GEORGE NEWS - The impact of the fast tempo of development and construction in George can also be seen at the Gwaiing landfill site where the mountains of refuse are growing by the day.
This is concerning, especially considering that the George Municipality had plans to close and decommission the site by early 2022.
In a statement on 3 September 2020, the municipality announced that it had completed phase 1 of platform A of a composting plant at the landfill site, which was to enable the decommissioning of the landfill site within 18 months.
Today the composting plant is still underongoing development, and the date for the closure and rehabilitation of the landfill has been extended to November 2029.
S24G application for unlawful activities
The municipality has also launched a Section 24G application with the Department of Environmental Affairs and Development Planning (DEA&DP) for unlawful dumping outside of the legal footprint of the landfill site, dumping within 32m of a watercourse,, and the correction of the site’s co-ordinates, according to the head of communication, Chantèl Edwards. The pre-application process was advertised in May.
She says the S24G will guide the municipality regarding the rehabilitation plan for the facility. “The full application will be submitted after the revision of studies that were conducted,” says Edwards.
While domestic waste is transported to the Petro SA landfill in Mossel Bay, builders’ rubble and garden refuse are handled at the Gwaiing site.
Edwards says the disposal rate of builders’ rubble and biomass waste has increased due to all the construction happening around the city, but a new site for builders’ rubble is being sought. Environmental consultants have been appointed to identify a suitable location. This process forms part of the S24G application.
In the meantime, construction of the compost facility for the handling of organic waste is continuing at the Gwaiing landfill where garden waste is accepted. No mixed waste is allowed. Edwards says the facility has four platforms, of which only the first has been completed. “All four platforms, the road and retention pond must be completed before the site can operate.”
The wall of one of the mountains of waste. Photo: Alida de Beer
AfriForum’s rating
According to Marais de Vaal, environmental adviser for AfriForum, waste management at the Gwaiing landfill site has improved significantly, according to the 2025 national landfill audit (done annually at more than 180 landfills countrywide). Its score climbed from 48 in 2023 and 2024 to 84 this year.
According to the audit, the total capacity of the Gwaiing site is 214 000m³, but the municipality was unable to provide AfriForum with specific information about aspects such as the remaining unused capacity and the amounts of daily tonnage of waste accepted.
This should be changing for the better thanks to a new weighbridge that the municipality opened this week.
Marais de Vaal, environmental adviser for AfriForum. Photo: Supplied
According to Nombuyiselo Majola, manager of projects in the Solid Waste and Shared Services section, accurate recording of the weight of all incoming and outgoing waste will improve monitoring and reporting and will help to identify opportunities for waste diversion.
Reliable data will become available for greater transparency and accountability, and operational flow will also improve.
Waste transfer station repairs
The waste transfer station that was damaged by a fire in 2023 has not been repaired yet. Edwards says the insurance process was only finalised in May this year, and the insurance claim was paid over after the approval of the 2025/26 budget. “The repairs will be done once the budget is available.”
The new weighbridge. Photo: Supplied | George Municipality
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