The City of Cape Town’s Urban Waste Management Directorate says it is working on contingencies to ensure that garbage is collected as soon as possible. Refuse collection services have been delayed this week, following inclement weather.

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In a statement, the Directorate informed residents that flooding has severely impacted the movement of garbage collection vehicles, leading to backlogs.

“Residents are advised that refuse collection delays are expected for the rest of the week due to flooding,” the statement read.

Despite the challenges, the City assured residents that delays generally do not go beyond a single day.

However, the Directorate has advised that if the backlog is not cleared by close of business on Friday, it will continue collections over the weekend.

Residents are encouraged to leave their bins out for collection until the service is completed.

“We ask residents to bear with us during this challenging time.”

Meanwhile, the flooding has also led to the temporary closure of the Schaapkraal waste drop-off site.

The Directorate has urged residents to keep their garbage until the site reopens or use alternative drop-off sites, the locations of which can be found on the City’s website.

Tackling illegal dumping

From 1 September, the City will embark on a six-month pilot project to manage illegal dumping. The project will take place in Du Noon, and will see garbage collection increased to three times a week, as opposed to once.

Mayoral Committee Member for Urban Waste Management, Grant Twigg, says the increase in service frequency is designed to address this issue by ensuring that waste generated by the numerous households sharing properties is adequately managed.

The initiative aims to reduce illegal dumping and improve environmental conditions in areas where population density is extremely high. The Directorate has identified Dunoon as the most apt case study for the project.

Twigg called on all Dunoon residents to adhere to the new collection schedule and to avoid illegal dumping.

“Over the next six months, we need all residents in Dunoon to help us tackle illegal dumping in their area by only using the City’s increased refuse collection service instead of littering or illegally dumping their waste.  City teams will closely monitor the progress of this pilot project over the next six months and look forward to seeing the results. Everyone has a part to play in keeping their area clean, so let’s work together to make a big difference in Dunoon to benefit the community.”

If successful, Twigg says it would consider rolling out increased weekly refuse collection in other areas in Cape Town with similar densification challenges.