CITY residents whose waste has not been collected have been urged to refrain from emptying their bins illegally but to wait for collection which will come.
Some residents, irritated by delays in the collection rotation have taken to dumping illegally along the roads, in open fields or outside municipal dump sites.
The unsightly dumping comes in the week the country marks Clean-Up and Recycle SA Week culminating in National Recycling Day on Friday.
The delays in normal collection in the capital come in the wake of disagreements between the City and waste collectors, and a problem with a tender for waste removal trucks.
Searching for recyclable materials in the rubbish piled up outside the Rooihuiskraal dump site, recyclers said they could dig into the piles disposed of over the weekend.
The City's head administrator, Mpho Nawa, has pleaded with residents to refrain from the illegal practice, and warned contractors blocking landfill sites with rubble that the City will take harsh action against them.
Nawa said the City understood the frustration of residents whose waste had not been collected, but taking the law into their own hands constituted an infringement of the city by-laws.
He also cautioned certain service providers whose contracts have not been renewed – and have blocked access to certain landfill sites – that they were not entitled to automatic contract extension.
Spokesperson Selby Bokaba said the City has experienced challenges with waste collection in the past two weeks following the expiry of the vehicle lease contract at the end of August.
He said the municipality managed to clear the waste collection backlog in most parts of the capital over the weekend and had gone back to the normal collection schedule with effect from Monday.
Nawa said: “We condemn the behaviour of some residents who have been illegally dumping waste on the roadside and the conduct of some service providers who demand to have their contracts extended.
“We will not be bullied,” he said warning the city would unleash law enforcement to deal with the problem.
Bokaba apologised again to residents for the inconvenience they have endured. He said the schedule was back to normal and residents whose waste has not been collected are urged to report it to the City’s customer care call centre on 012 358 9999 or send an email to [email protected].