Kya Sands, Johannesburg – Suspected criminal syndicates have tightened their grip on the Kya Sands area in northern Johannesburg, transforming a decommissioned landfill site into an epicenter of illegal dumping, toxic fires, and environmental decay that now threatens approximately 200,000 nearby residents.
The Kya Sands landfill site was officially closed in 2010, but residents allege it was never properly decommissioned. This failure has allowed illegal dumping to spread far beyond the original site’s boundaries. Daily, trucks hauling household, construction, industrial, and even medical waste arrive, unloading tons of refuse in plain sight.
For 63-year-old Rosta Mashaban, a long-time resident and pioneering waste reclaimers, the industry has shifted dramatically. She once built a small recycling business that employed waste reclaimers, seeing the work as a path to survival and opportunity. Today, she says the sector is unrecognizable. What began as informal recycling has evolved into a lucrative shadow economy controlled by syndicates who allegedly charge illegal dumping fees, intimidate operators, and run unauthorized dumping sites.
After valuable recyclable materials are stripped out and sold for prices ranging from 200 to 5,000 rand, the remaining waste is often deliberately set alight. These fires clear space for more dumping the next day. Some burn openly for days, while others smolder underground, releasing toxic pollutants into surrounding communities.
“Estimated about 200,000 people around Kya Sands going all the way to Fourways, wherever the wind blows… that’s affecting the toxicity and these chemicals being dumped here at the landfill site,” said a local representative. “There’s been numerous evidence to confirm that many medical waste and chemicals being dumped here at the landfill site, and those are very toxic.”
Ward councillor Deon Stianam stated that organized criminal networks have effectively hijacked waste operations in the area, operating openly while enforcement remains weak.
“The city hasn’t been taking seriously the bylaws to enforce the bylaws in this community,” Stianam said. “That from not doing bylaws has now grown and mushroomed into multiple sites. On record, there’s estimated about 14 illegal dumping sites in the Kya Sands area, but I believe there’s also way more than that.”
He added that although the landfill site has been decommissioned, it has been overtaken by syndicates running illegal operations. For residents living closest to the fires, the health impact is already being felt.
Despite years of complaints, oversight visits, and promises of intervention, illegal dumping continues to expand. The City of Johannesburg says a 150 million rand rehabilitation project is planned for the area.
