The City of Cape Town’s Solid Waste Management Department has welcomed the arrival of 37 new waste removal trucks, which will relieve pressure on the older, existing fleet and help to improve service delivery.
“I am very glad that these new trucks have been added to our fleet, because the City has had difficulties in maintaining the waste collection schedules due to the age of the existing fleet, with some trucks as old as 16 years. I trust that the new vehicles will assist us in improving service delivery even further,” said the City’s Mayoral Committee Member for Utility Services, Councillor Shehaam Sims.
A total of 53 vehicles were ordered and the remaining 16 trucks are expected to arrive from overseas suppliers by the end of June 2012.
Despite the new additions, at a cost of over R100 million, it must be borne in mind that collection operations can only stabilise once trucks procured in the next financial year have been delivered. This will bring the fleet in line with normal operational standards. To that end, R65 million has been set aside for the compactors and an additional
R29,2 million for other vehicles and plant requirements. Depending on the Rand/Dollar exchange rate, it is planned to order 29 compactors in the next financial year.
Vehicle break-downs have become increasingly problematic and costly, with between 40 and 60 vehicles breaking down on any given day.
“The new trucks are under warranty, which will alleviate the burden of repair costs. Of the 53 new vehicles, there are 25 Isuzu Roto Press compactor trucks at R2,2 million each and 28 MAN ‘paddle type’ compactor trucks at R1,6 million each. This brings the total spent on all new vehicles for the Solid Waste Management Department to over R100 million for the 2011/2012 financial year,” said Councillor Sims.
The City’s Fleet Management Policy stipulates that trucks should not be more than seven years old. The new vehicles will be distributed among the four collection areas so that the oldest vehicles are replaced and the average age of the vehicles is consistent in each area. This should significantly reduce the likelihood of breakdowns and thus improve service delivery.
