Enviro - Sisonke Project

THE SISONKE PROJECT

In 2006, the Department of Science and Technology (DST) in partnership with the City of Johannesburg and Pikitup, initiated an innovative waste management and service delivery project.

This project was handed over in November 2006 by Pikitup to Kwezi V3 Engineers, who were appointed as the project managers for identifying, tender letting and construction supervision of a pilot project named the underground waste containerisation project. The initial project value was R 4.5 million but this has been increased to R5.5 million which is co-sponsored by the Department of Science and Technology (DST) (R 2.5 million) and PIKITUP (R 3.0 million).

The project was launched ” on Friday 12th October 2007 by the Executive Mayor of the City of Johannesburg, Clr Amos Masondo.

The project provides for :
- A Street Prefect System,
- An Underground Bin System
- A sustainable waste solution in Slovo Park informal settlement.

Lifting of the first bin by the Executive Mayor, Clr Amos Masondo at the launch

The Executive Mayor at one of the new underground bins

The focus of the project is to achieve
- A meaningful contribution towards a clean city.
- An innovative method of waste collection.
- A sustainable solution to waste problems.
- Job creation

Campaign
The project was given a Zulu name “Sisonke“, meaning “Together”.
The name given to the project “Sisonke” together with the pay off line for the project, “let’s clean our city, together” reinforces the fact that together, through the support and commitment from our communities, we can keep our city clean.

Underground bins
The waste system consists of a 5m³ waste vessel(the main waste container) which is positioned in the ground inside a concrete sleeve and metal frame which houses a safety platform. The top part of the system houses the external refuse bin that is equipped with a swivel lid. Waste is disposed into the system by sliding the lid open, which then returns to its original position when pressure on it is released, thereby closing the opening.

The safety platform operates when the steel waste vessel is removed from the ground to be cleared of waste – thus closing the main container until the bin is placed back into the unit.

Zami Nkosi, Acting MD of Pikitup, MMC Clr Ros Greef and Patrick Galloway, Fleet Manager at Pikitup, looks on as the Mayor lifts the first bin at the launch
on 12 october 2007

The type of waste to be contained is mainly street litter from pedestrians and waste collected by Pikitup`s street cleaners. Once full, a Pikitup truck will collect the waste by hooking a crane onto the top of the input tower and lifting the input tower, steel platform and steel waste vessel as one unit out of the ground. The entire unit is then positioned on top of the truck`s waste entrance door and the floor of the steel waste vessel is opened to allow the waste to fall into the truck. Once the vessel is empty, the entire unit is placed back into its sleeve in the ground and ready to receive more waste. The entire collection operation takes about 10 minutes. Afterwards, the waste is taken to a Pikitup landfill site for disposal, as is the case with all general and domestic types of waste.

Once a month, the concrete sleeve will be cleaned as some liquid waste may have leaked through the container doors.

It must be emphasized that the container is to be used for dry waste only.

L to R - Deputy Minister of Science and Technology, Mr Derek Hanekom, Clr Roslynn Greeff, MMC for Infrastructure and Services, Mr Zami Nkosi, Acting MD of Pikitup and Clr Prema Naidoo,MMC for Environment during the launch

The focus with this system is on high density areas and areas with high pedestrian traffic such as the Johannesburg CBD, taxi ranks, sport complexes and even residential complexes.

The bins are able to contain between 1 and 3 tons of waste. One ton can be compared with around 4 wheely refuse bins filled with waste or 12 full refuse bags . As part of the trial period, Pikitup will monitor the bins to learn how fast they fill up in specific areas, which will then determine the frequency of collection. The collection could for instance be, depending on the waste type and volumes, be every day.

Location
- Johannesburg CBD, Yeoville, Joubert Park and Alexandra
- 20 bins have been installed in the following areas :

Bin locations in Johannesburg
Site No Area Street Street Corner Bin QTY
1 Joubert Park Klein Noord 3
3 CBD Sauer Bree 2
5 Hillbrow Catherine Pretorious 2
9 CBD Loveday Leyds 1
10 CBD Koch Wanderers 2
12 CBD Bok Wanderers 1
38 Yeoville Cavendish Hunter 2
39 CBD Hoek Plein 1
40 CBD Kerk Rissik 1
41 CBD Klein De Villiers 2

Bin locations in Alexandra
Site No Area Street Street Corner Bin QTY
22 Alexandra 15th Ave Selborne south 1
24 Alexandra 16th Ave Vasco Da Gama 2
Sub-total bins installed 3

Benefits
-This project focusses primarily on the piloting of innovative waste management and collection technologies that will enable the community to fully participate in the maintenance of their area, rather than being the passive recipients of services delivered
- It is further believed that the project will contribute towards the overall vision of the City which is to become a “World Class African City”. This includes the rejuvenation of areas such as the Inner City and Alexandra Township.

- It will further contribute toward Pikitup’s ability to manage the general waste stream of the City in a more effective and efficient manner – especially as it relates to the collection and disposal of litter and illegally dumped waste.

- The system can contain much higher volumes of waste than current systems that are utilized

- The container is sealed therefore alleviating exposure to unsolicited waste

- Aesthetically it looks better because the waste is contained underground

- Areas are kept cleaner because waste cannot spill from the system

- It is cost effective

- It will contribute to a change in the human habit of littering

Safety
The system does not seal 100% which allows for gasses to escape. Also, no restaurant or other waste that could create gasses is allowed in the system. An education campaign around the project has commenced and will run for the next 12 months in the areas where the bins have been installed to ensure that the public knows how to use it.

Street Prefects
This project is about a sustainable block management concept to monitor manageable sized street blocks of the City by identifying and reporting on any municipal service delivery defects

-Street Prefect (SP) system is based on creating a partnership between the residents, businesses, waste recyclers and the City

-The SP is a community based resource person who collaborates with other community actors/ service providers with the main aim of improving on service delivery in the area of operation.

-Area of focus is Yeoville and Joubert Park and 50 people have been appointed as street prefects

Slovo Park Informal Settlement
•Project intent
- Sustainable waste solution in the informal settlement

•Implementation
-Clean environment ( Cleaning of toilets, cleaning of skips,
refuse collection, managing illegal dumping.)

-Income generating activities, waste recycling center,
vegetable gardens.

-Receptacle that allows even children to dispose of domestic waste easily and in a safe manner.

MMC Clr Greef, Deputy Minister, Hanekom and Mahlako Peta of Kwezi V3(front - 2nd from right) with the street prefects

2007/10/12