Centurion ward councillors raise alarm over waste dumping near Hennops River
Large amounts of recyclable and non-recyclable material near the Hennops River have sparked clean-up operations and calls for a sustainable recycling site in Centurion.
Centurion ward councillors have raised concerns over an informal recycling and dumping site accumulating waste near the Hennops River.
Ward 69 councillor Cindy Billson and Ward 70 councillor Marika Kruger Muller raised concerns about the site at the corner of Wierda Road and Old Johannesburg Road, where recyclable and non-recyclable material has accumulated close to the river.
Photo: Supplied.
A recent visit found large quantities of recyclable and non-recyclable material spread across the area, with about 15 recyclers sorting materials.
According to Billson, informal recyclers bring collected items to the site, where they separate them according to their resale value.
She said fewer people were using the site compared with previous visits, but the environmental problem remained.
“The current condition of the site demonstrates that there is a significant environmental problem,” Billson said.
She said cardboard, plastic bottles, packaging, tyres and other discarded materials had accumulated across the site and surrounding vegetation.
Photo: Supplied
However, Billson stressed that the wider pollution of the Hennops River could not be blamed solely on informal recyclers.
“From my own observations, the accumulation and sorting of material at this particular site is contributing to pollution in the immediate environment,” she said.
She said many recyclers depended on collecting and selling recyclable material for an income.
“Removing them without addressing their livelihoods and the waste stream could simply move the problem elsewhere,” she said.
Billson believes a sustainable solution should provide recyclers with a structured area to sort and store material, while ensuring non-recyclable waste is removed and properly disposed of.
Photo: Supplied
Clean-up operations underway
Kruger Muller has been working with municipal officials since September 14 to address the site through a clean-up.
With assistance from the city’s waste department, almost 50 bags of waste were removed on September 17.
Kruger Muller said the clean-up would continue and that she would conduct regular site visits to monitor progress.
The concerns come as Tshwane, Johannesburg and Ekurhuleni work together to address wider pollution affecting the Kaalspruit catchment and downstream waterways, including the Hennops River.
Tshwane metro spokesperson Lindela Mashigo said the three metros appeared in the Pretoria High Court on June 8 following action by Redefine Retail, which owns Centurion Mall and adjacent Centurion Lake.
The company approached the court over long-standing pollution affecting the lake and feeder rivers and sought an action plan to rehabilitate affected areas.
An ongoing intergovernmental task team was subsequently established to develop and fund rehabilitation measures.
Photo: Supplied
Mashigo previously told Rekord that much of the waste reaching the Hennops originates upstream, particularly in the Kaalspruit catchment across Johannesburg and Ekurhuleni.
Rekord reached out to the Tshwane metro for comment on whether the city had conducted any environmental assessments or inspections at the recycling site to determine the impact of continued informal recycling and dumping in the Hennops River system. No response was received by time of publication.
The informal recyclers operating at the site have yet to respond to Rekord’s enquiry regarding this matter.
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