By Nangamso Mabindla
15 February 2007

PLANS are being put in place to clean up Duncan Village – and keep it clean – through a Sustainable Waste Project.

The project, which forms part of the Duncan Village Redevelopment Initiative, is expected to cost R500 000. It is a joint initiative of Buffalo City and its Dutch twin, Leiden and is being funded by Vereniging van Nederlandse Gemeenten.

Before devising a strategy, a team of four municipal officials from Leiden visited Buffalo City to look at ways of improving waste collection and management in Duncan Village.

Together with a local waste management team, the Dutch group also visited Ekurhuleni Metropolitan Municipality in Gauteng to share experiences and learn how that municipality dealt with waste management in its townships.

Jaap Coreens, from the Leiden waste services department, said his team wanted to initiate an awareness campaign on health and environmental issues in Buffalo City. "We also want to have drop-off points to be used by the people of Duncan Village; this will help us keep the area clean."

Talking about the visit to Ekurhuleni, Coreens said the group focused on that metro’s waste services. "We went to Tembisa and looked at how waste was collected in that township. We were impressed with Ekurhuleni and would like to use some of its methods for our project."

However, for the project to succeed, the City needed to get the basics right. "We will have to hold workshops about health and environmental issues. We will also include schools. We want to make sure that all Duncan Village communities - both formal and informal - understand the message," Coreens said.

One of the most important aspects would be drop-off points. "These drop-off points should be accessible by truck; that means that municipal trucks should be able to collect refuse from them. Also, they should be with in walking distance of people using them."

There should be a drop-off point between 75 metres and 125 metres from homes; and they needed to be near the main pedestrian routes through Duncan Village. Each of the 36 drop-off zones needed to service at least 350 households.

"We can use old illegal dumps and sites and build drop-off zones," Coreens said.

It was also necessary for the municipality to have a schedule to collect refuse from the drop-off zones. "The City needs to collect at least twice a week and stick to the disposal schedule; also, these drop-off zones need to monitored."

Buffalo City’s portfolio head for social services, Mankomo Pango, said she was happy that the needs of the Duncan Village community were being taken into consideration.

"If this project succeeds, we need to take it to other areas within Buffalo City so that all areas [can] benefit. It will help us to address waste management issues in other areas of our municipality."