Illegal dumping in Lombardy East, Joburg, has reached alarming levels and is affecting residents’ health, prompting a ward committee member to launch an online petition calling for urgent intervention from the city.
The petition warns city authorities that if they do not resolve the issue, then residents intend to pursue a class-action lawsuit against it.
Theo Lengwati, a ward committee member responsible for the health portfolio, said the petition was started after repeated attempts to escalate the matter to various municipal departments yielded no results.
“The online petition was a way of escalating the matter to higher authorities collectively so that the seriousness of the issue can be highlighted and solutions can be provided,” he said.
The land was initially intended to serve as a community soccer field. But it has gradually become an illegal dumping site.
Ward 81 councillor Joanne Horwitz said the problem started after she received a request from the Johannesburg Development Agency to move unwanted building material from Alexandra to the vacant land in Lombardy East.
“They proposed to... crush it down flat to build a soccer ground, which sounded exciting to me and I was more than happy to let that happen,” she said.
Horwitz said all departments needed to come together to solve the problem, as the Johannesburg Property Company and City Power own the land.
“City Power is supposed to secure the property properly, but because they are bankrupt and have no resources, they can’t secure it,” she said.
The [Jukskei] river might end up being useless for community use because everything falls straight into it.
— Theo Lengwati
More than 1,700 people have already signed the online petition.
Lengwati said growing concern among residents led to the formation of an illegal dumping committee, created to focus specifically on the issue.
One of the committee’s major concerns is air pollution.
Lengwati said dumping the rubble creates excessive dust and unpleasant odours, which directly affect nearby residents and businesses.
The dumping site is located close to the Jukskei River, raising serious environmental concerns. Lengwati warned that the dumping is contaminating the river, making it dangerous to aquatic life such as fish, crabs and frogs.
“The river might end up being useless for community use because everything falls straight into it,” he said.
While no serious health complications have been officially reported, Lengwati noted that residents have complained about persistent dust and noise, particularly when trucks arrive to offload waste.
As a result, residents have to close their windows and doors, even during hot weather.
Lengwati said the problem has been reported to the ward councillor, the Johannesburg metropolitan police and the environmental health office. He added that metro police and environmental health officials visited the site once and made promises to address the problem, but no action followed.
He said the dump site has the potential to be transformed into a valuable community asset, such as a youth sports facility, including a soccer pitch, netball court or tennis court.
Residents say the issue is no longer just about illegal dumping but about their right to live in a safe and healthy environment.
Attempts to get comment from city officials have failed despite repeated attempts. On January 20, questions were sent to city spokesperson Nthatisi Modingoane, but they were not answered.
Follow-up requests were made, including through the mayor’s office, which referred the enquiry back to Modingoane. Although he acknowledged receiving the enquiry, no response had been received by the time of publication.
Pikitup was also approached for comment but did not respond.
● This story was produced by Our City News, a non-profit newsroom that serves the people of Johannesburg.
