Johannesburg High Court orders City of Joburg to do air quality test amid mounting Kya Sand waste crisis
The Johannesburg High Court has slapped the City of Joburg with a court order to conduct extensive air quality testing at the Kya Sand Waste Disposal Site, where over 10 illegal dumps are run by so-called “waste lords”.
Illegal dumping and littering are rampant across South Africa, sparking water pollution, air quality issues, eyesores, injuries, livestock deaths, and health risks.
Gauteng is battling rampant illegal dumping, with Joburg North’s Kya Sand seeing huge trash piles burned daily to make room for more waste, creating a major health hazard.
The court order follows numerous complaints from the non-profit organisation Kya Sand Burning Wasteland Community Forum to the City’s entity Pikitup about illegal dumping that is severely impacting citizens’ health and the environment.
Keith Elliott, a director of the concerned community forum, told IOL News that they filed a lawsuit against the City’s entity last year owing to its glaring oversight of the ongoing illegal dumping.
According to him, the illegal dumping affects areas such as Fourways, Bloubosdale, Cedar Lakes, Cedar Creek, Chartwell, Craigavon AH, Douglasdale, Farmall, Hoogland, Houtkoppen, Indian, Jukskei Park, Kya Sand, Lion Park, Maroeladal, Mostyn Park, Msawawa, Needwood, Nietgedacht, Noordhang, Pipeline, Riverbend, Salfred AH, Sandpark AH and Zandspruit informal settlement.
He said after many years of the dumping operation, the Johannesburg High Court has on August 5 “ordered the City of Joburg to conduct comprehensive air quality testing in the area”.
He said the Gauteng Department of Rural Development and Agriculture licensed Pikitup in 2010 to de-commission the Kya Sand Waste Disposal Site.
“Soon after it was closed, it was re-opened by illegal operators, dubbed waste lords, who began to take money from the dumpers.”
Elliott said they first noticed smoke from the area in 2014, and since then, each morning they have awoken to a cloud of smoke, which has greatly alarmed the community.
“In a very short time, the number of illegal commercial dumps in the area has proliferated. We have now documented at least 14 illegal dumps in the area, on City, provincial, and private land,” he said.
“Some of these sites are three stories high and the size of a rugby field.”
He said dumping sites service up to 200 trucks per day, each carrying various types of waste, such as garden waste, household waste, building rubble and waste, toxic waste, and even medical waste.
“The ‘clients’ of this illegal industry include builders, garden services, and even registered waste disposal companies.”
Elliott said the area is well-organised and operated by two marshals who direct clients on where to dump their waste and collect the payment.
“These sites are vigorously defended by the marshals and members of our team have been threatened at gunpoint for approaching and taking pictures.”
He said the marshals burn waste from morning until night to create space for the next day's load.
“This is a source of air pollution as the partially burned waste smoulders all night releasing the most potent toxic smoke.
“Partially burned compounds in the smoke called dioxins have been linked to many diseases and health conditions. The rainwater run-off from the dumps is also a source of surface and water pollution,” he said
Elliott said their demands are straightforward, “Stop all illegal dumping and burning of waste at all sites. Clear the sites, rehabilitate them, and prevent further dumping through proper enforcement of the relevant by-laws.”
Another concerned Fourways resident, Andre de Bryne, who visits a wholesale nursery near the dumping site, says he is concerned that the smoke from the site is impacting the health of residents.
“The smoke is impacting people’s breathing and causes coughing, especially young children and the elderly.”
IOL News approached Pikitup spokesperson Muzi Mkhwanazi for a comment on the issue, but he indicated that inquiries should be directed to Nthatisi Modingoane, the spokesperson for the City of Joburg.
Questions were sent to Modingoane, but he had not responded by the time the article was published.
IOL News