Heritage Cases

The Townlands Landfill Site is approximately 7.7ha in extent. The landfill site was permitted as a G:M:B- waste disposal facility in 1996 by the Department of Water Affairs and Forestry (DWAF) in terms of the provisions of section 20(1) of the Environment Conservation Act (No 73 of 1989) (ECA). According to the Rustenburg IWMP – Status Quo Report, March 2005, it has been established that the landfill site receives approximately 425 tonnes of general waste per day. The landfill site is therefore classed as a G:M:B- waste disposal facility. The landfill site has some infrastructure required for a formal G:M:B- waste disposal facility. Infrastructure at the landfill site include, amongst others, a bathroom; kitchen; security office; site office; storage areas; and storage containers. The waste at the landfill site was historically land-filled. The waste was buried, and the landfill site used to be at the same elevation as the surrounding area. The waste is no longer being land-filled, but rather land build. The waste is not being buried, instead the waste is disposed on the surface of landfill site and subsequently covered. The availability of cover material is a concern. The crusher plant used to supply the landfill site with cover material. However, access to the crusher plant is no longer allowed, due to safety concerns. The landfill site is currently at a much higher elevation than its surroundings. Although the burning of waste is not permitted on the landfill site, waste (such as tyres) is sometimes burned on-site by the recyclers. There are five boreholes in the vicinity of the landfill site. One borehole is located at the entrance to the landfill site. Two more boreholes are located towards the fence of the landfill site that boarders with the crusher plant. A further three boreholes surrounds the landfill site, towards the communities. These boreholes have not been monitored recently, due to the dewatering of the aquifer undertaken by the mines in the area. There is a leachate/storm water pond on the landfill site. It is, however, not being managed currently. The area where the leachate/storm water pond is located, is not fenced. Thus, contaminated water is entering the surrounding environment. The leachate/storm water pond is presenting a severe health and safety risk to the communities and the recyclers. There used to be four methane extractors with gas probes on the landfill site. However, none of these are operational at present, since they have been stolen/vandalised by the community/recyclers.