Plett Ratepayers Association Waste Management Report 6th February 2019

Waste Management Report 6th February 2019

  1. Douglas Baartman formally appointed as Municipal Waste Manager from January 2019.
  2. Landfill Site closed to all materials with effect from 15th December 2018, in line with requirements of court order. The Landfill site has been kept closed following the end of the Christmas season and green waste continues to be stored at the Waste Transfer Station, awaiting the procurement of a chipper.  Permission to do this as a temporary measure has been granted by the Department of Environmental Affairs.  The landfill site will remain closed and closure will begin shortly, although permission has been granted by the Department for the site to accept ‘clean soil’ from the building site for a new house in Whalerock.  This soil will be used in the final closure process.  The next meeting of the Landfill Site Monitoring Committee will be held on Wednesday 13th February where the closure plans will be discussed.
  3. Waste Transfer Station was inspected on 21st January with Douglas Baartman and Dave Swart. The general condition of the station was good and there was no backlog of domestic waste.  There had been some accumulation during the holiday season, mainly because waste was accepted from the Knysna Municipality following problems there. The green waste appeared to be under control and there should be sufficient space for two to three months deliveries before space will become an issue.  The ‘bulky waste’ remains a problem and this will not be eliminated until the new regional landfill site comes into operation later this year.
  4. Waste Collection: there were repeated problems during the holiday season, mainly because of a continuing shortage of compactor trucks. At present, the Bitou Municipality owns 5 trucks, one of which is stated to be very old and unreliable.  Three of the remaining four are currently in George awaiting maintenance, while two additional trucks have been hired at a cost of R57000 per month.  There appears to be a persistent problem with the Supply Chain Management system with regard to keeping these trucks repaired and maintained.
  5. Drop-off sites: The adjudication of tenders for the construction and operation of the first drop-off site, adjacent to Old Nick, is currently in progress and construction should start in March.
  6. Recycling: The tender process for a new recycling contract has been unsuccessful as the chosen tender was found to be based on false information. The process is to be repeated.  In the interim, the existing contractor continues to handle the collection of recyclable waste.  The Municipality has decided to remove all the recycling bins located around the town as they were being abused and becoming a public nuisance.  Residents will be required to recycle using the routine collection system.

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