Mail & Guardian
Mail & Guardian

Illegal Dumping

latest news & developments
Toxic smoke: The illegal dumping site from Cedar Creek forces residents to breathe an acrid haze from nightly burning. Photo: Supplied
AIR POLLUTION

‘We can’t breathe’: Joburg communities choke as illegal dumping sparks toxic air crisis

Every night, the skyline turns grey as illegal waste fires sweep through mountains of discarded household waste, building debris, electronic, medical waste and toxic materials

  • Sheree Bega
8 min read
River of rebirth and death: Rescue workers search for the bodies of church members who drowned in the Jukskei River. (Phill Magakoe/AFP)
ILLEGAL DUMPING

Weep on the banks of Joburg’s Jukskei River

Worshippers use the river as a place of baptism but people drown in its water polluted by illegal dumping and poor service delivery

  • Hugo ka Canham
8 min read
Greener pastures: Construction companies and households in Diepsloot, in the north of Johannesburg, that illegally dumped refuse created an opportunity for Nondumiso Sibiya to establish Boombadotmobi recycling company that includes composting. Photo: Delwyn Verasamy
DIEPSLOOT

Illegal dumping in Diepsloot gives rise to waste economy

Nondumiso Sibiya has found value in collecting refuse and working with waste pickers

  • Marcia Zali
2 min read