Johannesburg faces a waste management crisis as Pikitup struggles with a limited fleet of refuse trucks and ageing infrastructure. Picture: Itumeleng English
Pikitup, Johannesburg's refuse agency, is under significant pressure. Currently, only one-third of its collection trucks are operational, with just 82 out of 223 in working condition; the remaining 141 are either broken down or scrapped.
Last month, Pikitup announced that ageing refuse trucks and delayed payments to service providers were the reasons behind ongoing waste-collection issues in parts of Johannesburg.
Chief Financial Officer Litshani Matsila stated that the entity and the city have not replaced or updated their fleet for some time, resulting in most of their trucks being outdated and no longer productive.
"For quite some time, we as the entity, together with the shareholder, haven't been re-fleeting. So, most of our own trucks are more than 12 years old, so they are no longer productive to be able to operate on the ground, so we rely heavily, almost 100%, on service providers."
