As the City of Joburg continues to fight against illegal dumping, Pikitup is now further empowered to clear illegal dumping sites and enforce by-laws like never before.
New tipper trucks were deployed to deal with illegal dumps across the city’s region.
The executive mayor Mpho Phalatse, and MMC for environment and infrastructure services, Michael Sun launched 41 new pikitup tipper truck fleet on Friday, 25 November at Southdale Pikitup Depot.
The unit will solely focus on eradicating illegal dumps. Addressing the audience, Phalatse said the launch reaffirms the Joburg Multi-Party Government’s commitment to repairing and rebuilding the great City on the African continent.
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“We do not take the privilege to lead and the responsibility to deliver services to the residents of the City of Gold for granted. We are here because of the residents, and we must, therefore dedicate all our efforts, and even accelerate our service delivery programmes, to ensuring that Joburg looks and feels better,” said Phalatse.
“The tippers, collectively purchased at a cost of R60-million, will enable us to meaningfully combat illegal dumping and littering across the City’s seven Regions. To highlight the importance of this fleet and the work it is employed and deployed to do. There are, at any given time, approximately 3,000 illegal dumpsites in Joburg, costing the City R80-million per annum to clear, with littering costing the city, R74-million annually. We are working with the Joburg Metro Police Department, “she added.
MMC Sun said that the 41 trucks will help to fight illegal dumping.
“These 41 trucks will help, we will go out to the regions of the city’s cleaning up all illegal dumping areas,” he said.
He also encouraged residents to stop littering and illegal dumping.
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Phalatse said that these illegal dumping sites often happen in the open and often with the ‘blessing’ of people who want to make a quick buck by offering plots of state- and privately-owned land for illegal dumping – at a cost.
Residents see this happening in their communities and bear the environmental consequences of this illicit act, which is not just the dumping of construction or garden waste, but too often we come across medical waste that has been illegally dumped.
