commented that they would not be coming back to Margate.
One said that there was no supervision of street cleaners. One restaurant owner said that she had allowed holidaymakers to use the restaurant toilets as there weren’t any decent ones at the beach.
“We didn’t want to chase holidaymakers away and they were very polite,” she said.
A business owner felt that ratepayers were paying for cleaners who were sitting around doing nothing.
Others complained that there were not enough dustbins at beachfronts from Hibberdene to Margate.
In response, Hibiscus Coast Municipality spokesman, Simon Soboyisa said 135 cleaners were employed to clean the areas from St Michael’s to Port Edward on January 1 and 2.
“The Margate area was allocated 42 staff for the beach and CBD areas. Refuse bags were removed continuously and if a complaint was received about the non-removal of bags, these complaints were attended to immediately,” he said.
Mr Soboyisa said cleaners worked day and night shifts in Margate.
Furthermore, the municipality attended to the dirt in the all critical areas during the festive season, and especially the beachfront, to get rid of the grease and urine smells.
“Plans are under way to wash the pavements in the CBD area at least once a month,” he added.
Mr Soboyisa confirmed that the staff did remove all visible bottles and glasses. However, he said, as noted in previous years, these bottles were buried in the sand and only once exposed could they be picked up.
“The issue of supervision is noted and is currently being addressed by training of the supervisors to ensure that council obtains maximum productivity from its staff,” he said.
Mr Soboyisa said an additional 20 wheelie bins were placed in Margate, but said it was surprising to find more rubbish outside the bins than inside.
Margate allocated 20 portable toilets for the peak period. “Council takes note of the concerns raised and will bear this in mind for future seasons,” he said.
