Court orders CoJ to address Kya Sands’ toxic air
The community forum has won its first court case by making the City of Johannesburg responsible for checking the air quality in the area and paying for the tests themselves.
The Kya Sand Burning Wasteland Community Forum Non-Profit Company has won their first legal battle when it secured a court order compelling the City of Johannesburg to conduct comprehensive air quality testing at its own cost.
The order was granted by the Johannesburg High Court on August 5.
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This is an important step forward in the community’s battle against illegal dumping and burning in Kya Sands, which has been causing bad air pollution in most parts of the Fourways and Randburg areas.
Keith Elliott, a frustrated resident leading the campaign, says Pikitup failed to close the Kya Sand Waste Disposal Site in 2010, as required by the Gauteng Department of Rural Development and Agriculture. That is why they took them to court.
He said the site was reopened by illegal operators, known as ‘waste lords’, who have been profiting from illegal dumping activities. He accused Pikitup of ignoring the community’s health and safety and allowing illegal dumping to continue.
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“We have now documented at least 14 illegal dumps in the area, on city, provincial, and private land. These dumps service up to 200 trucks per day. The nature of the waste includes garden waste, household waste, building rubble and waste, toxic waste, and even medical waste. The ‘clients’ of this illegal industry include builders, garden services, and even registered waste disposal companies.”
The community forum has been raising funds for air quality testing, recognising the need to prove harm caused by illegal activities to succeed in court. However, due to the high costs involved, they launched a parallel court application to compel the City to conduct its own testing.
“It was a big day for us because it was our first legal victory. It was, however, a narrow victory, but which certainly takes us closer to our goal of compelling the authorities to fulfil their mandate to the public – which is to prevent illegal dumping, and to rehabilitate the dump sites.
“In addition, it unfortunately shows some evidence of delaying tactics by the city because we will not have the results before April 30, 2025. This is because the city claims that it needs to comply with procurement policies and processes and this will delay the appointment of the contractor to perform that work.
“We are, nonetheless, pleased that the truth about the negative effects of the illegal dumping industry that the city has allowed to blossom will be revealed. We are confident that these results will highlight the damage to our natural environment and the negative effects on human health.”
Elliott said they are now more focused on the big prize – The closure of all of the illegal dump sites, and the rehabilitation of the land. He said they will meet with their legal team again next week to plan the next phase of their legal campaign.
Nthatisi Modingoane, the city’s spokesperson, said they have agreed to conduct comprehensive air quality testing and produce an expert report at its own expense.
“The testing will include the installation of active and passive air samplers, analysis of volatile organic compounds, sulphur dioxide, nitrogen dioxide, and hydrogen fluoride. The city will provide the applicant and the above Honourable Court with the full air quality testing results, as well as the expert report, by or before April 30, 2025.”
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