If you have been saving up garden cuttings waiting for Bryanston’s Ballyclare garden refuse site to reopen, you may need another plan.

Pikitup has confirmed that the facility is still not accepting garden waste, despite previously saying it expected to reopen on 31 August.

The good news is that Ballyclare is not completely closed. Other permitted types of waste are still being accepted. The restriction currently applies specifically to garden refuse.

Why Ballyclare is still struggling

The immediate problem is capacity.

Garden waste accumulated until the facility reached capacity, forcing Pikitup to stop accepting more while it cleared the backlog temporarily. The utility says vehicle breakdowns have also affected the clean-up, with vehicles diverted to normal refuse collection rounds.

But the pressure did not begin in August.

Concerns were already being raised in March 2026, after the temporary closure of the Woodmead garden site for renovations pushed additional garden waste towards Ballyclare and Linbro Park.

Ballyclare was particularly vulnerable to the extra demand. Pikitup said in March that although the site has a total footprint of 1 240m², only 169m² was available for operations and storage.

The wood chipper was supposed to help.

One part of Pikitup’s plan was to process green waste using a wood chipper before sending the material to designated facilities rather than landfill.

There was a problem: the chipper was out of order.

By late August, Pikitup said a shredding machine had also been included in plans for Ballyclare, but it had not been provided because of financial constraints.

That helps explain why clearing large volumes of garden refuse has proved difficult.

Where can Bryanston residents take garden waste?

For now, Pikitup is directing residents with garden refuse to:

Linbro Park Garden Site
Third Street, Linbro Park

Pikitup’s current facility directory also lists several other garden sites across Johannesburg, including Woodmead, Fairlands and Victory Park. However, residents should check the current operating status and what waste is being accepted before making the trip.

Pikitup says its garden sites are intended for light garden waste and also provide receptacles for recyclable materials such as glass, paper, cans and plastic.

One important thing not to do

A closed or overloaded garden site can quickly create another problem: dumping waste outside the gates or elsewhere in the neighbourhood.

Pikitup provides several channels for reporting illegal dumping:

• 0860 562 874
• 011 375 5555
• 010 055 5990
• WhatsApp: 082 779 1361

The Bottom Line

Ballyclare’s garden-waste closure was meant to give Pikitup time to clear the backlog, but the expected 31 August reopening has passed.

For Bryanston residents, the practical answer for now is Linbro Park. The bigger issue is whether Ballyclare can be given the equipment and capacity needed to prevent the same problem from happening again.