Joburg landfill closure threatens 140 livelihoods

Lillian Thamae, 45, has been working at the Marie Louise landfill since she was 20. She takes care of her mother, children as well as her sister’s children, with the income she makes from her work at the landfill. About 140 waste reclaimers earn a living by sorting waste at the landfill.

• About 140 waste reclaimers at Marie Louise landfill have been left with no income after Pikitup stopped accepting domestic waste from 1 September, giving workers just ten days’ notice of the decision.
• The African Reclaimers Organisation says despite all four city landfills being expected to be full by 2026, Pikitup has failed to implement projects to extend their lifespan or create new sites.
• Pikitup says it has only temporarily suspended operations at Marie Louise to access capacity and ensure “continuous compliance with permit conditions”, and has laid out various plans to extend the life of the facility.

About 140 waste reclaimers at the Marie Louise landfill in Johannesburg have lost their only source of income after a decision to suspend receiving domestic waste at the site was made by Pikitup.

Pikitup, Joburg City’s waste management company, said in late August that as of 1 September it would no longer accept domestic waste at Marie Louise landfill.

But Pikitup has told GroundUp it has plans to extend the life of the facility which “will support waste pickers livelihoods in the medium to long term”. However, it gave no timelines.

A waste reclaimer moves through the steep embankment at the Marie Louise landfill in Johannesburg.

Reclaimers spend their days working at the site, collecting, sorting and selling for recycling plastic, paper, tin, glass and cardboard from domestic waste.

The Marie Louise landfill, west of Johannesburg, is one of four landfills currently operated by Pikitup. According to Pikitup’s 2023/24 annual report the site received 23% of the city’s waste. The annual report says Pikitup will run out of spaces within the next few years, which will create a waste disposal crisis for the city. A landfill survey conducted in March 2023 by Pikitup estimated the Marie Louis site would have run out of space by January 2025.

The African Reclaimers Organisation (ARO) says the manner in which the decision to suspend domestic waste was made was shocking and reckless, because Pikitup had failed to consider the livelihoods of waste reclaimers.

“For decades, reclaimers have played a crucial role in extending the lifespan of Marie Louise, as well as all other landfills in the city.”

“Granting reclaimers ten days’ notice that they will lose their livelihoods is grossly insufficient time, and Pikitup and the City have not respected the dignity of Marie Louise reclaimers or engaged in meaningful consultation,” said the ARO.

65-year-old Belina Matela has worked at the Marie Louise landfill since 1996.

We met Belina Matela, 65, high up on the massive landfill, sorting through plastic bottles and aluminium cans. Matela works over eight hours a day in the hazardous conditions of the dump. But now the dump trucks have not returned. Once she has sold her current load, she will be without an income to support her family.

Matela started working at the landfill in 1996. Over the past three decades, she has managed to support her children, siblings and grandchildren.

She said Pikitup’s decision was “taking the bread out of our mouths”.

“When I first heard … I cried for the entire day. Where will I find other work at my age? I am still the household breadwinner,” she said.

Bongani Elvis Munyu is part of the Marie Louise Waste Reclaimers committee. He says the City undervalues the contribution of waste reclaimers.

ARO blames the current waste management crisis in the city on Pikitup failing to take concrete steps to extend the lifespan of its landfills or create new facilities. This despite the urgency of this being highlighted in the 2011 Johannesburg Integrated Waste Management Plan.

ARO has accused Pikitup of abandoning approved and budgeted projects intended to extend the life of the Marie Louise landfill. These included movement of the leachate pond to create more airspace at the landfill as part of a R60-million project.

“We do not understand why this was the case and why the projects to extend the life of the landfill have stalled,” said ARO spokesperson Luyanda Hlatshwayo. “This is highly irresponsible given that Pikitup states it expects all four working landfills to close before the end of 2026.”

Waste reclaimers from Marie Louise landfill in Johannesburg gather for a meeting outside the entrance to the landfill to discuss the way forward after a decision to suspend the receipt of domestic waste at the landfill was made by Joburg City’s waste management company Pikitup.

Pikitup Spokesperson Muzi Mkhwanazi said the organisation has temporarily suspended operations to “assess capacity”, after which a decision will be made as to how to continue. The suspension will allow Pikitup to take measures to comply with its permit conditions.

“The decision was communicated to stakeholders, including waste pickers – represented by ARO and with the Gauteng Department of Environment through physical and online meetings. A general notice was also placed on the site’s gate. It was also shared in customers WhatsApp groups serviced by the depot.”

Mkhwanazi said Pikitup is in the process of conducting a second landfill airspace survey to confirm if Marie Louise is indeed over the legal limit.

Pikitup will be commissioning a professional study to develop a rehabilitation plan that will include repurposing of the site, the establishment of a material recovery facility, construction of the new leachate pond and reuse of the old pond for disposal, apply for height and capacity extension, potentially purchase an adjacent piece of land, and construct a reinforced concrete boundary wall to secure the site.

All these interventions were aimed at extending the lifespan of the site “that will support waste pickers livelihood in the medium to long term”.

Pikitup sorting facilities at the Robinson landfill site are almost complete, while those being built at the Linbro landfill site are under construction, it said.

Waste reclaimers work at the Marie Louise landfill in Johannesburg.

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