Green waste depots not so green

A tender dispute has disrupted operations at the City of Cape Town’s green waste depots, prompting complaints from small businesses.

The city has 13 depots where residents can drop garden waste. The organic garden waste (green waste) is chipped into smaller pieces, collected and moved it to processing facilities where it is turned into compost.

Reliance Compost has managed some of the city’s green waste drop-off points for 15 years, but its tender ended in February, according to Eddie Redelinghuys, company director. The tender was then awarded to Cocopan and Landfill Consult. Reliance Compost went to court to appeal the tender award, claiming flawed scoring.

In April, the high court ordered the city to reconsider the bids of Reliance Compost and other bidders, Landfill Consult, Cocopan and Khabokedi Waste Management, by May 31, and to award the tender for 36 months.

The court also ordered the city to pay the costs of the appeal.

Cocopan, which managed the Wynberg drop-off facility, had its contract cancelled on June 30. According to mayoral committee member Xanthea Limberg, this was “because the current specifications required amendment to deal with risks of infestation of alien invasive species”.

“The city is evaluating the quotations received to appoint a service provider for the next 12 months,” Limberg said in July.

But the tender has still not been awarded, according to the contractors. Asked to confirm this, the City of Cape Town has not yet replied.

Meanwhile Redelinghuys claims that none of the city’s dropoff facilities are fully functioning. “They have been a mess since February, when the new contractors took over, and an even bigger one since July 1, with no contractors on site,” he said.

Several business owners at Wynberg drop-off facility complained. Francois Krige, owner of Krige Tree Services, claimed the city has dumped the material at landfill sites.

“The bottom line is that they don’t want the material. It’s a headache for them because the good system they had put in place has collapsed,” he said.

Krige said he could not supply customers with quotes for refuse removal if he did not know how much fuel he would have to use to dispose of the material he cuts.

Republished from Groundup. org.za

The current specifications required amendment to deal with risks of infestation of alien invasive species.