WATCH | Emfuleni residents battling with uncollected refuse, illegal dumping

Waste collection has collapsed in parts of Vanderbijlpark, Sharpeville, Boipatong and Sebokeng in the Vaal, leaving communities buried under piles of rubbish.

Residents who live near streets that have been turned into dumping sites are now finding makeshift solutions to keep their surroundings clean as piles of rotting waste threatens their health and safety.

Some residents of Vanderbijlpark hire horse carriers to collect refuse from their houses.

In Sharpeville, residents have resorted to dumping waste from their houses on an open space right next to Kgomoco Primary School.

In Boipatong, Sophia Mavuso, 64, said residents rely on a young man who has created employment for himself by collecting waste from their homes for as little as R10. “He collects it every week, and we thank him by paying R10,” Mavuso said.

Not far from Mavuso’s home is an illegal dumping site.

“It has been a long time since the trucks came to remove the waste. Initially, we would put it at the gate and a truck would come collect, but that hasn’t happened in a while.”

On Tuesday last week, Gauteng Cogta MEC Jacob Mababolo revealed that the municipality has in the past five years spent R68m on contractors for waste removal.

Mamabolo was responding to questions posed by DA MPL Kingsol Chabalala in the legislature.

In the 2024/2025 annual report, the municipality said it required a fleet of 38 rear ended loader trucks and 21 tippers to collect refuse weekly and address illegal dumping.

It said a total of 143 illegal dumping sites were cleared, accounting for 64,495 loads of waste.

According to Mamabolo, there has been limited visible impact on the ground despite the municipality spending millions to deal with the issue.

He also raised concern over the escalating costs associated with refuse collection and waste management, while illegal dumping continues to proliferate across the municipality.

When the Sowetan team visited various areas in the municipality, it found illegal dumping sites in various roads and streets.

Several pigs were found at the illegal dumping site at Kgomoco primary, rummaging through trash heaps.

Municipal spokesperson Makhosonke Sangweni blamed the issue squarely on residents’ “non-payment for services”.

“Municipalities rely on collection from residents when they are paying. For as long as residents don’t pay, we will always have a challenge of not [having] enough resources to give the 100% service that they are demanding.”

He said the municipality does not have enough trucks hence they had to use service providers. Currently, Emfuleni has a fleet of eight trucks, he said.

“The reason it (waste removal) has not been effective is that some months we would not have money and some months we would have money. We didn’t have enough trucks as well.”

He said in addition to the eight trucks, the municipality managed to get five in April and were expecting to get 10 more trucks by end of May.

Simon Poonyane, 71, who lives in Sharpeville, said: “Scene such as these (illegal dumping sites) repeat themselves all over. Our municipality has no appetite to fix this.”

Poonyane said while he has seen waste removal trucks, illegal dumping continued.

Mamabolo said his department was committed to resolving the long-standing waste management challenges facing the municipality.

He said he deployed teams from the department of infrastructure development last year to assist in clearing illegal dumping sites across Emfuleni. However, progress was not sustained through the municipality’s internal waste management systems.

“We have taken a deliberate decision to move away from the blame game. The challenges we face are complex and require the full cooperation of all three spheres of government.”

The DA’s Chabalala said despite millions of rand being spent, residents were still “being forced to live in filthy conditions that pose serious health risks”.

“Our suburbs, CBDs, and townships remain buried under piles of uncollected refuse, while illegal dumping sites continue to spiral out of control. Filth covered streets are a direct insult to the residents of Emfuleni.”