Pikitup services return following labour disputes

PIKITUP will start collecting waste again at all impacted depots, including Randburg, following recent disruptions that left locals buried beneath uncollected trash and at risk for health problems.

- MASABATA MKWANANZI [e-mail]

PIKITUP resumes waste collection at affected depots, MMC apologises to residents.

(TIRO RAMATLHATSE Independent Newspapers Archives)

Following these disruptions, the Democratic Alliance (DA) warned that Johannesburg's waste management system is in crisis. Casual worker industrial action blocked trucks from leaving depots, leaving residents with uncollected refuse and forcing many to resort to illegal dumping, creating serious public health and environmental hazards.

"The ANC-EFF-PA-led administration's failure to pay service providers has brought waste management operations to the brink of collapse," said DA spokesperson Tyrell Meyers.

Two of the city's four active landfill sites remain closed, while many others are full or permanently shut, compounding the problem.