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At the back of my mind I've always been troubled by the horrifying rubbish dump at the top of Sani Pass, and I know that some of my friends share the same burden.

It's very close to Sani Top Chalet, but out of view to most visitors:

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Obviously largely as a result of the demands of tourists that visit the two different lodges there - so much of it cans and bottles for drinks.

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With the numbers of tourists that head up Sani, I'm a bit bewildered as to how such an unsightly rubbish dump could be allowed to exist. And to think of the wild animals that have died or injured themselves as a result of it. Never mind the ground water contamination.

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I'd like to publically raise the question as to why this should be allowed to continue. Has anyone ever attempted to clean it up? I think it is the responsibility of tourists, tourism operators and lodge owners to do something about it. Surely with the numbers of vehicles heading down the pass, it could be cleaned up, even if a bag at a time?

Please share your thoughts and comments here.

Intrepid. You raise a valid point! Who's responsibility is it to clear the mess up!?

There is a complicating factor which has not been taken into consideration (and I know because this is not the first time EKZNW have seen pictures like this...). The problem with issuing a directive to the land owner is that half the land lies on South African turf and half on Lesotho land. While EKZNW has tried previously to get it cleaned up under the previous law (Conservation of Agricultural Resources Act), and under the current act which replaced CARA (National Environmental Management Act) which clearly indicates that the polluter must pay, Lesotho also need to throw their weight behind the directive. Although the directive come from DEAT and DWAF (pollution of the environment and water), Lesotho also need to issue a directive to the landowner to clean up, before there will be any improvement (unfortunately ).

One angle which may be exploited (and I will have to research this) is to get IUCN and UNEP aware that this type of pollution is happening in a International Heritage site (for its high value of endemic plant and animal species, now threatened by a poisoned water source) and within a potential transfronteir reserve. Furthermore, the majority of the items on the dump should in actual fact be recycled. One wonders what happens to the rest of the rubbish....?

Rest assured though, EKZNW is trying to find a way to clear up the mess on top, even if it were just up to me!

If the legal route can work, thats great. I think there is a lot the public can do though, by starting to ask questions and putting pressure on the right people. And there may be something in stetting up a voluntary initiative whereby the rubbish is cleared a little at a time by those that are concerned by it.

It's our heritage and we can't ignore something like this.

I've just received word that the dump has been cleared and is no longer in use - this is great news!

On a recent trip to Thabana N from sani top, I was wandering around in the mist outside my tent on the first night before setting out for the summit the next morning - I stumbled into the dump site (5 - 10m visibility due to mist) - very close to the camping grounds at sani top
I know there was a posting about this some time ago, I'm just here to confirm that the dumpsite still exists and that it looks active and BAD.

Below is the GPS location of the site.

29°34'57.33"S
29°17'14.56"E

Thanks for the update Zen... I had recently heard from a colleague at EKZNW that some of the pressure exerted on the lodge owner had resulted in the dump being sorted out, but hadn't yet been up there to confirm. I will definitely need to make an effort to go and confirm with the lodge owner and the District Conservation Officer for that area of the Berg. Thanks for the co-ords too. Very useful indeed.