ANNA COX
THE RUBBISH police are soon to strike Joburg residents who refuse to recycle.
The City of Joburg and Pikitup, concerned at the low response to a pilot recycling project in the north-western suburbs of Joburg, are drafting a set of stringent new by-laws to ensure compliance, which at present is at a low 20 percent of the 35 000 targeted households.
The pilot project started last year, when Pikitup decided it had to recycle at least 15 percent of the waste it collects.
This is being done to reduce the amount of waste being sent to landfill sites, which are slowly filling up. If these fill up, new ones will have to created, at great cost.
The pilot project at Waterval is recycling only 7 percent of total waste collected, or about 290 tons, as opposed to the 15 percent target from the Waterfal area. The rest is still being disposed of at landfill sites.
Despite this, the project is to be extended to a further 56 000 properties, including townhouses and businesses.
Roelf de Beer, manager of Pikitup’s Separation at Source project, says although Pikitup’s take-up is only 20 percent, they reckon this is an acceptable initial figure for a pilot project.
However, he warns that new by-laws are being drawn up to enforce recycling.
These should be completed by the end of the year. The imposition of fines, the amount of which will be agreed to with magistrates, will be stringent, he said, and will probably start next year.
“In terms of numerous national waste laws, Pikitup is has an obligation to divert general waste away from landfill sites through waste minimisation and recycling initiatives.
“We cannot afford not to recycle. Once the landfill sites fill up, we will be in for huge costs involving the transport of the waste to other sites that will have to be established on the outskirts of the city. It will work out to be a lot more expensive, let alone the environmental implications,” De Beer said.
The participation in the Waterfal project increased from 4 318 in November 2009 to 6 640 last month, he added.
Participation is high in middle- to high-income areas and lower in the low-income and informal areas, despite on-going education campaigns.
De Beer said the main problems were that in poorer areas, reclaimers were collecting recyclable waste before the trucks arrived and there was no enforcement by the metro police in that regard. Others were lack of understanding and ownership of the process.
He said the lack of garden-site capacity to handle recyclables for temporary storage was yet another problem.
The recycling project will be extended to 200 000 households in the Randburg, Selby, Southdale and Roodepoort areas, as budget allows.
Suburbs in the Waterval depot area that are participating include Victory Park, Blairgowrie, Albertville, Greymont, Linden, Montgomery Park, Franklin Roosevelt Park, Melville, Westdene, Sophiatown, Auckland Park, Parktown, Westcliff, Blackheath, Risidale, Fairland, Northcliff, Berario, Emmarentia, Parkview and Greenside.
Suburbs not participating include Newlands, Claremont, Mayfair, Crosby, Westbury, Coronationville, Langlaagte, Homestead Park, Brixton, Riverlea, Newclare and Bosmont.
The regional manager of the Waterval depot, Rochelle Ludick, said education was key to arriving at a paradigm shift, as residents needed information to change their behaviour.
“Education needs to be available at every level, starting with schoolchildren, who will educate the community.
“There has been a gradual decrease in the overall monthly tonnage of waste from the Waterval depot during the duration of the project, which illustrates that the residents are participating.”
A great part of the success, she said, will be partnerships with informal collectors who collect the recyclable materials before the contractors do.
“These contractors would need to engage the informal collectors and encourage them to bring the recyclable waste they collect to a central collection point where they can be remunerated,” said Ludick.
At present, the informal sector is not included in the separation-at-source process.
Residents will receive an additional wheelie bin with a green lid for garden refuse. In addition, they will be given a clear plastic bag for tins and glass, and an orange bag for paper and cardboard.
Pikitup’s four-year target is to recycle 160 000 tons of waste.