Only one in five landfill sites meets basic standards, AfriForum study shows

Soundbite: Marais de Vaal (English)

AfriForum’s 2025 landfill site audit, that was released today, shows that only 22% of landfill sites in the country – or only about one in five sites – met the minimum requirements for responsible waste management. Of the 169 sites audited nationwide, 131 failed to comply with even the most basic measures intended to protect communities and the environment from pollution.

The audit results reveal that Gauteng and the Western Cape are the only two provinces where the majority of landfill sites met 80% or more of the audit requirements and therefore passed the audit. Gauteng remains for the second consecutive year the best performer, with an average compliance score of 84%, while the Western Cape scored 66%. The majority of landfill sites that passed the audit (19 out of 38 sites) are, however, located in the Western Cape.

The landfill sites in the Free State, Limpopo, Mpumalanga and the Northern Cape are still in a state of collapse, with more than 90% of these sites failing the audit. The Northern Cape recorded the lowest average compliance score of only 13%.

The national average compliance score rose slightly to 42% in 2025 – four percentage points higher than last year and the highest in the past five years – but AfriForum warns that this marginal improvement cannot disguise the fact that nearly four out of every five landfill sites in South Africa do not meet the basic requirements for responsible waste management.

Common problems across failing sites include broken weighbridges, a lack of access control and security, and the dumping of unauthorised and harmful waste due to a lack of load inspections. A general lack of compaction and covering of waste is also common at these sites, as is the occurrence of fires, absent staff and the presence of informal recyclers operating in unsafe conditions without protective equipment or municipal registration.

“Municipalities are supposed to protect communities against pollution, yet most landfill sites are lawless and dangerous. With only 22% of sites passing this audit, it is clear that the majority of municipalities are incapable or unwilling to perform this basic function of service delivery,” says Marais de Vaal, AfriForum’s Advisor for Environmental Affairs.

AfriForum will submit the audit findings to the Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment (DFFE) and demand that municipalities be held accountable for their failed efforts to manage landfill sites. The civil rights organisation will also continue to drive community-based waste solutions, such as its waste removal service in Bloemfontein and recycling initiatives nationwide. It is only through these efforts that communities will prosper regardless of the state in which municipalities find themselves.

“The only sustainable way to meet communities’ needs for responsible waste management is to establish closer collaboration between municipalities and communities. Due to municipalities’ continued lack of proper service delivery, individuals are left with no other choice but to establish alternatives to achieve community self-reliance,” concludes De Vaal.