Few municipalities comply with waste management legislation for landfill sites intended to protect the environment from pollution and communities’ health, says civil society organisation AfriForum.

An audit of 189 landfill sites across all nine provinces showed that the vast majority – 162 or 85.8% – of these sites did not meet the minimum requirements for responsible waste management, it points out.

Only 27 of the sites audited, or 14.3%, met 80% or more of the audit requirements, which are the minimum requirements.

“The latest landfill audit report indicates that South Africa is experiencing significant problems with the management of landfill sites,” says AfriForum environmental affairs adviser Marais de Vaal.

“As the audit pass rate determines whether only the minimum requirements for waste management are met, and how few landfill sites have passed, it is clear that there are major shortcomings in terms of municipal waste management,” he adds.

Further, the decline of landfill sites is increasing, as 28 more sites were audited this year than in 2023, but even fewer were able to pass the independent audit.

The Western Cape and Gauteng provinces achieved a much higher compliance score than the national average at 39.4%.

The worst-performing provinces include the Free State and the Northern Cape, and no landfill sites in the Free State passed the audit for the seventh consecutive year.

AfriForum says it shared last year’s audit findings with all the municipalities involved, as well as the former Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment Minister, but that no concrete steps were taken in the past year to tackle the shortcomings.

The audit also shows that, if these problems are not urgently addressed, it will lead to a complete collapse of waste management in the country, says De Vaal.

AfriForum will request that new Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment Minister Dr Dion George launch a formal investigation in the audited municipalities. It also proposes that the department play a facilitating role to encourage substantial partnerships with the private sector.

If these partnerships are successful, municipalities will act as referees rather than service providers, thereby ensuring that landfills meet legal requirements, De Vaal says.

“The landfill audit report’s findings are proof that municipalities’ ability to fulfil their obligations regarding waste management is lacking. The Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment must urgently [hold] municipalities to account so that the country is not buried under waste.”

AfriForum will continue to monitor landfill sites and will also investigate alternatives for proper waste management in South Africa, he adds.

Afriforum has been reporting on the country’s landfill sites since 2014 to determine whether these sites meet the necessary environmental, health and safety requirements for responsible waste management.

Its nationwide network of 160 branches audited 185 municipal landfill sites and four private landfills during February.