A group of Botrivier residents have laid criminal charges against Theewaterskloof municipality which they say has contravened environmental laws. This follows years of attempts to get the municipality to deal with a waste site consisting of two large shipping containers near their homes at the Botrivier Landgoed residential estate. The municipality was meant to collect the waste weekly and transport it to the Karwyderskraal landfill site about 7km outside Botrivier. However, the residents say, over the years people have also used the site to dump household waste, and businesses to dispose of hazardous material. Department spokesperson Wouter Kriel confirmed that following inspections which identified non-compliance at the waste site, the department issued a directive to Theewaterskloof Municipality in December 2025.