In Daveyton, what was once a respected space near the Motanyane Street cemetery has been swallowed by a grim mountain of refusehousehold waste, tyres, and broken electronics spilling into a public park. But where the municipality sees a costly cleanup, local resident and environmental advocate Kabelo Sebiloane sees an opportunity for transformation.
Frustrated by irregular municipal waste collection and the resulting environmental decay, Sebiloane is making a direct appeal to the City of Ekurhuleni: lease her the degraded open space so she can turn an illegal dumping ground into a thriving community recycling hub.
A PhD Student’s Practical Plea
“We live in unpleasant conditions because the municipality doesn’t deliver services on time,” says Sebiloane, who is pursuing a PhD in environmental management at the University of Johannesburg. “I can’t be studying waste management and live in a community suffering from illegal dumping.”
Through her company, Leano La Sechaba Waste Management and Consultancy, she proposes fencing the area and establishing a formal buy-back centre. “There is cash for their trash,” she explains. The model would pay community members for recyclablesplastic bottles, cans, and packagingsimultaneously cleaning the environment and injecting cash into a strained local economy.
A Vision Beyond Bins: A Skills Academy
Sebiloane’s vision extends far beyond a collection point. Currently operating from an overflowing container, she dreams of an integrated waste management academy on the site. This academy would train unemployed youth in recycling innovation, even exploring how to manufacture new products from reclaimed materials.
“It’s a vision that goes beyond the traditional meaning of recycling,” she states. “Those who want to change their lives can come here and learn.”
Her plan also includes rehabilitating the adjacent park, planting trees, and restoring dignity to an area that includes a heritage-site cemetery now bordered by filth.
The proposal presents the council with a compelling, cost-effective alternative: a community-driven partner to tackle a chronic service delivery failure. For Sebiloane and Daveyton, it’s a chance to replace a symbol of neglect with an engine for environmental health, economic activity, and hope. The ball is now in the municipality’s court.
