Joburg waste collection crisis deepens, with Pikitup and DA at odds over cause

The Johannesburg waste collection agency Pikitup’s services have been disrupted for over a week after protest action by residents from Zandspruit, Cosmo City, Kya Sands and the Malatjie informal settlement. Residents launched a protest at Pikitup’s Randburg Depot on 3 March, disrupting collection services to demand permanent employment.

Pikitup stated on its official X account that the protesting residents ended their blockade on 6 March, and waste collection resumed. However, in an official statement on Wednesday, 11 March, Pikitup stated that the agency was facing “operational challenges” and “protest-related disruptions” that were affecting waste collection across the city.

According to Pikitup, the protesters blocked access to the Randburg Depot, preventing staff and equipment from leaving the premises.

On Tuesday, 10 March, a video filmed by an unnamed source was posted to a social media account that appears to be affiliated with Helen Zille’s campaign as the DA’s mayoral candidate for Johannesburg.

The video shows someone driving through Cosmo City, where rubbish is strewn across the streets. “These are Pikitup workers who are very angry. They are closing the road. They are throwing rubbish in the streets,” the man recording the video says.

However, Johannesburg’s MMC for environment and infrastructure services, Jack Sekwaila, denied the allegations in a statement issued on Tuesday, 10 March, stating that Pikitup employees were not on strike and calling the allegations “false information”.

“A video posted on TikTok by Democratic Alliance leader Helen Zille falsely claims that Pikitup employees are on strike. This statement is misleading and false. We urge residents to ignore the content of that video,” the statement read.

A later statement published on the same day claimed: “Reports and videos circulating online suggesting that Pikitup workers are responsible for the littering are misleading. The employees of Pikitup have continued to perform their duties and are not involved in the deliberate thrashing of waste in the streets of Cosmo City,” the statement said.

‘Pay dispute’

The DA, however, has alleged since the weekend that Pikitup workers are on strike. On Sunday, 8 March, Zille posted a video on her Facebook account showing a waste truck being stopped and turned away from the Robinson Deep Landfill site. In the video, Zille claims that the workers are on strike over a pay dispute.

“Refuse collection will be affected, and increased illegal dumping is expected this week. Once again, poor governance at Pikitup leaves the residents of Joburg to bear the consequences,” says the caption of the video.

The DA’s shadow MMC for infrastructure services, Tyrell Meyers, claimed that trucks were turned away due to issues related to a dispute in payments.

“Upon entering the site on Saturday, a lady, said to be a manager, was leaving the site, [and] ... confirmed it is related to payments. As a result, the site is now closed. [The] MMC did convene a meeting this afternoon, waiting for feedback, but, yes, councillors [are] reporting refuse piling up in parts of the city. The only trucks currently operating are those on contract,” said Meyers.

When asked for comment on the alleged payment issues, Pikitup released a statement on 11 March saying the agency was experiencing “operational challenges” without clarifying the cause.

“Certain waste collection services are not being completed according to schedule, while street sweeping and waste disposal operations have also been affected in certain areas. These disruptions are primarily linked to limited landfill availability, with only Goudkoppies and Robinson Deep landfill sites currently fully operational,” said Pikitup spokesperson Anthony Selepe.

He added that the Marie Louise and Ennerdale landfill sites were only accepting clean builders’ rubble and soil.

“As a result, a significant number of compactor trucks have been redirected to the Goudkoppies and Robinson Deep landfill sites, resulting in congestion and extended turnaround times. Northern depots, including Randburg, Midrand, Marlboro and Norwood, are currently disposing of waste at these facilities, which may lead to incomplete collection rounds and temporary service delays in some areas.”

The agency has since said that it has engaged in clean-up operations around Cosmo City. But as of 11 March, all 20 routes serviced by the Roodeport Depot and five routes serviced by the Orange Farm Depot had not had waste collection services since Tuesday. DM