31 May 2021

 Kgatleng District Council has closed the Pilane Landfill following recent fire outbreaks at the landfill.

In an interview, the councillor for Rasesa, Mr Daniel Molokwe said the council was concerned about accidental fires at the landfill which posed a health hazard to employees and residents in the vicinity of the landfill. Villages in the vicinity of the landfill comprise Bokaa, Pilane, Morwa and Rasesa.

Councillor Molokwe, who was also served with a petition from residents of Rasesa over pollution from the landfill, refuted allegations that the fires were left unattended for extended periods. He said the council was doing its best to ensure the hazard was minimised.  

He also noted that the landfill had exceeded its lifespan by 11 years, and that it was becoming complicated to manage it as a properly engineered landfill.

He said landfill operations had also degenerated to the level of a dumping site with the resultant consequences of scavengers scrambling for food items, thereby resulting in accidental fires.

“I wish to point out that these fires are not quite ‘unaccountable,’ but are rather due to accidental or deliberate fires caused by residents abutting the landfill or customers who frequent the site for various things including the salvage of disposal items,” he stressed.

Furthermore, he stated that the council was currently awaiting funds to extend the landfill on the land adjacent to the existing landfill. 

However, he noted that due to other competing priorities and COVID-19, it was not easy to do that as quickly as they wished.

He noted that the first phase of the design stage of the project had been undertaken through additional cells, adding that various funding options were being pursued for implementation of the project.

He stated that it was not feasible for the landfill to be relocated as demanded by residents.

“We are out to focus on lobbying and marshalling resources towards investing in a well-managed and engineered landfill that will have minimal environmental impacts,” he stated.

Currently, residents have been encouraged to dump refuse at the Dikwididi and Mmathubudukwane dumping site until further notice. ends