Nelson Mandela Bay’s solid waste management and refuse collection systems are teetering on the edge, with a deteriorating fleet, severe staff shortages and landfills that are near capacity.
Just 10 of the municipality’s fleet of 50 compactors remain operational, while 54 are needed for refuse collection for the city.
This means the municipality leased compactors at a total cost of R50m to keep the streets clean from April to June, according to a June council report.
The city spent R30m to buy seven refuse trucks earlier in 2025.
To overhaul its collapsing refuse and waste systems, it needs R1.3bn.
A turnaround strategy report, due to be tabled before the public health committee on Thursday, paints a grim picture of the solid waste management and refuse collection sub-directorate.
This comes as the municipality is required to submit a revised waste management strategy to the National Treasury.
But the turnaround strategy report shows that the sub-directorate is crippled.
It also reveals that the municipality has no side-tipper trucks, flatbed trucks, mechanical sweepers, water tankers or roll-on/roll-off trucks.
This means 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.
It also has no vehicles to clean up illegal dumpsites.
All this work also has to be contracted out.
The city operates four main landfill sites, but despite the closure of two facilities in Kwazakhele and Kariega during the 1990s, no rehabilitation is being undertaken.
The Arlington landfill site in Walmer has an estimated lifespan of two years remaining while Koedoeskloof between Kariega and Despatch has about four years.
The Koedoeskloof landfill has become a critical environmental hazard due to years of neglect.
The municipality needs R20m to decommission an overfilled liquid waste pond at Koedoeskloof, install proper fencing, and fund extending the landfill’s operational lifespan by an additional 40 years.
Meanwhile, the Arlington landfill suffers from inadequate security measures, leading to serious safety incidents, according to the report.
The smaller drop-off sites are facing challenges due to a lack of funding needed for expansion, upgrades and ongoing maintenance.
The sub-directorate has developed a master plan to address these issues — outlining the construction of new sites, the upkeep of existing ones and facility upgrades to meet regulatory standards.
However, implementation of the plan has been severely hindered by vandalism and theft, along with insufficient money.
The sub-directorate is severely understaffed, with 287 funded vacancies — which is almost half of those meant to be employed by the city.
A further 40 vacancies are unfunded.
This shortage cripples the department’s ability to respond to daily service delivery demands.
The shocking condition of the fleet has been blamed on the metro’s inability to secure a lease for the maintenance for its specialised vehicles.
“As a result, solid waste management has been compelled to hire vehicles from external service providers at premium rates to maintain uninterrupted service delivery,” the report says.
“The sub-directorate does not own any plant or equipment for cleansing operations.
“These include critical services such as clearing of illegal dumping, mechanical street sweeping and ward-based cleaning initiatives.
“Additionally, the limited capital budget available to the municipality for outright vehicle purchases has further constrained the department, leading to increased reliance on external service providers at a higher cost.”
Some of the proposed turnaround improvements in the report include:
- Aligning the city’s fleet with operational needs with a five-year full maintenance lease plan;
- Matching vehicle purchases to an updated business model, including split compactors, various vehicle sizes, cleansing vehicles and specialised equipment;
- Expanding the shift system to reduce overtime and improve fleet use;
- Replacing and procuring Sprico bins for trade services;
- Phasing out the use of wheelie bins due to unsustainable replacement costs;
- Implementing a metro-wide transition to black bag waste collection;
- Establishing recycling partnerships, focusing on low-income areas and high-waste informal businesses; and
- Procuring mechanical sweepers for cleaning in high-traffic areas.
Public health political head Thsonono Buyeye declined to comment as the report had not yet been tabled while public health executive director Sizwe Mvunelwa did not respond to questions by the time of publication.
ACDP councillor Lance Grootboom, a former public health political head, said it made no sense for the city to spend more money hiring trucks rather than buying them.
“Our fleet is sitting at automotive and with items like tyres, gearboxes and engine parts stolen, all under the noses of security guards,” he said.
“We used to have about 30 trucks, but now it’s just 10, hence one has to be suspicious of a syndicate at public health.
“Most of its budget is for salaries and fleet hire.
“Residents are not getting other services because this is eating into our purse.”
ANC councillor Lorna Maseko, who sits on the committee, said it would be best to wait for the report to be tabled before commenting.
DA councillor Mthokozisi Nkosi, who also sits on the committee, said the strategy proposed by the sub-directorate was doomed to fail unless issues at supply chain and fleet management were addressed first.
“The inefficiencies that we have are for things that are not in the control of solid waste; they rely on supply chain and fleet management,” he said.
“The sub-directorate had to find money last year to replenish its budget because there was a threat that services would halt. For that money we could easily buy refuse compactor trucks.
“This has become something that is almost by design where the department is putting millions of rand into a black hole but the city is not becoming any cleaner.
“We all agree that the department is underfunded but how can we at this point not be able to fix the inefficiencies, like the criminal elements at the depots?”
Gelvandale and Helenvale’s Ward 13 councillor, Ingrid van Wyk, said in the past financial year there had been several times when refuse had not been collected due to service providers not being paid.
“But there is a lack of communication from the metro which means we cannot tell residents not to put out their rubbish the next day,” she said.
She said depots did not have enough resources to manage illegal dumping.
“Skips were supposed to have been placed on Gail Road behind the clinic so that we could clean up because the contract that dealt with bulk cleanups came to an end.
“We currently do not have resources to clean illegal dumpsites, and driving through Gail Road is horrible.”
KwaNobuhle’s Ward 42 councillor, Lulama Ngwane, said he had been informed by waste management that services to clear illegal dumping areas would only resume in July with the new budget.
“I have not had complaints from residents about non-collection.
“However, the illegal dumpsites are out of control and they have not been cleared for months,” he said.
Motherwell’s Ward 59 councillor, Bulelani Matenjwa, said despite a campaign which had been driven by the mayor at the beginning of the year to keep the township clean, the situation was worse.
“The metro is doing what it can at this point. We also need residents to play their part because most of the problems come from illegal dumping,” he said.
From July 1, the refuse collection tariff was hiked by 6%.
But according to the report, the municipality is diverting revenue from water and rates to subsidise refuse collection.
The Herald
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