South Africa’s landfill failures threaten nearby communities

Only two South African provinces saw the majority of landfills surveyed meet the minimum requirements for responsible waste management.

On the other end of the spectrum, more than 90% of landfills in the Free State, Limpopo, Northern Cape, and Mpumalanga failed to comply with these standards.

This is according to a report by civil rights organisation AfriForum, which conducted landfill audits in municipalities across the country where its 165 branches are located.

According to the Department of Forestry, Fisheries, and the Environment’s (DFFE) State of Waste report from 2022, the country generates approximately 107.7 million tonnes of waste every year.

It says that roughly 65% of this (70 million tonnes) ends up in South Africa’s 544 landfill sites.

Therefore, it is important that municipalities comply with requirements for safe waste management, given the health risks they pose to people living nearby and the damage they can cause to the surrounding environment.

The dangers of landfills include safety risks posed by dumping vehicles, fires on the sites that pollute the air putting bearby communities at risk of chest diseases, and water and soil pollution.

A recent study by the North West University found that those living near waste disposal sites face increased risks of respiratory diseases, tuberculosis and skin infections.

“Children are especially vulnerable. They breathe this air, drink the water and play in polluted spaces. The impact is both immediate and generational,” researcher Nkeletseng Zonyane said.

These sites also attract animals and insects, such as rats, mice, and flies, that may carry diseases. 

At the national level, only 38 (22%) of the 169 landfill sites audited complied with South Africa’s minimum requirements for responsible waste management.

The audit process consisted of a 33-question questionnaire. A landfill was deemed compliant if it met 80% or more of the audit requirements.

The provinces with the highest compliance score were Gauteng and the Western Cape. Five of the nine landfills in Gauteng met the minimum requirements, while 19 of the 37 in the Western Cape were compliant.

These were the only two provinces in which more than fifty per cent of landfills were deemed compliant, with the Eastern Cape at third with 38%, KwaZulu-Natal with 20%, and the North West with 14%.

On the other hand, 21 of the 23 sites (9%) in Mpumalanga met the minimum requirements, 23 of 25 (8%) in the Northern Cape, 13 of 14 (7%) in Limpopo, and 21 of 22 in the Free State.

Data shared with parliament by the DFFE in early 2025 reflected Afriforum’s audit outcome, finding that only 25 of the 154 sites it had visited during the 2023/24 financial year complied with the requirements.

While most provinces performed particularly poorly in the audit, all except the North West saw an improvement on 2024’s outcome.

For instance, no Free State or Northern Cape landfills met the requirements last year, while only 10% of sites in KZN and 35% in the Western Cape were compliant.

Fires, fees, and infrastructure

The most common areas where landfills failed to comply with regulations involved the site’s permit, lack of access control, safety and security, unauthorised waste being dumped, and failure to collect dumping fees.

Many sites also failed to maintain critical infrastructure, such as weighbridges, roads, and machinery to handle waste.

It was also common for staff to be absent, waste not to be covered with sand, and fires to occur on the sites.

AfriForum added that a significant shortcoming noticed about participants surveyed during the audit was the lack of knowledge about the sites’ designed capacity, rate of dumping, remaining airspace, and the activities of informal recyclers.

The report highlights that, according to the South African Constitution, the government must implement measures to minimise the amount of waste generated.

For instance, according to section 9(1) of the National Environmental Management: Waste Act 59 of 2008, a municipality must deliver waste management services, including disposal, destruction, and storage of waste.

Similarly, the Local Government Municipal Systems Act 32 of 2000 requires that waste management services are provided to all communities “in a financially and environmentally sound manner.”

However, while the report argues that the legislation for waste management in South Africa is inadequate, it says that, based on its findings, what is there is “neither applied nor enforced.”

“Municipalities are supposed to protect communities against pollution, yet most landfill sites are lawless and dangerous,” said AfriForum’s Advisor for Environmental Affairs, Marais de Waal.

“Due to municipalities’ continued lack of proper service delivery, individuals are left with no choice but to establish alternatives to achieve community self-reliance.”