New blue and green bag service provider starts Monday
Following seven frustrating months without a recycling contractor, a new service provider, LGE Waste, will start with the collection of green and blue bags on Monday 1 March 2021.
George Acting Director Community Services Allen Paulse said the municipality was relieved to make an appointment after the previous service provider Interwaste had closed its regional offices in George and ended its contract with the municipality in July last year.
“The municipality has been trying to provide the service in addition to its own schedule since September 2020, which we acknowledge has had mixed success due to factors such as unprotected strikes, diminished availability of staff due to Covid-19, limited overtime budget to address backlogs and increased workload associated with three types of bags instead of just black bags.
“We look forward to working with LGE Waste and believe that together we can work towards sustainable, integrated waste management for the entire municipal area,” said Mr Paulse.
The new service provider takes up the service as per the previous schedule and will be collecting green and blue bags from Monday (1 March 2021) from all areas that have a recent history of recycling. These include most suburbs of George – incorporating more recent participating areas Ballotsview, Borcherds, Conville, New Dawn Park, Delville Park, Pacaltsdorp, Parkdene, Protea Park, Rosemore and Sea View – as well as the outer areas of Wilderness, Kleinkrantz, Hoekwil, Victoria Bay and Herolds Bay.
Two green and two blue replacement bags will be issued to every household in the above-mentioned areas this coming week and thereafter to households in exchange for bags placed out.
Implementation in Harlem and Uniondale is currently being investigated to ensure the most effective service, details of which will be announced to the affected communities as soon as arrangements have been finalised.
Service to Lawaaikamp and Thembalethu will, for now, be handled on request via the ward councillor or office numbers as listed below. The municipality and service provider hope to commence awareness campaigns in these areas as soon as Covid-19 restrictions allow, with the intent to roll out a more extensive service as more households participate.
Residents can put out four green bags and unlimited number of blue bags together with up to seven black bags on their scheduled removal day. Blue and green bags will be collected on the same day as black bags, but by different vehicles.
“While we expect the switch-over to go relatively smoothly from the first round, we appeal to residents to remain patient a little while longer should there be any hiccups. We thank residents who have kept the faith with us in these challenging times and hope that others will join our efforts as the service gains momentum once again,” said Mr Paulse.
Households or businesses that are actively recycling and require additional green or blue bags, can collect from George Municipality Environmental Services or LGE Waste (details below).
ENQUIRIES:
Green and blue bags:
LGE Waste
Physical address: 10 Extension Road, Pacaltsdorp Industrial Area. Phone: 044 878 0688 Email: lgewaste@gmail.com
Black bags:
George Municipality Environmental Services
Physical address: 82 Meade Street, George. Phone 044 802 2900