Mangaung councillor in Ward 44, Selmé Pretorius, previously said the landfill site which is next to a residential area is included in the Integrated Development Planning (IDP) for the first time. The plans entail the closing, upgrading, and refurbishment/rehabilitation of the landfill site. As much as the residents want the landfill to be closed down, Pretorius explained that they must be patient, as this is a long process because it includes having to find another spot that the landfill will be moved to and that plan should be finalised by 2025 at the latest.

After hearing the news, Leandri van der Berg, a resident in the area, says she would like to see the closure happen. She is hopeful but leaves room for disappointment as she is unsure whether the closure will happen. “The only thing that gives me hope is that the closure of the landfill has been included in the IDP for the first time since the residential area was developed,” she explains. Van der Berg also states that the landfill has really been a thorny issue in her life.

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Recently, the landfill has gone up in smoke again. Van der Berg and others were woken up by smoke in their house. Bloemfontein Courant reported that residents in Bayswater woke up to a cloud of smoke that, according to them, entered their homes through windows and doors. Residents in surrounding areas as far as Dan Pienaar were also affected by the aftermath of the smoke. It could allegedly also be smelled as far as Langenhoven Park.

Van der Berg happens to be one of the residents who alleges that they were lied to when they started developing the residential area and said the landfill was going to be closed down. Another resident, who would like to stay anonymous, alleges that it was almost 10 years ago when they said the landfill will be moved and she has now resorted to moving from the area. She is also one of the residents who have lost faith that indeed the landfill will be moved.  

Another resident, Khanya Msika explains that the landfill has not really affected his life in any way, however, it is unpleasant for him to see and stay close to such a place. He also thinks the landfill has affected some homeowners because their property values have depreciated. “I am not confident about the latest plan to have it closed and moved but I am confident that the new leadership of the region will do something about it when they get voted in this coming weekend.”

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