Overcrowding in GJ causes exploitation of the land beyond its capacity, which leads to land pollution. This exceeds the capacity of sewer systems and landfill sites. Sewage problems mainly exist in large parts of Alexandra and Soweto townships. South and southwest of Jhb, dust pollution from mine dumps, are the main sources of land degradation, whiles the CBD experiences continuous overflowing of sewers, especially in Hillbrow, New Town and Jeppestown. All these activities reduce the quality of the land. The main sources of land pollution were identifies as informal settlements, waste disposal sites, mining activities and activieties in CBD’s.

DRIVING FORCE

Mining

Mining activities and the extraction of gold, chiefly in the north western area of the SMLC (where ore has a relatively high uranium content), artificially enhances the concentrations of naturally occurring radioactive elements in mine tailing dams. Radioactive minerals from the mine tailings could enter the environment by airborne dust and leaching into waterways. The key mining issues are:

Dust from mines, particularly apparent in informal settlements which are presently located in the peripheral areas and the smoke emanating from this area trap the dust particles blowing from the mines)

Informal Settlements

A number of Informal Settlements occur within Greater Johannesburg Metropolitan area as outlined in table ____ that impact on the environment mainly through land pollution in the form of:

• Dust from gravel roads
• Lack of clean running water
• Lack of regular refuse removal
• Broken and non-maintained sewerage pipes
• Lack of regular refuse removal and excessive loads of refuse to be treated due to overcrowding
• Absence of toilet facilities and ignorant littering

Central Business District

The overcrowding of the inner city with migrants who are unemployed and unable to pay the housing rents leads to a serious decay of the flats/buildings in the inner city. The measure of serious decay includes accommodation which does not have functioning toilets (7%), electricity (3%), drains that block regularly (20%), and leaking water pipes (25%). High density and poor living conditions with insufficient provision of services, due to urbanization contribute to environmental health.

Pressure

No standards exist for the prevention of land pollution which can be used to determine the pressure of land pollution. However the key causative factors are the exploitation of land (overcrowding) beyond its capacity, together with the inability to increase the sewer capacity and degradation of the sewer system. This particular cause for concern is especially evident in large parts of Alexandra and Soweto townships, which appears to have suffered complete breakdown. The lack of maintenance or upgrading/expansion and the mushrooming of squatter and informal settlements without formal services in these areas exacerbate the already dismal situation of soil pollution.

Inadequate service deliver coupled with poverty and overcrowding often result in a breakdown of services which result in overflown and broken sewerage pipes, illegal dumping and blockage of systems. With the high percentage of communities who do not have access to adeqaute sanitation high levels of land pollution occur.

Source: Provincial Statistics, 1994

 General pressures can be highlighted in the form of:

• heavy metals in soil
• cyanide from mining activities
• landfill leachate with heavy metals in water systems
• increase in diarrhoeal diseases

Mining

The environmental impacts of mining are particularly severe in Gauteng Province. The effects of water resources and soil quality are possibly the most important. Although many of the mines are no longer operational, the environmental legacy of mining impacts still needs to be addressed. Currently there are smaller mining operations, such as quarries, which can have large negative impacts on the environment and which need to be controlled and managed by the Department f Environmental Planning in the South in co-ordination with other government bodies (Mining Engineering and the Provincial Environmental Directorate).

Johannesburg City has its roots in gold mining. The consequential legacy is a proliferation of mine tailings in a broad belt spanning the South of the CBD and abutting the residential areas to the South. Whilst relatively less mining is taking place now than in the past, older mine dumps are being reworked and shifted as the gold price and technology make this process viable. However, natural decomposition of the iron pyrites contents of these tailings leads to acidic leachate contamination of the area’s surface water.

Dust from the mine dumping, another environmental pressure, faces local communities, specifically in situations where no or inadequate mitigation measures have been applied to tailing services. With the improvement in extraction technology, many of the mine tailings have been and are being reprocessed for its residual gold content. Consequently, exposed land may become available for development where there are no shallow mines or where radioactive contaminated soil is not a mitigating factor.

 Central Business District

Soil pollution from the residential of Greater Johannesburg generally relates to litter and the product of overflowing sewers during rainfall events and most importantly ignorance (lack of litter awareness). Soil pollution from city center areas-Alexandra, Hillbrow, Newtown and Jeppestown-result from the contamination of raw sewage which occurs on a continuous basis, irregular maintenance to sewers and overcrowding which puts immense strain on urban services.

• Through direct contact with bacterial agents found in excreta people may become predisposed to a wide range of illnesses e.g. diarrhoeal diseases, cholera, tyhoid fever and helminthic infections.

Solid Waste

• Inappropriate disposal of waste may lead to fatal injuries amongst young children as well as poisonings and incidents of suffocation.
• Organic waste attracts vectors such as rodents and insects and may cause gastrointestinal and parasitic diseases.
• Most frequent complaints from Alexandra area are related to mice, rat and "bedbug" infestations.

STATE OF LAND POLLUTION ACCORDING TO MAJOR SOURCES (DRIVING FORCES)

INFORMAL SETTLEMENTS

• People in informal settlements have varied levels of access to services, including regular refuse removal and sanitation services. Poverty and lack of knowledge in these areas may lead to littering, overflow of non-maintained/broken sewage systems and unmanaged waste; all sources of land pollution. Dust from gravel/untarred roads and the lack of toilet facilities and other basic services all aggravate the problem.
• In the southern most part of GJ illegal dumping takes place at the cnr of the R553 and R551, near Palm Springs west of Orange Farm. There is also litter all over the place and irregular waste removal and runoff from informal settlements, increases the land pollution here.
• Some settlements around Ennerdale and Lenasia also have inadequate refuse removal services, and together with illegal dumping this leads to land pollution.
• In the Freedom Park, Bushkoppies area, southeast of Soweto, illegal dumping, litter, poor location of rubbish bins in relation to waste, and irregular services seem to be the main causes of land pollution.
• Informal settlements in the central and northern parts of Soweto, seem to have similar problems, such as illegal dumping in most open spaces and irregular refuse removal, which leads to the blockage of sewers and burning of refuse and litter.
• To the west of Soweto towards the Doornkop settlement, except for refuse problems, old petrol station and informal industries like scrap yards add to land degradation. Even though regular refuse removal exist in most areas, dumping still takes place in undeveloped park areas and small spaces between houses (SMLC: LDO, 1997).
• Informal and illegal settlements in the Jhb CBD area pose big land pollution problems due to no refuse removal, litter, illegal dumping, and overuse/overflow of sewers.
• West of Roodepoort in the Davidsonville area, lack of regular refuse removal, high levels of refuse, littering and broken sewage pipes pollute the land.
• Settlements in Alexandra show high litter levels (paper, glass, bottles and vegetable matter), bad waste management, bad sanitation services and a bad sewage system, which all lead to land pollution. All the organic waste attracts vectors such as rodents and insects, which carry diseases and pose a health problem.
• In the north, in the vicinity of the Zevenfontein and Diepsloot settlements, little or no refuse removal exists, and sewers and service provision needs upgrading. Although not many people live outside the settlements, land pollution is still a problem inside the settlements.

WASTE DISPOSAL SITES

• Six major landfill sites exist in GJ, and are from the north to the south, Kya-Sands (north of Randburg), Linbro Park (north of Alexandra), Robinson Deep (between Roodepoort and Soweto), Marie Louise (south of the Jhb CBD), Goudkoppies (southeast of Soweto, and Ennerdale (west of Ennerdale). All these sites are aesthetically displeasing areas of land pollution, especially where waste is not managed properly. These sites also emit noxious odors, and bad odours were reported from the Goudkoppies Landfill site. Further land pollution problems may come when the growing population has exceeded the capacity of these sites due to the increasingly high rate of use. Problems may occur especially in Alexandra, Soweto and south of the CBD.

MINING ACTIVITY

• The biggest areas of dust/land pollution from mines occur south of and near to the Jhb CBD, and along the whole mining belt that stretches from the south of Denver, southeast of Jhb, right through to the south of Roodepoort. Land degradation here occurs in the form of slimes dams, excavations and bare mine dumps and stretches of land, where soil erosion and bad soil quality are the major problems. Smoke from informal settlements located in close vicinity to mine dumps, trap the dust and enhances the pollution there. In mining areas a lack of services like running water, refuse removal and sanitation services usually exist, and together with the gravel roads, this increases the land pollution.
• In the west, portions of Doornkop, Durban Roodepoort Deep and areas in the northern periphery of the Main reef Road, are currently subjected to underground mining.
• No active mines exist in the far south, northeast and north of GJ, and land pollution due to mining activities are thus limited to the mining ridge (zone) running from east to west in the central part of GJ.

CBD ACTIVITIES

• Human activities in the Jhb CBD reduce the quality of the land. Illegal dumping of waste, large amounts of solid waste production and littering by the many informal traders and businesses in the area, non-maintained sewage pipes, and the excessive amounts of refuse to be treated due to overcrowding, lead to bad land pollution. Continuous overflowing of sewers, especially in the rainy season, occurs mainly in Hillbrow, New Town and Jeppestown. Illegal and informal settlements and the increasing amount of informal traders on the streets due to population growth and increased poverty, only aggravates this major problem. Commercial and industrial activities in the CBD also increase land pollution in the city and surroundings.
• CBD areas north of Jhb in the Orange Grove, Parkhurst, Sandton and Randburg areas, mainly have commercial, transportational and industrial activities that contribute to land pollution. Littering, waste production, illegal dumping of waste and overflowing of sewage systems all impact negatively on the visual character of the areas, and increases land degradation.

CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS

• The worst affected areas due to land pollution are the CBD and informal settlements. A reduction in population growth, better service provision throughout GJ, especially in the poor areas, and a higher level of environmental awareness is needed.
• The mining zone needs to be rehabilitated, by covering all dumps and slimes dams with indigenous grasses and reeds.
• The whole of GJ, especially the landfill sites need to adopt a sustainable approach to waste management, which includes waste reduction, prevention and minimization, separations and recycling of waste, and appropriate disposal of litter, in order to minimize land pollution and better the quality of the land.

• The responsibility for controlling the impact of mining operations on the environment is vested with the Government Engineering of the Department of Minerals and Energy, which includes dust pollution (Atmospheric Pollution Act).

• The Department of water Affairs and Forestry controls standards for mine-dump leaches that may enter rivers and streams or underground aquifers.
• The Council for Nuclear Safety sets standards and issues licenses or clearance permits for mining land, relating to all ionizing issues, such as nuclear contamination of land or materials, and radon releases from mining land with artificially enhanced levels due to the mining operation.

Vision of Metropolitan Councils according to LDOs

• The WMSS has considered taking on the responsibility for dealing with the mine dust pollution problem by suggesting the following attempts:

• involving all the interested and affected mining companies responsible for the dumps and to find and implement solutions related to mine problems in the area.
• Enter into discussions and actions with the Department of Minerals and Energy Affairs, on how the State together with the mining companies should accept responsibility.
• All current mining companies are required to prepare and implement Environmental Management Programmes (EMP’s which must be legally binding) and which should also set out specific plans for managing the environmental impacts of their operations and possible rehabilitation thereof. In cases where mining companies fail to comply with EMP standards, the Department of Minerals and Energy Affairs should take enforcement measures.

• The Greater Johannesburg Transitional Metropolitan Council specifies applicable standards or guidelines on ionizing radiation (mining) for Nuclear Safety.
• The CNS is mandated in terms of legislation to control all nuclear issues in the country. Local authorities need to play a consultative role as interested and affected parties, especially from a planning perspective when issuing nuclear licenses in terms of the regulations on "The Location of Dangerous Substances".
• At the SMSS level, the Cleansing Department will be consulted on the disposal of hazardous substances and Disaster Management will be involved in dealing with emergency situations.

 WASTE MANAGEMENT

• Metropolitan council to determine a waste disposal strategy; identification of waste disposal sites; establishment, operation and control of waste disposal sites and bulk waste transfer facilities.

• Local council responsible for the disposal of waste.

• To promote the prevention of waste production.
• To promote waste minimization and recycling.
• To increase recycling.

• Work with communities to formulate acceptable and uniform policy.

• Minimize waste generation pollution at source.
• Public awareness and participation in environmental management.
• Educational programmes

• Business & industry adopt principles of environmental stewardship.

• Composting or digesting 50% of conventional waste that can be treated thus reducing volume of waste requiring disposal and increasing the life span of landfill sites.
• Reducing heavy metals and other toxic pollutants potentially present in sewage sludge.
• Shared treatment plants for detoxification or economic recovery of valuable metals from waste of metals finishing.
• Separation at source of key toxic or recyclable materials.
• Environmentally friendly recovery of organic liquids & other waste materials.
• Destruction of hazardous organic waste materials that persist in the environment and accumulate in food chains.

• Alternatives for the co-disposal of hazardous waste
• Lack of structure to predict change in waste generation patterns and recovery of useful waste.

• High profile environmental education campaigns are being introduced e.g. waste prevention, waste minimization, waste separation, and recycling and appropriate litter disposal.

• Inadequately designed and constructed toilets or an absence of toilets may lead to the deposition of faecal matter on the ground and places where food is grown.
• The constitution provides for local government to provide water and sanitation services (potable water and disposal systems).
• The consolidated municipal infrastructure programme (MIP) focuses on internal bulk and connector water, roads and stormwater drainage, solid waste disposal and public lighting services. It provides grant funding for new infrastructure, as well as for the upgrading and rehabilitation of existing internal bulk and connector infrastructure, to urban as well as dense and dispersed rural areas.
• The closer alignment of grant funding under the consolidated MIP will help municipalities to build and manage sustainable infrastructure systems.

• The community water supply and sanitation programme aims to ensure that all South Africans have access to an adequate water supply and safe sanitation facility.

CENTRAL BUSINESS DISTRICT

Land use management can be used as a response to land pollution in the form of:

• preparation of new land use management mechanisms in accordance with principles.
• enforcement of appropriate procedures and by-laws.
• Streamline town planning procedures.
• Prevention of residential invasion of industrial sites.

• Present focus is waste management regulation on landfill disposal with no regulation in any act to deal with aspects such as : generation; treatment and transportation of waste.

• Poor standards of servicing and facilities lead to non-payment of services which make it difficult to offer service with no way to recover costs.

• Single important factor is lack of enforcement of waste management and pollution control.
• Waste management must increase to meet present and future needs with nothing currently being done in this regard

• A need for a comprehensive waste education programme focussing on waste minimization, appropriate use of services as well as prevention of illegal dumping and litter

• Personnel shortage
• Effective enforcement :
• inspectors to undertake field investigations and monitoring
• scientists and technicians to analyse samples to determine presence of pollutants or non compliance to standards
• lawyers to prepare cases of non compliance for prosecution

Link to poverty and waste chapter

Still to be added

• Legislative framework
• Institutional Capacity
• Current status of joint projects national, provincial and international
• Cross analysis of socio-economic issues that impact on land pollution
• Land pollution projections

 Recommendation in response to the Central Business District