Full-blown crisis nationwide at landfill sites – AfriForum report reveals extent of decline

30 July 2024 

AfriForum today released its annual landfill audit report at the municipal landfill site in Bethal and once again drew South Africans’ attention to the fact that few municipalities comply with the relevant waste management legislation intended to protect the environment from pollution and communities’ health. The decline of landfill sites is increasing and is so extensive that, although AfriForum audited 28 more sites this year than last year, even fewer landfills were able to pass the independent audit this year. The vast majority (85,8%) of these sites did not even meet the minimum requirements for responsible waste management.

AfriForum has been reporting on the country’s landfill sites since 2014 to determine whether these sites meet the necessary environmental, health and safety requirements for responsible waste management. The civil rights organization’s nationwide network of 160 branches audited 185 municipal landfill sites and four private landfills during February. A questionnaire was compiled to determine the most important aspects of good waste management, such as access control and security, infrastructure, personnel, equipment, recycling, monitoring and record keeping. Points were awarded for each category that met the audit requirements and processed into a final compliance score out of 100. To pass the audit, a landfill had to have met at least 80% of the audit requirements.

From the 189 landfill sites that were audited, it was found that:

·        only 27 (14,3%) of the landfill sites met 80% or more of the audit requirements;

·        162 (85,8%) of landfill sites did not pass the audit;

·        12 of the landfill sites that passed the audit are in the Western Cape and six in Gauteng. Both provinces also achieved a much higher compliance score than the national average (39.4%); and

·        the worst performing provinces include the Free State and the Northern Cape. For the seventh consecutive year no landfill sites in the Free State passed the audit.

“Considering that the audit pass rate determines whether only the minimum requirements for waste management are met, and how few landfill sites have passed, it is clear that there are major shortcomings in terms of municipal waste management. It is also worrying that fewer landfill sites passed the audit than in 2023, as AfriForum shared last year’s findings with all the municipalities involved as well as the then Minister of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment (DBVO). It therefore appears that no concrete steps have been taken in the past year to tackle the shortcomings,” says Marais de Vaal, AfriForum’s Advisor for Environmental Affairs.

The latest landfill audit report indicates that South Africa is experiencing significant problems with the management of landfill sites. The audit also shows that if these problems are not urgently addressed it will lead to a complete collapse of waste management in the country. AfriForum is already planning a meeting with Dr. Dion George, Minister of the DBVO, to request a formal investigation against the municipalities concerned. The civil rights organization is also going to propose that the DBVO plays a facilitating role to encourage substantial partnerships with the private sector. If these partnerships are successful, municipalities will act as referees rather than service providers and thus ensure that landfills meet legal requirements.

“The landfill audit report’s findings are just more proof that municipalities’ ability to fulfill their obligations regarding waste management is completely lacking. The DBVO will urgently have to call municipalities to account so that the country is not buried under waste. The obstacles are enormous, but AfriForum will work tirelessly to monitor landfill sites and investigate alternatives for proper waste management in South Africa,” concludes De Vaal.

Read the audit report here.

Issued by Megan Swart, Media Relations Officer, AfriForum, 30 July 2024