For two Joburg suburbs, the nearby heat is anything but welcome — even with the city in the grip of winter.
On most nights in Bloubosrand, a residential neighbourhood, and the nearby light-industrial area of Kya Sands, the air reeks of burning scrap. Both lie on the northwestern outskirts of the city, close to the more affluent suburbs of Fourways and Broadacres.
The people living there may not know the chemical makeup of their air, but they know it’s making them sick.
“We are a nonsmoking household, but now my chest burns every day,” says a resident. “We sleep in smoke. It feels like we’re burning something inside the house — but it’s coming from outside.”
The smoke drifts in from illegal dumps on decommissioned landfill sites such as the one in Kya Sands that was meant to shut down 15 years ago. Instead, it’s grown into a sprawling wasteland run by illegal operators, where rubbish is torched nightly to make space for the next day’s haul.
It’s not just household waste. Residents say medical and construction waste — some of it toxic — is also being burnt. A six-year-old boy from Bloubosrand was taken to hospital with a lung infection in 2023. His mother, who now runs an air purifier every night with eucalyptus oil, says it’s draining their finances.
“I buy four bottles a month. Electricity bills have gone up. But what choice do I have? My son was diagnosed with asthma after that,” she says.
The situation is no longer anecdotal. A 2025 air-quality survey by Breathe Cities and the Seriti Institute, commissioned by the City of Joburg, found that 92% of residents are worried about air pollution. Over three-quarters believe it’s harming their health, but only 5% are aware of any air-quality policies in place.
For Keith Elliott, who lives 3km away from Bloubosrand, the smell of burning plastic is constant. “You can tell the difference between a veld fire and this — this is toxic,” he says. “We tried everything — e-mails, petitions, even got a full executive delegation from Pikitup to visit the dump. They promised action in 2021. Nothing happened.”
Elliott now heads a Kya Sand community forum. He and others have taken the city to court. In July 2024, they won a legal directive forcing Joburg to conduct air-quality testing — but by mid-2025, the city has yet to deliver, citing “procurement delays”, according to a municipal spokesperson.
Lizzy Mabena, chair of the Douglasdale community policing forum and a member of the Bloubosrand community forum, says criminals operate the illegal dumps. “These aren’t small-time chancers. It’s a co-ordinated system — dumpers pay between R50 and R200 per truck. They sort the waste for anything valuable, then burn what’s left,” she says.
Residents allege the burning is linked to illegal mining and unregulated recycling. They tell of trucks coming in at night and say metro police routinely turn a blind eye. “You see them check the trucks, then wave them through,” says Elliott.
There are no outdoor activities. Our washing smells like smoke — fabric softener can’t mask it
The smoke has reshaped how people live — and breathe.
“There are no outdoor activities. Our washing smells like smoke — fabric softener can’t mask it. My daughter is embarrassed to even dress at home for her matric farewell,” says a Bloubosrand resident.
In the poorer informal settlements closer to the dumps, the people are suffering even more. “They live in the shadow of the dump — no electricity, no water, and now this air,” Elliott says. “They are the most vulnerable.”
When the FM visited the sites, the smell of chemicals was thick in the air, and the local streams were polluted with dead fish drifting in the flow.
Joburg mayor Dada Morero says the city’s clear air zone is an attempt to respond to the situation. “Air pollution is not merely a global environmental issue; it is a public health emergency,” he says.
“We don’t need another plan. We need enforcement,” says Mabena. The community forum has asked for strict measures to stop dumping and burning, and for full security at the Kya Sands dump and other such dumps.
Elliott says if the council does not act, an application to the high court will be made. “That way, when they fail again — it’s contempt of court.”
“I wish we could move,” says a Bloubosrand mother. “But our property value has crashed. We’re stuck here, breathing this every night.” She says she is happy to go to work, but “coming home just feels like punishment”.
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