Cape Town's Solid Waste Management Department provides refuse collection, street cleaning, drop-offs and landfill services. Residents in formal areas get weekly kerbside collection. Informal settlements are served through contracted local-area cleaning, often as part of the City's Expanded Public Works Programme (EPWP). The work opportunities in the report most likely refer to these EPWP jobs. Waste services are governed by the City's Integrated Waste Management By-law. The national Waste Act and the National Waste Management Strategy also apply. Both set diversion goals and push municipalities to reduce landfilling.
Waste diversion means keeping waste out of landfill through recycling, composting or recovery. The City's landfills, such as Coastal Park, are filling up. This is why a City Waste Strategy and waste-to-energy options, such as the Coastal Park facility mentioned in the report, matter. Diversion shortfalls bring higher disposal costs and use up scarce landfill airspace.
Complaint resolution times matter because missed collections can cause health risks. Uncollected refuse attracts vermin and can block stormwater drains, which raises flooding risk in winter. Cape Town residents report problems through the City's service request system. The City tracks how quickly these requests are resolved as a service delivery indicator.
The portfolio committee oversees the department's performance. Its annual report assesses results against targets set in the City's Integrated Development Plan and the Service Delivery and Budget Implementation Plan.
I could not run a search for this answer. It draws on general background knowledge, not on current City of Cape Town documents, so please check the figures and programme details against the City's website.
