SA landfill sites are a mess – AfriForum
5 August 2015
AfriForum audited 56 landfill sites across the country this year, and found that only six of them complied with national standards. Following the audit, AfriForum compiled a report detailing the results of the different provinces. The audit report indicates that 50 landfill sites are not up to standard and that they are a health hazard for the respective communities in which they are located.
Jaco Grobbelaar, Assistant Coordinator at AfriForum, says the civil rights organisation is not satisfied with the standard and the way in which the landfill sites are managed. “A landfill site has huge economic potential, but it also poses a health risk and therefore it is important that the relevant legislation is always complied with.”
AfriForum sent letters of demand to the municipalities whose landfill sites are not up to standard. The civil rights organisation requested action plans and target dates that must be put in place to ensure that the refuse sites are managed in a legal and environmentally friendly manner. If the municipalities do not respond to AfriForum’s request, further steps will be taken.
The results of the landfill site audits are as follows:
|
Province |
Number of landfill sites audited |
Number of landfill sites complying with more than 80% of minimum requirements |
Number of landfill sites not complying with minimum requirements |
|
|
2015 |
2015 |
2015 |
|
Western Cape |
5 |
2 |
3 |
|
Northern Cape |
5 |
0 |
5 |
|
Eastern Cape |
7 |
1 |
6 |
|
Free State |
10 |
0 |
10 |
|
Mpumalanga |
8 |
1 |
7 |
|
Gauteng |
4 |
0 |
4 |
|
Limpopo |
7 |
1 |
6 |
|
KwaZulu-Natal |
3 |
0 |
3 |
|
North West |
7 |
1 |
6 |
|
National total |
56 |
6 |
50 |
AfriForum is concerned about the following:
- Medical waste is illegally dumped and can contaminate underground water.
- Families are living on the sites.
- Animals feed on refuse sites and eat waste.
- Animal carcasses and bones are illegally dumped and are not covered.
- No rehabilitation takes place and land is not compacted, with the result that refuse is blown around, polluting the environment.
“Landfill sites must maintain a standard that is healthy for communities and that creates further economic opportunities, such as recycling and the generation of electricity. A high degree of mismanagement, poor law enforcement, corruption and a lack of training and competent employees to manage landfill sites are the main causes for the state of these sites. The privatisation of these services should be strongly considered,” says Julius Kleynhans, AfriForum’s Head of Environmental Affairs.
SMS the name of your town to 45354 (R1) and help to clean your environment.
Click on the following link to see the report – here.
Statement issued by Jaco Grobbelaar, Environmental Coordinator, AfriForum, August 5 2015
