Buying or selling stolen property is a criminal offence

22 May 2022

The City of Cape Town’s Urban Waste Management Directorate is cautioning residents to refrain from buying the City’s Blue bags from the streets.  These bags are clearly marked as City property and are used for area cleaning, illegal dumping, street sweeping, litter picking and the green litter bins.  Any person caught to be unlawfully in possession of these blue bags can be criminally charged and prosecuted.

Buying City-branded blue refuse bags is illegal, as they are stolen goods. These are not for sale to the public.

‘The City has added a penalty clause to the Tenders for cleansing, which penalises the contractor financially for every stolen bag recovered that was originally issued to them. Reference numbers printed on the bag allow the City to identify which contractor is responsible,’ said the City’s Mayoral Committee Member for Urban Waste Management, Alderman Grant Twigg.

If a person is caught to be unlawfully in possession of blue bags, they can be criminally charged with possession of stolen property.

The maximum sanction that the courts have imposed thus far on a person found guilty of possession of stolen blue bags is a R5 000 fine.

‘Corruption and theft is a phenomenon that must be stopped.  We are obligated to prevent this so that ratepayers and residents can receive the highest quality services possible.  The theft of these bags means that they are being resold which in turn has a knock-on effect on service delivery.  Reporting the sale of these blue bags will help the City address the problem as quickly as possible,’ said Alderman Twigg.

Residents are requested to

• Report the theft of stolen refuse bags to the City on 0860 103 089.
• Not dump their waste in canals, parks or open space. This is illegal dumping. It's not only ugly, but is a health hazard and expensive to remove.

End

Published by:
City of Cape Town, Media Office