Joburg landfill closure threatens 140 livelihoods

By Ihsaan Haffejee

About 140 waste reclaimers at the Marie Louise landfill in Johannesburg have lost their only source of income after a decision to suspend receiving domestic waste at the site was made by Pikitup.

Pikitup, Joburg City’s waste management company, said in late August that as of 1 September it would no longer accept domestic waste at Marie Louise landfill.

But Pikitup has told GroundUp it has plans to extend the life of the facility which “will support waste pickers livelihoods in the medium to long term”. However, it gave no timelines.

Reclaimers spend their days working at the site, collecting, sorting and selling for recycling plastic, paper, tin, glass and cardboard from domestic waste.

The Marie Louise landfill, west of Johannesburg, is one of four landfills currently operated by Pikitup. According to Pikitup’s 2023/24 annual report the site received 23% of the city’s waste. The annual report says