Garden service and rubble removal small business owners are having to lay off staff and raise their rates because they are being forced to drive long distances or pay a private tip to dispose of their loads.They said that following the closure of the Stoney Drift transfer site after a fire a few weeks ago, they had no option but to use the distant Roundhill landfill site in Berlin or pay R25 per ton at the privately owned Rieger’s dumpsite in Gonubie.
Speaking to the Saturday Dispatch at the municipality-run Beacon Bay garden refuse transfer site, they said the tip and the access road leading to it had been overflowing until last week.
In the last few days, a BCM front-end loader had pushed the waste into surrounding bush, exposing a large open space.
However, Collect A Drum owner Justin Weare said commercial operators were limited to just one offload a day at Beacon Bay. He said he had been forced to lay off an employee last week and was reluctantly considering raising his rates.
“I can’t afford to drive to Berlin. It’s also a time issue. Even if I increase my rates by R20 a month, I would not cover my costs because of the extra time it would take.”
Higher costs associated with driving to Roundhill and dumping at Rieger’s, led Theo’s Garden and Maintenance Service owner to cut his labour force from seven to five.
DA councillor Marion Mackley said a group of small businesses had made a proposal to BCM’s solid waste department to use the railway goods sheds in Cambridge as a well-controlled refuse transfer station.
“Rubbish could be sorted for recycling and sent to Roundhill by train, but the proposal was met with a deafening silence.”
Mackley said similarly to the Stoney Drift site, the environmental licence for the Beacon Bay transfer site had expired in 2013, meaning it could close at any time.
BCM spokesman Thandy Matebese said following the closure of Stoney Drift, garden services owners could use the Beacon Bay transfer site.
lGonubie residents wishing to use the garden refuse tip at Rieger’s farm on the Gonubie Main Road, should bring proof of residence to the Rieger’s office at the farm.
lMeanwhile yesterday, Gonubie residents gathered against BCM for the non-collection of their refuse and dumped their rubbish outside the metro’s office in the leafy suburb. — barbarah@dispatch.co.za
Rubbish piles up after Stoney Drift closed
They said that following the closure of the Stoney Drift transfer site after a fire a few weeks ago, they had no option but to use the distant Roundhill landfill site in Berlin or pay R25 per ton at the privately owned Rieger’s dumpsite in Gonubie.
Speaking to the Saturday Dispatch at the municipality-run Beacon Bay garden refuse transfer site, they said the tip and the access road leading to it had been overflowing until last week.
In the last few days, a BCM front-end loader had pushed the waste into surrounding bush, exposing a large open space.
However, Collect A Drum owner Justin Weare said commercial operators were limited to just one offload a day at Beacon Bay. He said he had been forced to lay off an employee last week and was reluctantly considering raising his rates.
“I can’t afford to drive to Berlin. It’s also a time issue. Even if I increase my rates by R20 a month, I would not cover my costs because of the extra time it would take.”
Higher costs associated with driving to Roundhill and dumping at Rieger’s, led Theo’s Garden and Maintenance Service owner to cut his labour force from seven to five.
DA councillor Marion Mackley said a group of small businesses had made a proposal to BCM’s solid waste department to use the railway goods sheds in Cambridge as a well-controlled refuse transfer station.
“Rubbish could be sorted for recycling and sent to Roundhill by train, but the proposal was met with a deafening silence.”
Mackley said similarly to the Stoney Drift site, the environmental licence for the Beacon Bay transfer site had expired in 2013, meaning it could close at any time.
BCM spokesman Thandy Matebese said following the closure of Stoney Drift, garden services owners could use the Beacon Bay transfer site.
lGonubie residents wishing to use the garden refuse tip at Rieger’s farm on the Gonubie Main Road, should bring proof of residence to the Rieger’s office at the farm.
lMeanwhile yesterday, Gonubie residents gathered against BCM for the non-collection of their refuse and dumped their rubbish outside the metro’s office in the leafy suburb. — barbarah@dispatch.co.za
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