The City of Cape Town’s cleansing teams are constantly hard at work addressing high volumes of littering and illegal dumping in Cape Town. This work helps reduce the possibility of stormwater blockages that lead to flooding due to rainy weather. The City is happy to report that more than 250 000 tonnes of litter and illegal dumping were removed from City streets between 1 July 2021 and 30 April 2022.
In total, over 13 000kms of street surface was cleaned, 4200 km of which was done by the Expanded Public Works Programme (EPWP) appointees for the City’s winter readiness programme. In addition, since January 2022, more than 1950kms of road surface was mechanically swept.
Intensified efforts to remove littering and dumped waste that could contribute to stormwater blockages have been continuing since May with the rollout of additional resources as part of the Winter Readiness programme. This has involved an appointment of 840 EPWP workers, as well as a further 1160 focusing specifically on 21 dumping hotspots throughout the City.
These services improve the general state of our communities and turn Cape Town into a place where residents can live healthily, the work helps to prevent stormwater blockages as well as the flooding and disruption this causes.
‘It is very important to try and raise awareness of all the lesser-known consequences of littering and dumping. Many residents don’t understand the link between these actions and flooding of our communities and busy roads. The City is doing its part to try and prevent this problem, but currently, there is just too much littering and dumping.
‘Please keep in mind that when you drop that packet or stompie on the street, the next rainfall will wash that into the drain where it will either flow out to our wetlands or the sea, or it will cause a blockage that could flood a road or people’s homes. Rather keep the waste on you until you can find a bin,’ said Mayoral Committee Member for Urban Waste Management, Alderman Grant Twigg.
To report illegal dumping and/or if you have the culprit’s vehicle registration number and/or can identify him/her please contact the following channels.
· Telephone: 021 444 6231/ 021 444 6224 / 021 444 6223
· Email: solidwaste.bylaw@capetown.gov.za.
To notify the City about dumping that needs to be cleared please, call 0860 103 089.
Residents are also reminded that if refuse is not collected on the scheduled day, please take the bin out each day until it is collected.
