Latest news with #refusecollection
Yahoo
6 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
City considers picking up commercial trash customers
Aug. 10—WATERTOWN — Some local businesses could soon have their trash picked up by city refuse collection. The city is considering adding commercial trash collection to its residential refuse service that it has offered for decades. Offices and businesses that accumulate small amounts of trash would be added to the city refuse service. The city would not provide refuse collection to restaurants, schools, industries, hospitals, stores or other businesses with large amounts of trash. Brian MacCue, the city's public works superintendent, will make a presentation about city staff's findings about the proposal to the City Council at Monday night's work session. Councilman Benjamin P. Shoen said Saturday that he's "happy" that staff has been looking at adding commercial refuse pickup. "It's a no-brainer," he said. "I don't know why we haven't been doing it." Councilwoman Lisa A. Ruggiero first asked about the feasibility of commercial refuse and recycling during last spring's city budget deliberations. MacCue told council members then that his department would be capable of doing it, Ruggiero said Saturday. The city's refuse collection is a money maker for the city, she said. "It would generate revenue for the city," she said. "It's usually in the black. I'm happy to see it. It's something we can offer to small businesses." She plans to ask some questions Monday night about the proposal, including about pricing and whether recycling will also be part of the expanded service. According to a memo to the council, a refuse committee — consisting of 10 staff members, including three refuse operators — has been looking at ways it can be done. MacCue plans to discuss proposed refuse guidelines, new collection routes, updating curbside pickup and the potential use of the city's totes and stickers system and present a collection map. Public works plans to initiate new more efficient routes in November and increase bonding to purchase two new recycling trucks at a cost of $365,000 each — up from $300,000. The city plans to purchase one refuse truck and the two recycling trucks at a total cost of more than $1 million. Shoen expressed frustration on Saturday that it has taken a year to put together new collection routes after council members requested them in 2024. He also suggested that the city go to a four-day work week for the refuse operation, adding that it could help maintain staff. Residents now pay $6.50 a week, or $84.50 per quarter, for 32-gallon refuse totes, $8.50 weekly, or $110.50 per quarter for 64-gallon refuse totes or $10.50 a week or $136.50 every three months for 96 gallons. They also can participate on an "as needed, pay as you go" basis through $5 refuse stickers that are available at several local businesses. Last year, MacCue suggested ending city trash pickup, citing the cost of purchasing the necessary new trucks. But City Council members decided to keep the service. Solve the daily Crossword
News24
01-08-2025
- Politics
- News24
City of Tshwane's new cleansing levy affecting 200 000 residents declared illegal
Earlier this year, the City of Tshwane adopted a resolution to impose a cleansing levy on several thousand households and businesses. Following court action by AfriForum, the Gauteng High Court in Pretoria declared the levy unlawful. The court was also scathing about the City's conduct in the legal challenge. The City of Tshwane's move to impose what it called a cleansing levy on more than 200 000 residents and 62 000 businesses has been declared illegal by the Gauteng High Court in Pretoria. The cleansing levy adopted by the council earlier this year sought to impose an extra charge on households and businesses that rely on private refuse collection services. In essence, properties that are not rendering refuse services by the City, would still be expected to pay up. The charge, which came into effect on 1 July, was supposedly to assist the City in providing waste management services to all residents. AfriForum took the City to court, arguing that the levy amounted to illegal and unfair double taxation, especially in cases where residents do not benefit from Tshwane's refuse removal services. In a scathing judgment handed down on Thursday, Acting Judge George Avvakoumides declared the cleansing levy unlawful, invalid and of no force and effect, and subsequently set it aside. READ | Tshwane residents face extended power outages due to Waltloo-Njala transmission line The court also ordered the City to credit any residents and businesses that may have already been billed for the levy. 'I am persuaded that the cleansing levy is unlawful for want of compliance with the Constitution and the statutory framework under which the City is obliged to operate,' Avvakoumides said. 'I am furthermore persuaded that the City does not have the power to conduct itself as it intends to and that the intended cleansing levy is irrational because the City's reasons for taxing the public are objectively sustainable.' The court also dismissed the City's argument that 'many' affected residents and businesses' waste is ultimately delivered to the City's facilities for processing and management. 'The City contends that many of the ratepayers to be affected by the cleansing levy do receive service from the City in respect of waste collection into bins and the collection of transportation of bins to waste management sites. Given the fact that there are thousands of residents and businesses involved, it is worrisome that the City simply refers to these residents and businesses as 'many of the ratepayers', without identifying such ratepayers and simply making a sweeping comment about the ratepayers receiving a service from the City. Avvakoumides added: 'The City's inability to provide waste management services has caused the public to incur additional expenses and effort to dispose of waste in an alternative and lawful manner.' He was also less than pleased that, during arguments, the City attempted to defend the levy by arguing it was justifiable considering the metro's 2016 tariff policy. However, this policy was never presented to the court. '…The City's opposition to the applicant's case was unmeritorious and its continued and incorrect reliance upon a document which was not before court, and incorrectly relied upon, in the face of incontrovertible evidence of failure to adhere to the principle of legality,' the judge said. 'The City continued vehemently with irrelevant and untenable arguments which did not assist the court in any manner whatsoever. The challenge on the urgency and locus standi of the applicant was disingenuous, given the facts of the application, but the documents annexed to the founding affidavit make it clear that the City had adopted a new Tariff Policy on 29 May 2025, which was not yet promulgated.' He further found that the City had misled the court. 'The disingenuous submission by the City that there is doubt about whether applicant's contentions that private waste services must pay the City for the use of its waste disposal sites and challenging the applicant to provide evidence hereof demonstrates that the City misled the Court. The applicant provided the relevant evidence. The City has failed to provide evidence that members of the public refuse waste removal services that are available and capable of being rendered. Avvakoumides said that given the City's conduct and aim to obfuscate the real issues – compounded by its failure to comply with its own legislation and uploading several hundred irrelevant pages and documents – he had to express his disapproval by considering a punitive cost order.
The Herald
04-07-2025
- General
- The Herald
Council must execute turnaround strategy to make Nelson Mandela Bay clean again
That Nelson Mandela Bay's rubbish fleet is on the verge of collapse is hardly a surprise. You need only look around the city to see the impact of an ineffective refuse collection system. Entire pockets of the city resemble dumpsites. And many of these are found in communities, among people, posing not only a danger but also a health hazard. And while it could be argued that residents themselves are to blame for the mess — and perhaps in some parts of the city that is true — it does not help that the city's ability to collect rubbish is severely impeded for a myriad of reasons. The Herald reported this week on a turnaround strategy report, which was to be tabled before the public health committee on Thursday, that painted a grim picture of the solid waste management and refuse collection sub-directorate. To overhaul its collapsing refuse and waste systems, the municipality needs R1.3bn. Of the municipality's fleet of 50 compactors, a measly 10 remain operational, while 54 are needed for refuse collection for the city. In addition, the report indicates that: The municipality has no side-tipper trucks, flatbed trucks, mechanical sweepers, water tankers or r oll-on/roll-off trucks, meaning the city does not own any equipment for cleaning operations which include the maintenance of 40 public ablution facilities in Gqeberha, Kariega, Despatch and Colchester; The Arlington landfill site in Walmer has an estimated lifespan of two years remaining while Koedoeskloof between Kariega and Despatch has about four years; and Koedoeskloof landfill has become a critical environmental hazard due to years of neglect. Adding to its woes, the sub-directorate is severely understaffed, with 287 funded vacancies — which is almost half of those meant to be employed by the city. And while all this is happening — or not happening — the refuse collection tariff was hiked by 6% as of July 1. So ratepayers are now paying even more for a service that is deteriorating. Every day we read comments about the mess this city has become, with the resounding sentiment being that a city that cannot manage its waste is a city in crisis. And a city in crisis it is, indeed. Our hope is that as many measures as possible from the turnaround strategy report are passed and implemented as soon as possible so we can start to make Nelson Mandela Bay pretty — or at least clean — again. The Herald
