{"id":836848,"date":"2025-09-04T13:00:00","date_gmt":"2025-09-04T11:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/?p=836848"},"modified":"2025-09-04T12:54:27","modified_gmt":"2025-09-04T10:54:27","slug":"r150-million-dump-rescue-in-south-africa","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/government\/836848\/r150-million-dump-rescue-in-south-africa\/","title":{"rendered":"R150 million dump rescue in South Africa"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

After over a decade of neglect, Johannesburg has announced a R150 million plan to rehabilitate the decommissioned Kya Sands landfill.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The site closed in 2010 after reaching full capacity, but which has since become a magnet for illegal dumping, burning waste, and toxic smoke that has plagued nearby communities for years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Makhosazana Mtshali, Director of the city\u2019s Waste Management and Regulation Unit, said<\/a> the project is long overdue.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThis project will restore environmental integrity, improve air quality, and create a safer, healthier space for the community. Public consultation and air quality testing are already underway,\u201d she explained.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Kya Sands site has posed serious environmental and health challenges, with smoke from burning waste reducing air quality to below 35% in parts of Fourways, Cedar Lakes, and Bloubosrand. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Around 80,000 residents are estimated to be affected, many of whom have complained about the choking pollution that drifts over their homes and businesses. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Illegal dumping has also damaged the surrounding environment and driven away business investment in the area.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe rehabilitation will cover surveying, identifying, and quantifying illegal dumping; clearing and recycling dumped waste; developing a rehabilitation plan for the closed landfill; and restoring the boundary wall, among other measures,\u201d Mtshali said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Additional steps will include installing security infrastructure such as fencing, lighting, and a guardhouse to prevent further dumping and implementing long-term environmental monitoring of water and air quality.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The city believes the local community will play a central role in the clean-up. Consultations are already underway, and residents will be included in job opportunities such as waste clearing and site monitoring.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The hope is that, over time, the project will result in cleaner air, safer surroundings, and reduced dumping\u2014directly improving living conditions for nearby households.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mtshali stressed that sustainability will be key. \u201cWe are putting in place systems to ensure this does not become a problem again,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThat includes enforcement of environmental compliance, ongoing monitoring, and community engagement in reporting illegal activities.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A National problem<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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If successful, the project could have far-reaching benefits. The city expects renewed business confidence in the Kya Sands and Bloubosrand areas, where some companies have been reluctant to operate because of environmental risks.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThis initiative is about ensuring long-term environmental compliance, curbing illegal dumping, and contributing to healthier, more sustainable communities,\u201d Mtshali added.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

At the end of last year, it was reported that more than 80% of municipal dumps across South Africa have mostly ignored environmental regulations.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Green Scorpions have opened more than 50 criminal cases<\/a>, but compliance remains low.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to the National Environmental Compliance and Enforcement Report, only 19% of municipal landfill sites inspected nationwide were compliant. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Free State scored worst, with none of its landfill sites meeting standards. Only Gauteng and the Western Cape showed some levels of compliance or partial compliance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Municipalities have largely blamed a lack of financial, human, or technical resources for the dismal state of waste management. However, the consequences are severe. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Residents have faced direct health risks from pollution, and rivers and farmland near landfill sites are often contaminated by leachate and chemical runoff.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A 2025 air-quality survey by Breathe Cities and the Seriti Institute revealed that 92% of Johannesburg residents are worried about air pollution, with over three-quarters believing it is harming their health. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Alarmingly, only 5% were aware of any policies designed to address air-quality issues. The City of Johannesburg is also trying to align the Kya Sands rehabilitation with its broader waste-reduction strategy. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Originally, Johannesburg aimed<\/a> for \u201czero waste to landfill\u201d by 2022 through reuse, recycling, and alternative treatment methods.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That target has since been revised. By 2025, the City wants to divert 40% of waste from landfills, rising to 55% by 2030 and 70% by 2035.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

After over a decade of neglect, Johannesburg has announced a R150 million plan to rehabilitate the decommissioned Kya Sands landfill.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":92,"featured_media":836852,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[23],"tags":[23541,22188],"class_list":["post-836848","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-government","tag-kya-sands","tag-the-city-of-johannesburg"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/836848","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/92"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=836848"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/836848\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":836856,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/836848\/revisions\/836856"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/836852"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=836848"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=836848"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=836848"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}