Tackling the misdoings of bin scratchers, such as leaving a mess behind, illegally dumping unwanted goods and even stealing bins seemingly won’t go away and is a difficult problem to curtail.
Commonly seen in suburban streets, the CBD and industrial area on bin days, which fall on a Monday and Thursday in the Helderberg, bin scratchers are mainly made up of vagrants desperate either to find a meal or anything of value in people’s rubbish, in bins left outside for refuse trucks to empty.
Recently, a bin scratcher dumped a whole load of plastic labelling and off-cuts into an open field next to the offices of the DistrictMail & Helderberg Gazette in the Gants Plaza, Strand.
Owners of the company whose bins were scratched, had to then organise for the area to be cleaned.
It is just one of many examples of how bin scratchers are not only harming the environment, but also causing additional expenses for some companies.
According to the City of Cape Town’s Mayoral Committee member for Urban Waste Management, Grant Twigg, council has been working on various strategies to get communities on board with recycling, awareness campaigns that implore residents to separate recyclables with a view to supporting small businesses that work with recycled goods.
“We encourage residents to ensure they start recycling to avoid having bin scratchers look for recyclables in their bins,” Twigg said.
Lisa Starr, founder of Helderberg Ocean Awareness Movement (Hoam), said it is sad people are bin scratching to survive. “We are very lucky to have recycling collection from the City of Cape Town,” she said.
“So if you are separating for recycling there will be nothing of value to scratch out of your bin.
“When any unnatural material ends up in a natural environment it’s not only a danger to all wildlife, but to us too.
“Sadly, plastic breaks down into microplastics, which then become airborne and we inhale it in the air we breathe. It also looks unsightly and drags an area down.
“A clean environment is a human right, so anyone who is dumping or littering is not only taking away their own human rights but everyone elses too.”
Philip Versfeld of the Strand Neighbourhood Watch (SNW), which has weekly operations confronting bin scratchers and the criminal elements involved in this activity, said they have always been a challenge in Strand – more so as the economic downturn affects more and more people.
“We need to be responsible and realistic in our approach as things are not always as they seem,” he said, “and criminals use rubbish-collection days as a cover to infiltrate our neighbourhoods to commit crimes.
“This can clearly be seen in the increased number of criminal incidents reported on bin days.”
Versveld added that the SNW encouraged residents to install a bin lock that can be opened only by the City’s waste-collection trucks.
“Secondly do not place any food items on top of municipal bins for the bin scratchers as this encourages more to follow suit. We are blessed with numerous NGOs in the Helderberg that would welcome any contribution and ensure it reaches those most in need.”
