Illegal dumping and burning in Johannesburg have become so bad that residents’ health is at risk

Residents in parts of Johannesburg have had their health put at risk due to illegal dumping and burning, which has taken place over the last five years.

The affected areas include Lombardy West, Lombardy East, River Park, and Alexandra, with the illegal dumping occurring along the banks of the Jukskei River.

The land, which was once green and underdeveloped, is now covered in large amounts of smouldering waste, with trucks reportedly unloading up to 20 loads per hour.

Member of the Gauteng Provincial Legislature Leanne De Jager said it was unacceptable that residents, including children with disabilities, were forced to breathe in toxic fumes daily.

The dumping site sits in close proximity to the Sithandiwe Disabled Centre for children, with some children now reportedly on oxygen due to inhalation of the fumes.

“The pollution from the illegal dump site has become so bad that one resident with asthma can no longer leave his home and is dependent on oxygen,” De Jager said. “His neighbour, who was never sick before, has developed a chest infection.”

Affected residents have raised concerns that the dumping site poses a security risk to the nearby Alexandra power station, which was vandalised two weeks ago.

This left the area without electricity for nearly a week, with allegations that an armed syndicate is behind the illegal dumping activities.

De Jager called on the City of Johannesburg to declare the illegal dumping and burning of waste in Lombardy East and West a crisis.

She said the City must respond with a coordinated, multi-departmental intervention involving law enforcement agencies and the Gauteng Department of Environment.

In addition, De Jager said she would table questions to the Gauteng MEC for Environment, Ewan Botha, to determine how his department was intervening to assist the City with this and other environmental issues.

“City of Joburg residents deserve a government that can clamp down on illegal dumping sites as soon as they are reported,” De Jager said.

“Service delivery is not a luxury. It is a fundamental that residents pay for through their rates and taxes.”