Illegal mining activities continue to wreak havoc at the City of Ekurhuleni’s landfill sites, forcing repeated closures of key public waste management facilities and raising growing concerns over public safety and service delivery.

In one of the latest incidents, the City of Ekurhuleni on Monday morning announced the temporary closure of both the Simmer and Jack landfill site in Germiston and the Rooikraal landfill site in Dawn Park amid ongoing tensions between suspected illegal miners and recyclable material collectors.

According to the CoE spokesperson Zweli Dlamini, the Simmer and Jack landfill site was closed following a shooting incident involving suspected illegal miners on Sunday afternoon.

Meanwhile, the Rooikraal landfill site remains temporarily closed due to maintenance work.

The latest shutdown is part of a series of violent incidents linked to illegal mining activities at some of the landfill sites across the city.

Over recent months, clashes between rival groups operating within and around landfill facilities, including the Simmer and Jack landfill site, have repeatedly disrupted operations, threatened worker safety and affected communities dependent on the facilities.

The EMPD has since been deployed to the Simmer and Jack landfill site and is monitoring the situation closely in an effort to restore order and ensure public safety.

Sources familiar with the ongoing conflict say armed groups linked to illegal mining syndicates have increasingly infiltrated landfill sites, using intimidation and violence to control access to recyclable materials and strategic sections of the facilities.

The city said further updates will be communicated as soon as more information becomes available, and it has apologised to residents for the inconvenience caused.

The continued violence has once again raised urgent concerns about the growing influence of illegal mining networks in Ekurhuleni and the threat they pose to municipal infrastructure, workers and surrounding communities.

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