For years, residents living near the Kya Sands landfill have endured the devastating effects of illegal dumping and recurring fires that continue to threaten their health and quality of life.

Thick smoke from frequent landfill fires blankets nearby communities, forcing families to keep windows shut and exposing children, the elderly, and those with respiratory conditions to harmful air pollution. Despite numerous visits by city officials, residents said little has changed on the ground. Meetings have been held, promises made, and inspections conducted, yet a lasting solution remains out of reach.

Read more: City Power targets illegal Kya Sands connections

As a result, communities continue to suffer the consequences of unmanaged waste and persistent fires. Joburg North resident Vari Mureriwa said that the problem has become a nightly ordeal. “We see the smog start to make its way to us around sunset. My family is suffering from rhinosinusitis. The symptoms include asthma attacks, extreme hacking coughs, vomiting, and struggling to breathe. We keep all windows closed in the afternoon. My family struggles to sleep, and we are investing in air purification systems across our whole house to minimise the long-term impact,” said Mureriwa.

She added that her family has lived in Mont Tremblant Estate in Fourways since 2022, but the issue became severely pronounced in 2025 .“I’ve had to spend upwards of R10 000 on air purifiers, and my medical aid has taken a significant hit due to hospitalisations and medications for myself and my family.”

In an effort to protect their communities, residents took matters into their own hands. They raised funds to close access points to the landfill and hired security guards to prevent illegal dumping. For a time, these measures helped reduce the problem. However, maintaining the operation proved costly, and once community funds were exhausted, the guards had to be withdrawn. Keith Elliott, who leads a campaign under The Kya Sands Burning Wasteland Community Forum Non-Profit Company, said their previous enforcement efforts had sent a strong message.

“Our private security sent the message to the criminals that ‘Kya Sands is closed for dumping business’, but now they are back.”

Also read: City of Joburg allocates funds for the Kya Sand landfill site

He recalled a recent incident: “On May 9, we woke up to find a huge smoke cloud above Kya Sand. I immediately drove there. On the way, I passed JMPD and SAPS vehicles. I convinced a JMPD vehicle to accompany me to the site where they were dumping and burning. The site is only 300m upriver, on the Kya Sands Spruit.”

Upon arrival, they discovered that an underground fire, which the community forum, with the help of the city, had extinguished in January, had since reignited.

“As our private security contract ended in February because we ran out of money, with the new activity, we have been forced to re-engage private security. The dumping will continue until we stop it, or the floodplain is levelled to make space for more shacks. The dump owners sell these ‘plots,’ take money from dumping clients, and recycle and sell anything that can be salvaged. We now have four checkpoints, a tactical vehicle, and patrols in the area, not as many as we had before due to affordability. We hope to close Kya Sand down again.”

Residents are calling for urgent and sustained intervention from authorities to address the crisis and provide a permanent solution before more lives are affected. Gauteng Member of the Executive Council for Environment, Ewan Botha, visited the site and conducted an operation in October 2025. Those operations produced tangible results: arrests, impoundments, fines, facility closures, infrastructure seizures, and environmental rehabilitation interventions.

On May 15 this year, Botha stated that the department is finalising the next phase of operations, with further announcements to follow.

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