AfriForum audit: Condition of landfill sites in North West deteriorate slightly
The condition of landfill sites in the North West has deteriorated slightly over the past year compared to 2023, seeing that only four of the 23 landfill sites that were audited in the province met the minimum legal requirements for responsible waste management. In order to pass the audit, a landfill site must have met at least 80% of the audit requirements. In the North West, only 17% of the province’s landfill sites met these requirements, while 22% of landfill sites met the requirements in 2023.
AfriForum audited 189 landfill sites nationwide to determine the current state of municipal and private landfills in South Africa. However, the vast majority (85,8%) of landfill sites failed this year’s audit. The annual audit determines whether landfill sites meet the necessary environmental, health and safety requirements for responsible waste management.
This is how the landfill sites in the North West compare:
Armand Viljoen, AfriForum’s District Coordinator for Marico, says it’s clear from this audit that most landfill sites in North West are in an unacceptable state. “A common problem that AfriForum’s North West branches noticed during this audit is the lack of financial support from municipalities to maintain the landfill sites, although there is a budget for this. Yet the municipal officials involved are not being called to account by the provincial or national government for this kind of mismanagement.”
Alta Pretorius, AfriForum’s District Coordinator in the Mooi River, noticed during the audit that the landfill site in Potchefstroom had deteriorated drastically after the local municipality failed to re-appoint a competent contractor. This site achieved 98% compliance last year, but this year it has almost halved to 52%. The landfill site in Klerksdorp (64% compliance) is not necessarily in the worst condition, but extremely dangerous to visit. “It’s alarming that the landfill sites are deteriorating so drastically. The municipalities will have to get their priorities in order because the situation is turning into a disaster,” says Pretorius.
JP Nel, AfriForum’s District Coordinator for Stellaland, says he is particularly concerned about the environmental degradation and health risks that result from the poor management of landfill sites. “If landfills are not managed properly, they can become breeding grounds for diseases and, on top of that, pollute the environment and even groundwater. Proper maintenance of these sites is therefore non-negotiable. It’s municipalities’ responsibility to protect the environment and the well-being of communities,” emphasises Nel.
AfriForum is already planning a meeting with Dr. Dion George, Minister of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment (DBFO), to share the landfill audit report’s findings with him and request a formal investigation against the North West’s non-compliant municipalities. AfriForum is of the opinion that South Africans’ constitutional rights, such as the right to a clean and healthy environment, are being denied by the poor management of landfill sites, therefore the DBVO will urgently have to call municipalities to account.
