Pretoria - A docket regarding habitual non-compliance with permit conditions of landfill sites and legislative framework against the City of Tshwane has been handed over to the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA).
Department of Agriculture and Rural Development spokesperson Nozipho Hlabangana said they were waiting for guidance.
“The NPA is yet to make a determination on which specific charges would constitute the criminal prosecution. However, it is expected that the non-compliances identified will form part of the charges.”
Ga-Rankuwa residents prepared a petition with over 300 signatures, demanding the immediate closure of the landfill site in the area.
They cited numerous breaches of the site permit conditions, including the height of the site, which they said exceeded ground level.
The site has also been causing a severe odour nuisance for surrounding households, especially after rains, and there is no leachate treatment or landfill gas-monitoring infrastructure.
Hlabagana said some of the issues they had also raised as non-compliances in their administrative notice to the metro.
While the petition calls for the shutdown of the site while investigations continue, Hlabagana said the social, economic and environmental impact of activities, including disadvantages and benefits, must be considered, assessed and evaluated, and decisions must be appropriate in the light of this.
The department sought to bring the landfill site into compliance without having to take the drastic step of closing it down, particularly because of the service it provided to the community.
While the Ga-Rankuwa landfill has been found to be highly non-compliant, Hlabagana said they were taking advice on the feasibility of the closure, or of alternatively instructing that no further waste be accepted, bearing in mind the ongoing prosecution action and petition.
“While it appears easy to simply shut it down, in practice, it really is not, because the current waste received still needs to be managed in terms of compacting and ensuring flare-ups do not occur.
“Whatever action we take needs to be the best environmental option for the long term.”
MMC for Environmental Affairs Dana Wannenburg said that in a bid to improve infrastructure at landfills, R150 million was allocated for space, with an additional R13m earmarked for development.
“The aim of the acquisition is specifically to relieve pressure on existing landfills in the north of the city, including Ga-Rankuwa.”
Wannenburg argued that the site was managed in a way to ensure that top cover was added daily to prevent odour and nuisance, and its height restrictions had been approved by the former Bophuthatswana government.
The MMC said the now defunct homeland government had for all intents and purposes wished to fill an unused quarry – an accepted practice at the time – and as such, restricted the site height to ground level.
He said the method was proving to be unsustainable as landfills sag due to materials decomposing, causing puddling across the site.
“A counteraction to puddling is to exceed ground level, allowing for run-off. In South Africa, the accepted standard height for landfills stands at 18 metres above ground level.
“To this end, the City last year applied for a height extension, and this process is yet to be completed.”
As part of the closure plan, the community requested a recycling facility with a materials recovery facility at the site.
Wannenburg said over the longer term it was the City’s intention to roll out a waste separation-at-source programme, with at least one materials recovery facility in every region, dependent on budget availability for capital infrastructure and operational expenses.
With the latest inspection being carried out in November, and the inspection report and recommendations yet to be finalised, Wannenburg said they did not intend to close the site and would receive waste until the new site started operating.
A waste expert who opted to remain anonymous applauded the decision to criminally prosecute Tshwane.
“This doesn't mean that they will not assist the City however they can, but the law must take its course. What is unclear is why they are not closing non-compliant landfills while legal processes continue.
“The department’s enforcement unit often claims that they respond to community complaints.
“I’m not sure how much louder a complaint they can receive from this community.
“What we wait to see is if they will provide them with relief by suspending the permit.
“Despite all the administrative
actions and the back and forth between the City and the department, it is important to remember that there is a community that has to live next to a stinking landfill day after day, year after year.
“The right and humane thing to do would be for the City to immediately close the site, and if they won’t, the department should force them to,” she said.
Pretoria News