RESIDENTS of Old Pumula suburb have raised concern over ineffective waste management by Bulawayo City Council (BCC).
They accused the local authority of selectively collecting waste in their area.
In an interview with Southern Eye this week, Bulawayo Progressive Residents Association secretary for administration Thabani Ndlovu said Square A area, because of its proximity to a bush, had been turned into a dumpsite since garbage collection was inconsistent.
Ndlovu said garbage like broken furniture was being left behind by council waste collectors.
“We want to urge the BCC Department of health to adjust the time refuse collection trucks come as usually they come too early in the morning while residents are still asleep,” he said.
He said mounds of garbage in Old Pumula were now an eyesore posing a health hazard to the residents.
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“As the residents association, we have tried to engage the residents to make the environment safe and educate them about wanton disposal of waste,” he said.
Ward 19 councillor Lazarus Mphandwe said council deployed a refuse collection team every Wednesday to Old Pumula.
“The illegal dumpsite within the area does exist. I have tried to engage residents to stop dumping waste in undesignated areas as it leads to outbreaks of diseases,” he said.
Mphandwe said he had also asked BCC to hold a clean-up campaign today as he hoped to make the Old Pumula environment clean and free from health hazards.
“The BCC has been trying its best in terms of refuse collection, but some residents have been failing to comply, hence the illegal dumping of waste which degrades the environment,” he said.
Mphandwe said the problem of illegal dumping in Old Pumula was also affecting the residents of the nearby ward 17.