Recycling bags case d ismissed

AN ATTEMPT to “improve” the ethekwini Municipality’s orange bag recycling programme was dealt a blow in the Durban High Court this week.

The award-winning programme which was introduced over a decade ago as an initiative to promote recycling and to reduce waste at landfills.

However, it has been plagued by problems, including claims of fraud and corruption which forced the municipality to stop it at one stage.

A forensic investigation into the awarding of a contract for R90 million to supply orange recycling bags to the city found that the tender process was fraught with irregularities.

The contract was given to a company which lacked experience and technical knowledge.

Five recycling companies, Pat Recycling, Power Rush Trading 209, Best to Recycle, Silver Jupiter Investments and KZN Fresh, who were responsible for the supply and collection of orange bags to residents took the municipality to court in a bid to get more plastic and fuel subsidies.

The companies, which have been part of the programme since its inception, supply and collect the recycling bags free of charge. They then sell the recyclables.

In the court papers, they alleged that the municipality had stopped subsidising the programme and reduced the quantity of orange and clear bags supplied to residents.

As a result, the programme has been hampered with many residents not receiving the orange bags.

In their court application, they wanted the municipality to increase the quantity of orange bags so they could be supplied to every household across Durban.

They also wanted the municipality to reinstate a fuel subsidy to sustain their businesses and ensure the smooth running of the programme.

But Judge Anton van Zyl dismissed the application on Friday.

He said although the companies had worked and co-operated with the municipality over a long period to establish and promote the success of the recycling initiative, there were no compelling reasons to subsidise them at the cost of ratepayers.

Anand Nepaul, who represented the companies, said they were disappointed by the judgment.

“There has been a public outcry about the supply and collection of orange and clear bags. We believe that it is an injustice to ratepayers who are charged for these services, but they (are) not getting it.”

Responding to the programmes’ challenges, Raymond Rampersad, head of Durban Solid Waste, admitted that the municipality was experiencing problems with the procurement of plastic bags.

Rampersad said this was a result of fraud and corruption related to the company that was given a three-year contract to supply the plastic which had no expertise.

“There is a clean-up process and by the end of April, a tender will go out to appoint the new contractor to supply the plastics.” he said.