Heritage Cases

The waste disposal site is not formally classified, but it is estimated to be GCB- and is 3.13 ha in extent. The estimated date of commencement of the site is unknown. According to the Readiness Report for Ramotshere Moiloa Local Municipality (Jaffares & Green, 2010) the site is expected to have been operational for more than 9 years. Waste disposal was uncontrolled with no access control or any management of waste deposited on the property. There are no controls for litter and dumping occurs outside of the dedicated areas. There is no equipment for landfill operations, and waste is not compacted and covered, but merely disposed of in an open depressed area. Poor operations on the site results in poor visual aesthetics and a fair amount of uncovered waste was observed on site. Evidence of the burning of waste (including waste tyres) has been observed. The majority of waste is concentrated at the northern part of the landfill site, but large quantities of waste is scattered over the surface of the entire landfill site. To optimally make use of the available air space, it is recommended that the scattered waste is moved to the northern side of the landfill site. The eastern part (old part) of the landfill site has been covered with topsoil and are heavily infested by alien and invasive plant species. The landfill boundary comprises of a 3 – 4 metre high soil berm, which could be used as cover material when the landfill site is eventually closed. There is still a large portion of land available at the landfill site. There are no formal statistics on the quantities of waste disposed of, and it is uncertain what amount of waste is reclaimed (informally) from the site. No groundwater or gas monitoring is conducted on or near the facility. The lack of ground water monitoring data is a cause for concern, since the town of Lehurutshe is largely dependent on ground water for it domestic water supply and the proximity of ground water wells to the site. Waste management does not feature as a priority project in the IDP of Ramotshere-Moiloa Local Municipality. The local municipality has not yet developed an Integrated Waste Management Plan (IWMP) and the Ngaka Modiri Molema District Municipality is in the process of revising its IWMP. Activities proposed as part of this application This application proposes four potential alternatives to be considered for the continued operation of the Lehurutshe landfill site.