What a load of rubbish

20 October 2014 - 02:00 By Kingdom Mabuza
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Pikitup truck. File photo.
Pikitup truck. File photo.
Image: Supplied

Johannesburg's landfills are filling up so fast that the city could run out of rubbish dumping space in nine years.

So severe is the shortage of space that the South African Local Government Association is calling for municipalities in Gauteng and other parts of the country to find innovative ways of dealing with the rubbish crisis.

City of Joburg spokesman Jacky Mashapu said unless Johannesburg residents changed their attitude around disposing of waste, "the effect will be [that there will be] no more space for landfills by 2023".

According to Marvelous Nengovhela, Salga's waste management specialist, Gauteng's municipalities of Tshwane, Ekurhuleni and Johannesburg, met last month to discuss ways to deal with the waste management crisis, which is being fuelled by urban migration.

"South Africa generates about 59 million tons of general waste, with nearly 90% disposed of through land filling," said Nengovhela.

Mashapu said the City of Johannesburg collected 1.8 million tons of garbage annually, including 244000t from illegal dumpings and 1779t from street litter.

"Each ton of waste dumped generates 1.79t of CO2 and methane [gas] as it decomposes.

"Pikitup, the city's waste management company, has developed a waste minimisation strategy to address the challenges.

"It's geared to move away from the traditional method, where 93% of waste is disposed of at landfills, to one where 7% of waste is dumped," he said.

Nengovhela said strict conditions were in place to develop new landfills, but municipalities have to devise alternative waste disposal systems.

"There are stringent conditions in developing new landfill sites due to environmental concerns and shortages of suitable land, especially in cities," Nengovhela said.

"Sustainable waste management requires a joint effort from all role-players, including communities."

While Johannesburg is battling, Ekurhuleni's spokesman, Lebogang Ramashala, said the municipality's current five landfill sites had a lifespan of 35 years.

"The municipality is considering developing integrated waste management facilities, including waste minimisation and treatment facilities," Ramashala said.

Abie Modise, Environmental Affairs Department spokesman, said the challenge was more about poor infrastructure and operation management than landfill space.

"Some landfill sites have closed down because of close proximity to residential areas. We still have landfill sites with at least 30 years of use," said Modise.

He said the department had pioneered waste-to-energy and recycling projects.

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