INFORMAL SETTLEMENTS

• People in informal settlements have varied levels of access to services, including regular refuse removal and sanitation services. Poverty and lack of knowledge in these areas may lead to littering, overflow of unmaintained or broken sewage systems and unmanaged waste and other sources of land pollution. Dust from gravel or untarred roads and the lack of toilet facilities and other basic services also aggravate the problem.
• In the southern most part of Greater Johannesburg illegal dumping takes place at the intersection of the R553 and R551, near Palm Springs west of Orange Farm. There is also widespread litter and irregular waste removal and runoff from informal settlements, which contributes to the land pollution here.
• Some settlements around Ennerdale and Lenasia also have inadequate refuse removal services, and together with illegal dumping this leads to land pollution.
• In the Freedom Park, Bushkoppies area, southeast of Soweto, illegal dumping, littering, poor location of rubbish bins in relation to waste generation, and irregular services seem to be the main causes of land pollution.
• Informal settlements in the central and northern parts of Soweto, including Kliptown, seem to have similar problems, such as illegal dumping in most open spaces and irregular refuse removal, which leads to the blockage of sewers and burning of refuse and litter.
• To the west of Soweto towards the Doornkop settlement, except for refuse problems, old petrol stations and informal industries like scrap yards add to land degradation. Even though regular refuse removal exists in most areas, dumping still takes place in undeveloped park areas and in spaces between houses (SMLC: LDO, 1997).
• Informal and illegal settlements in the Johannesburg CBD area pose big land pollution problems due to the lack of refuse removal, littering, illegal dumping, and overuse/overflow of sewers.
• West of Roodepoort in the Davidsonville area, lack of regular refuse removal, high levels of refuse, littering and broken sewage pipes pollute the land.
• Settlements in Alexandra show high litter levels (paper, glass, bottles and vegetable matter), bad waste management, illegal dumping, poor sanitation services and an inadequate sewage system, which all lead to land pollution. All the organic waste attracts pests such as rodents and insects, which carry diseases and pose a health problem. Overcrowding only make the problems worse. There are some good, healthy affluent areas in Alexandra.
• In the north, in the vicinity of the Zevenfontein and Diepsloot settlements, little or no refuse removal exists, and sewers and service provision needs upgrading.

WASTE DISPOSAL SITES

• Six major landfill sites exist in Greater Johannesburg, and are from the north to the south, Kya-Sands (north of Randburg), Linbro Park (north of Alexandra), Robinson Deep (between Roodepoort and Soweto), Marie Louise (south of the Johannesburg CBD), Goudkoppies (southeast of Soweto), and Ennerdale (west of Ennerdale). All these sites are aesthetically displeasing areas of land pollution, especially where waste is not managed properly. These sites also emit noxious odours, while bad odours were reported from the Goudkoppies Landfill site. Further land pollution problems may emerge when the growing population has exceeded the capacity of these sites due to their increasingly high rate of use. Problems may occur especially in Alexandra, Soweto and south of the CBD.

MINING ACTIVITY

• The biggest areas of dust / land pollution from mines occurs south of and near to the Johannesburg CBD, and along the whole mining belt that stretches from the south of Denver, southeast of Johannesburg, right through to the south of Roodepoort. Environmental degradation occurs here in the form of slimes dams, excavations and exposed mine dumps and stretches of land, where soil erosion and poor soil quality are the major problems. Smoke from informal settlements located in close vicinity to mine dumps traps the dust and enforces the pollution there. In mining areas a lack of services like running water, refuse removal and sanitation services usually exist, and together with the gravel roads, this increases the land pollution.
• In the west, portions of Doornkop, Durban Roodepoort Deep and areas in the northern periphery of the Main reef Road, are currently subject to undermining.
• No active mines exist in the far south, northeast and north of Greater Johannesburg, and land pollution due to mining activities is therefore limited to the mining belt running from east to west through the central part of the metropolitan area.

CBD ACTIVITIES

• Human activities in the Johannesburg CBD reduce the quality of the land. Illegal dumping of waste, large amounts of solid waste production and littering by the many informal traders and businesses in the area, un-maintained sewage pipes, and the excessive amounts of refuse to be treated due to overcrowding leads to high levels of land pollution. Continuous overflowing of sewers, especially in the rainy season, occurs mainly in Hillbrow, Newtown and Jeppestown. Illegal and informal settlements and the increasing amount of informal traders on the streets due to population growth and high levels of poverty further aggravates this major problem. Commercial and industrial activities in the CBD also exacerbate land pollution in the city and surroundings.
• In the northern suburbs of Johannesburg including Orange Grove, Sandton and Randburg areas, commercial, transportation and industrial activities contribute to land pollution. Littering, waste production, illegal dumping of waste and overflowing of sewage systems all impact negatively on the visual character of the areas, and increases degradation of the land.

CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS