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Open Letter to Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality Waste Management

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Dear MyPE

I support WESSA’s initiative in organising these clean ups and whenever I am in Port Elizabeth on beach clean-up days, I join in.

But this is also a source of great irritation to me.

Most areas of Port Elizabeth resemble rubbish dumps.

You, Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality (NMBM) waste management have accepted that it is all right for private groups to do the job that we are paying you to do.

We pay rates to the municipality and taxes.

I live in Richmond Hill, when in Port Elizabeth.

Richmond Hill is a Special Rates Areas (SRA) where property owners pay an additional ± 15% of our municipal rates for a company to perform some of the duties that the NMBM is already paid to do. This payment is in addition to what we are already paying you NMBM in rates.

It is interesting that on the “Zero Tolerance” signs that NMBM has put up, there is no mention of littering. Does this mean that the bylaw providing for a fine of R2000 for littering is not being enforced?

Apart from littering and illegal dumping, what laws are you enforcing to support your “Zero Tolerance” campaign?

In my view, if you NMBM, choose not to enforce your own by-laws, then arrange to have cleaners on site to pick up the garbage as it is dispersed by the individuals who regularly litter these areas. Areas that are well known.

I understand why we are cleaning these areas and I admire groups like WESSA who organise these clean ups.

I am grateful for all those who join in and clean up. For if we don’t do it, it will end up in the sea.

If we continue doing your work, you will be happy to do less and less.

This is apparent by the litter lying around in areas of Port Elizabeth, where private individuals are not cleaning up.

I, for one, am fed up!

Yours sincerely,

Charlie

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Port Elizabethan

This author is a 'catch-all' for occasional articles and letters written to MyPE. The Author of each article can be found in the signature at the bottom of each individual article.