JEDDAH — Municipal cleaners are neglecting their duties and spend their working hours collecting recyclable waste, like cans and cables, to supplement their income. The workers complain of low salaries and delay in the payment of wages. Meanwhile, residents of Tabuk complain that waste in eight neighborhoods has not been removed for over a month. The residents have formed teams to remove the waste as it had reached unbearable levels. The head of Tabuk City Council, Jamal Al-Fakhri, said contracts were signed with three new companies, but that they have not commenced work due to some problems in the contracts. He added that the Tabuk municipality has borrowed waste disposal equipment from other municipalities to alleviate the problem, adding that the new companies will employ modern equipment to deal with waste. In Taif, only the main streets appear to be waste free, while side streets and neighborhoods are not. The Taif municipality said that new companies have been contracted, and that the new budget will completely solve the problem. Many cleaning personnel in Madinah complain of monthly wages as low as SR250, and of delayed payment. To support themselves, they seek other work and chores, such as loading and unloading trucks, and washing cars. The deputy manager of a cleaning company in Madinah, Abdullah Younis, said there were some problems that have been resolved. He added that these problems did not affect the cleanliness of Madinah, as all streets and neighborhoods are tidy. In Jeddah, waste has accumulated to the size of small pyramids in the southern districts. Cleaners could not be spotted anywhere. Abdulaziz Al-Nahari, spokesman for the Jeddah municipality, said the amount of waste at times is more than the capacity of the garbage compactors, which results in the accumulation of waste. He said that a new company will commence work within the next two months, and that it was impossible for waste to remain more than three months. The Makkah municipality dealt with the problem by proper distribution of equipment in the city's neighborhoods. Mohammad Al-Morqi, the director of Cleaning and Sanitation Department, said that 200 workers were referred to the concerned authorities, as they were inciting others to stop work because of contractual violations.
