The upper Jukskei catchment is visibly drowning in waste and sewerage that emits from broken infrastructure. The effects on water quality are well documented - the water that issues a few hundred meters from the Jukskei’s eye is polluted beyond any human or animal safety levels, and is both a cause and a consequence of the totally devastated ecosystem (Christie 2014, Day 2018, Van Heyde 2020). In a water scarce country, these forms of pollution are estimated as overreaching the threat of acid water from Johannesburg’s ubiquitous gold mines (Wood 2022).

Water for the Future’s programme of action has multiple prongs dealing with different aspects of waste. In association with Community Bin Project, Water for the Future’s Romy Stander has had recycling bins placed on the corner of Queen and Sports Streets, near to Daylight Point, and is working towards another largescale set being installed at Daylight Point. The success of the current bins cannot be overrated – impact can be achieved from supplying the most elemental of crucial resources.

Romy is also working on an ongoing campaign to establish Bokashi compost heaps on each block of the catchment within the CBD – read more on this below!

Bokashi Compost Heap

Food waste constitutes between 35 and 40% of general waste in the hospitality sector. Being one of the most difficult waste types? to deal with, it is often ignored and simply dumped at landfill. Within the next 5 years in Johannesburg, there will be no landfill space left. The rest of the province’s landfills are also nearing full capacity.

Facilitated by Water for the Future, tenants of Victoria Yards have committed to casting their food waste at this Bokashi compost heap. Bokashi fermentation is an unsurpassed method of transferring waste into compost, with a fraction of the carbon emission of conventional composting methods.  

Bokashi was developed in Japan in the early 1980’s. It is made by inoculating wheaten-bran with effective microorganisms that ferment all food waste, including cooked food, protein, and dairy - allowing it to be composted safely. With correct dosing, Bokashi eliminates odour and is scalable up to 40 tonnes per month.

The compost generated from this venture is being used to remediate the soil along the Jukskei green corridor.