City eradicates bucket system with rollout of Portable Flush Toilets

The City of Cape Town as part of our commitment to being a Caring City, is constantly adopting new measures to provide the best practical possible levels of sanitation, and to restore dignity to citizens.

We are therefore determined that the City eradicates, as quickly as possible, the use of the ‘bucket system' wherever it may be in use in the City.

Currently there are 958 bucket toilets known and serviced by the City. The very limited use of bucket toilets is an historical legacy, and it must be highlighted that they are not provided by the City as part of any of its programmes.  

In some instances, community members have indicated their preference to continue using this system, despite the availability of chemical and other toilets the City makes available to them. In all instances where the City is aware of the historical use of bucket toilets, these are cleaned by contractors, or by the City.

TABLE INDICATING AREAS WHERE THE ‘BUCKET SYSTEM' IS IN USE

The City is determined to replace any vestige of the bucket with portable flush toilets (PFTs). The City currently has approximately 12 500 portable flush toilets (PFTs) in storage. These units will now be provided to areas identified as still using the ‘bucket system' to ensure the complete eradication of this system.

A PFT provides the same privacy, dignity and safety as a normal full flush toilet. PFTs are allocated to a single household for use within that household and are therefore largely protected from the elements of vandalism.

The waste is flushed away into a container underneath the flush unit, out of sight as with a normal flush toilet, to minimise odours. Each PFT is provided with two waste containers. One is attached and the other is used as a replacement when the first is full, or serviced.

The PFTs are serviced three times a week.

There are currently 11 307 PFTs in use across the city. What is of concern to the City is that 50 of the attachment tanks have been reported stolen and 6000 units have had to be replaced due to high levels of wear and tear, at a rate far higher than initially expected.

The City has therefore had to make special provision for the procurement of waste tanks as a separate item to help manage this high attrition rate.

TABLE ON CURRENT DISTRIBUTION OF PFTS

As part of our on-going efforts to improve levels of sanitation, the City will also use the available stock and new supplies to continue with the provision of PFTS in areas where full flush toilets are unable to be installed. This will include areas where there is:

·         Encumbered land i.e. non-council owned land which the City is precluded by law from servicing and land that is prone to flooding

·         High density or lack of space between informal structures which precludes the installation of full flush toilets.

·         Identified crime hot spots

·         No access to sanitation facilities less than 100 metres away from a dwelling

·         Areas with high environmental risks.

·         Special needs residents, such as the elderly and people with disabilities.

TABLE ON PFT PLANNED DISTRIBUTION (IN ADDITION TO AREAS WHERE ‘BUCKET SYSTEM' IS BEING ERADICATED)

The City will do everything possible to ensure the effective rollout of PFTs and the complete eradication of the bucket system. However, we need the full cooperation of communities. The reality is that in some instances communities have rejected the use of PFTs for a range of reasons. This is regrettable as, for the reasons outlined above, it is often the only available toilet type for a community.

This initiative needs to be seen against the background of massively increased sanitation investment in sewage infrastructure which rose from R51 million in the 2006/7 financial year, to R130 million in the 2011/12 financial year.

The number of toilets in informal settlements has more than doubled from 10 591 to 34 225 over the same period. As a direct result of this, the percentage of households with access to sanitation on a 1.5 ratio has increased from 47.1% to 88.2% between 2006 and 2012.

In addition, the City has introduced the provision of janitorial services to enhance the maintenance of toilet services. We have also installed 67 Free Call lines in selected areas to ensure residents can report their service delivery queries at no cost to them. A further 20 lines will be connected by the end of July this year.

We acknowledge that challenges still exist. But with the help of, and input from communities, we are confident that these challenges will continue to be met.

This administration will continue to use all the resources at our disposal in order to provide our residents, particularly those most in need of our assistance, with as many services, and as much support, as possible.

Statement issued by Patricia de Lille, Executive Mayor of the City of Cape Town, May 13 2013

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