Understanding waste management in Gauteng
This project has space has merged two waste-related projects: 1. River plastic waste inventory and 2. Re-imagining urban waste in Gauteng to a combined project entitled: Understanding waste management in Gauteng. Both projects address waste contamination in Gauteng.
The first part of this project is a collaborative project with Hanellie Cotzee, Kula Foundation, Alex Water Warriors, University of California Riverside (UCR) and the Moore Institute of Plastic Pollution Research.The objective of the project is to 1) use tools developed at UCR to effectively and robustly collect data on litter, specifically around plastic concentrations, characteristics, mass and sources in aquatic river systems in Alex. 2) Use a citizen science approach through partnerships with a grassroots organisation, the Alex Water Warriors, to collect the information on litter in the aquatic system in their community. 3) This information will be used to identify waste management issues in the community and in turn inform policy development to better deal with these issues. In addition to contributing to current literature around litter concentration estimates in river systems which are currently lacking in the global south, the data will be used to identify waste management issues and in turn policy development to deal with these issues.
The third part of this project, Re-imagining urban waste in Gauteng builds on research conducted in Diepsloot with UCL STEaPP, where work on nature-based solutions (NbS) and urban water management revealed how inadequate waste collection drove residents to dispose of waste in a nearby wetland. Expanding on these findings, the project explores the intersection of waste management, community engagement, and NbS across Gauteng, deploying geospatial and remote sensing and GIS methods to detect illegal dump sites, map waste service delivery gaps against environmental vulnerability, and support waste management monitoring. These technological approaches are grounded in participatory methods - with residents as co-producers of spatial knowledge. With landfill capacity rapidly depleting in Johannesburg, the research centres waste reduction, recycling, and ecosystem restoration as essential alternatives, aligning with the Gauteng Department of Environment's provincial waste management priorities.
Related Outputs
Selected Presentations
Samkelisiwe Khanyile and Samiksha Singh (August 2025). ‘Sustainability and Just Transitions theme research overview’: Waste projects, GCRO Waste Workshop, Wits Club, 20 August 2025.
Media Engagements
SUNCASA: Turning trash into treasure along the Jukskei RIver in Johannesburg
Reviving the Jukskei: Community, Art, and Science Unite to Restore Johannesburg’s Polluted River
Releated Publications
Events
On 20 August 2025, the Gauteng City-Region Observatory (GCRO) successfully hosted a Waste Management Workshop. The workshop, brought together a diverse group of stakeholders from government, community organisations, academia, and other sectors, all united by a shared commitment to addressing waste management challenges in the Gauteng City-Region. Participants had the opportunity to learn about GCRO's current waste management initiatives, while also gaining valuable insight into the work being carried out by other organisations in the field. Key issues and critical challenges around waste management and pollution in the region were identified through open and constructive dialogue and engaging group activities. Several promising opportunities for partnership and collaboration emerged from the discussions. The workshop was a meaningful first step forward in GCRO's broader efforts to foster collective action and drive sustainable waste management solutions across the Gauteng City-Region.
Last updated: 22 May 2026