Who and what is AfriForum?

AfriForum is an Afrikaans civil rights organisation that protects the rights of minority groups at national as well as provincial level, and anyone who can identify with AfriForum’s principles and objectives may join the organisation. AfriForum’s community plan focuses on mobilising communities to thus take control of their own streets and neighbourhoods again. AfriForum ensures that your constitutional and civil rights are recognised and protected at national level.

Wie en wat is AfriForum?

AfriForum is ’n Afrikaanse burgerregteorganisasie wat die regte van minderheidsgroepe op sowel nasionale as provinsiale vlak beskerm, en enigiemand wat met AfriForum se beginsels en doelstellings kan identifiseer, mag by die organisasie aansluit. AfriForum se gemeenskapsplan fokus daarop om gemeenskappe te mobiliseer om só weer beheer terug te neem oor hul eie strate en woonbuurtes. AfriForum verseker dat jou grondwetlike én burgerregte op nasionale vlak erken en beskerm word.

Environmental affairs Media statements | Media statements

Landfill audit: Gauteng landfills fare much better than rest of the country

ByAfriForum 08/08/202408/08/2024

While the majority of provinces whose landfill sites were audited by AfriForum fared much worse than in previous years, Gauteng is the only province whose landfills showed a notable improvement in 2024. To pass the audit, a landfill site must have met at least 80% of the audit requirements.

In Gauteng, a total of 22 municipal and private landfill sites were visited. Of these, 16 were formally audited, while five sites were closed but not rehabilitated. The only site that has been sufficiently rehabilitated is the Onderstepoort landfill site.

A total of five out of the 14 municipal landfill sites that were audited in Gauteng met the minimum legal requirements for responsible waste management and both private landfills passed the audit with flying colors. These seven landfill sites show a notable improvement compared to the three sites (of which two are private landfills) that were able to pass the audit in 2023.

Moreover, a total of 13 of the 16 landfill sites that were audited significantly improved their standards compared to last year. The landfill site in Randfontein for example met 4% (2022) and 16% (2023) of the audit requirements in previous years but improved to 64% this year.

This is how the landfill sites in Gauteng compare:

Sampie Steinberg, AfriForum’s District Coordinator for Greater Pretoria North, says it’s encouraging to see that most landfill sites in Gauteng are improving their standards compared to the rest of the country. 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.

“A general problem that AfriForum noticed during the audit in Gauteng is that there is an extremely limited amount of remaining air space on Gauteng’s landfill sites, with virtually no prospects or suitable locations for new sites. “It’s a big cause for concern because residents will end up with the problem and will have to use the services of private refuse removers – with their own landfill sites – at great cost because the problem is not being tackled,” says Steinberg.

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. AfriForum is of the opinion that South Africans have the right to a clean and healthy environment, therefore the DBVO will have to act urgently to prevent a complete crisis at landfill sites across the country.