These Gauteng municipalities are lagging behind with their refuse collection bills

Gauteng’s municipalities have millions in refuse collection debt sitting on their books.

Electricity and water debts extend into the billions, but the cost of move waste from households to landfills is mounting.

Gauteng’s refuse removal resources may be in the dumps, but non-payment from residents is hampering recovery efforts.

Ekurhuleni debt over R2 billion

Refuse removal services in major municipalities operate as separate departments with individual budgets and revenue generation objectives.

The figures were recently provided by Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (Cogta) MEC Jacob Mamabolo in a written response to a question posed in the provincial legislature.

The MEC’s response was a compilation of information provided by the province’s 11 municipalities on how they handled their refuse removal matters.

The City of Ekurhuleni has the highest reported debt for waste collection, while other municipalities have focused on the percentage of residents not paying for the service.

Ekurhuleni reported that its total refuse debt stood at R2.3 billion as of February 2025 and that the average payment rate was just over 65%, in line with other services.

The City of Johannesburg reported a payment of 75% of waste management bills, adding that R780 million has been allocated to Pikitup for the financial year to cover bad debts.

Johannesburg offers free waste collection at properties valued R350 000 and under, as does the City of Tshwane for residents of informal settlements and indigent households.

“The city indicates that its billing system for waste services to households is not issued separately, thus it is not possible to isolate and allocate unpaid municipal bills to just one line item on a typical municipal bill,” stated Tshwane’s feedback.

Low payment rates

Other smaller municipalities in the province noted that it was difficult to calculate refuse removal as it was lumped together with other services.

Those municipalities that disclosed their debts were the Merafong, Lesedi and Emfuleni municipalities.

Merafong listed a R19 million debt with a 46% non-payment rate from residents and businesses, while Lesedi reported a R173 million refuse debt, with 60% of residents and 72% of businesses paying their bills.

Emfuleni is currently under Operation Shanela interventions after being identified as one of the eight worst municipalities in the country by Cogta.

Emfuleni’s reported a R615 million debt, explaining that while 52% of those serviced paid their bills, the amounts were problematic.

“The other challenge is that the rate applied to waste is not viable for the municipality. It is too low, and if it were to increase, it would become unaffordable for customers,” Emfuleni’s response stated.

Rand West City indicated that 31% of residents were not paying for services, while Midvaal had between 87% and 94% of its residents paying their rates.

The Sedibeng and West Rand District municipalities did not provide waste management services to residents, while Mogale City stated service charges were billed together.

Mamabolo’s office was contacted for further comment, which will be added once received.

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