The
Waste Revolution Handbook
Waste Revolution Handbook
South Africa Volume 1
The Guide to Sustainable Waste Management
South Africa Volume 1 www.wasterevolution.co.za
www.wasterevolution.co.za ISBN No: 978-0-620-45067-6
endorsement messages
South African Chamber of Commerce & Industry
The South African Chamber of Commerce Neren Rau and Industry aims to Chief Executive Officer effectively protect and promote the interests of business. As the voice of business and industry in South Africa the Chamber strives to ensure adequate protection of business interests. It formulates the policy and viewpoint of business on key issues that affect it and constructively influences the environment in which operates. It assists chambers in helping their members grow their business and fulfill a leading role in their communities as well as promoting the private enterprise system and market-orientated approach with equal opportunities for all. The last goal of the South African Chamber of Commerce is to help business to adapt to realities that cannot be changed. It is with this last aim in mind that we have decided to endorse the Waste Revolution Handbook. The production of waste in business and industry is impacting negatively on the environment and this is something that we have the power to change. We would like to encourage business and industry to minimise their waste output and to commit to recycling and reusing what they can. We are pleased to endorse this publication that encourages the minimisation and elimination of waste across all sectors.
The Institute of Waste Management of Southern Africa Endorsement
The Institute of Waste Management of Southern Africa Stan Jewaskiewitz (IWMSA) a multi-disciplinary non- President profit association is committed to supporting professional waste management practices. Our organisation comprises of voluntary members who promote environmentally acceptable, cost effective and appropriate waste management practices. We strive towards the protection of the environment and people of Southern Africa from the adverse effects of poor waste management by supporting sustainable best practical environmental options. One of the key events on the waste management calendar is the biennial waste management conference hosted by the IWMSA, known as WasteCon. This year waste management experts will discuss pertinent issues of Climate Change. The IWMSA is not just about recycling; we have various interest groups that focus on key waste management elements, these groups include: The Landfill Interest Group, Collection and Transport Interest Group, Waste Minimisation and Recycling Interest Group and the Health Care Waste Forum. We currently have over 800 members and we provide them with various benefits, by providing opportunities to network and exchange information with experts, debate burning issues, have a voice in the formulation of legislation and also provide professional and business growth. We are represented nationally, and have branches in Gauteng, Eastern Cape, KwaZulu Natal the Western Cape The IWMSA endorses the Waste Revolution Handbook because it supports the objectives of the IWMSA to promote the science and practice of sustainable integrated waste management. For more information on the IWMSA please visit www.iwmsa.co.za. the waste revolution HANDBOOK
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endorsement message
Affiliate Organisations
The Environmental Goods and services Forum of South Africa
“Waste not, want not,” goes a wise old saying. In an age where we have more Peet Du Plooy material wealth than ever before – more food, more consumer goods, more electronics - this is as true as ever, if not more so. In nature, nothing goes to waste. Much like the organs of a human body, the great cycles of nature maintain the balance of liveable gasses in the air and of healthy nutrients in our soils and waters. When humans cause waste that nature cannot handle, it is up to us to see it taken care of or else risk the eventual degradation – and finally, death – of the very system on which our lives and much of our welfare depend. Aluminium that you do not have to mine for or smelt; paper that requires no or fewer trees to be cut down; plant and animal waste that is turned into electricity rather than greenhouse gas – these all present opportunities to save both money and the environment. Equally, toxic or non-degradable waste which is allowed to pollute our air, our rivers, seas or soils can be downright dangerous to human health and that of the plants and animals with which we share our beautiful planet. If we accept that we may never live in an economy that is entirely free of waste, then we need to ensure that we deal with the waste we cannot avoid, responsibly and efficiently. In the process, we have created an industry worth billions of rands in economic value, as well as thousands of jobs.
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Increase participation in your recycling programmes with our social marketing methods. We bring proven experience in creating effective social marketing campaigns for recycling. Specially designed to promote behaviour change, they raise awareness and participation rates in ‘at-source’ municipal or corporate programmes.
GET INTO THE RECYCLING ROUTINE. It’s as easy as one, two, three! Free municipal recycling collection has started in your area. Each week on the same day as refuse removal, your recyclable materials will be collected. All you need do is get your waste sorted, in the bag and into your wheelie bin! By now you should have received a starter pack containing four clear plastic bags. Use the bags to keep your recyclables until collection day. Included as part of your starter pack is an information leaflet. This explains what to recycle and how to get in the recycling routine – it’s as easy as one, two, three!
Follow these simple steps One: Separate all your ‘dry’ recyclables into the clear plastic bag that will be provided to you weekly. Two: On your weekly refuse removal day, place your clear bag of recyclables on top of your black bag inside the wheelie-bin.
The result is greater volumes of recyclables, higher participation and better chances of success all round. Our expertise has helped increase participation rates to over 80% as part of Cape Town City Council’s ‘Think Twice’ residential recycling programmmes.
Three: The Think Twice recycling contractor will remove your recyclables bag from your wheelie-bin and leave a new clear bag for you to start collecting the next week’s recyclables. Your contribution is important – every bit of recycling makes a difference! For more information, contact: Waste Control: 021 590 3900 City of Cape Town Area Head: 021 704 1005 Email your queries to: info@wastecontrol.co.za Or visit: www.wastecontrol.co.za
GreenEdge Communications
Get in touch if you are planning: t .VOJDJQBM PS DPSQPSBUF ABU TPVSDF SFDZDMJOH programmes t $PNNVOJUZ CFIBWJPVS DIBOHF DBNQBJHOT t ,FZ TUBLFIPMEFS FOHBHFNFOU t 1VCMJD QBSUJDJQBUJPO GBDJMJUBUJPO Email us for a free article on tips to set up and implement municipal residential recycling programmes.
Contact: Hugh Tyrrell Tel: (021) 448-8123 Cell: 083-253 4100 4 Nuttall Road, Observatory Email: info@greenedge.co.za Visit: www.greenedge.co.za Member of the Institute of Waste Management (SA)
Editor’s note
Editor’s note The Industrial Revolution was marked by social and technological change… The Waste Revolution is a result of that social and technological change…a time of massive industrialisation and consumer growth. Since 1997 and especially 2008, the solid waste industry has been forced to re-think, revolutionise and change…it needs to change, not only because of how we have been managing things in the past but more so now for our future. A change tomorrow starts with a plan to change…today. One focus of this handbook is on revolutions, changes made and revolutionising our current way of managing waste for the better, whilst also providing the reader and user with useable information by means of tables and graphs, facts and figures.
Richard Emery Editor Associate: Jeffares and Green (Pty) Ltd
The chapters have tried to focus on: What has been done to date? What is current -day practice? What is the industry’s goal? What needs to be done to achieve this goal? What opportunities exist? That said, I wish to thank all the authors for their time and effort in compiling their chapters, which made this handbook useful and insightful to all readers.
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PEER REVIEW Alive2green has introduced and is committed to peer reviewing a minimum number of published chapters in all Sustainability Series handbooks. The concept of Peer review is based on the objective of the publisher to provide professional, academic content. This process helps to maintain standards, improve performance, and provide credibility.
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South Africa Volume 2
The Essential Guide
The
South Africa 2009/10
The Essential Guide
The
South Africa Volume 2
The Essential Guide
The
The
Transport & Mobility
Water Resource
Sustainable
Sustainable
Handbook
South Africa Volume 2
The
The
Water Resource
Handbook
Sustainable
Handbook
South Africa 2009/10
The Essential Guide
Waste Revolution South Africa Volume 1
The Guide to Sustainable Waste Management
Energy Resource Handbook
South Africa Volume 1
The Essential Guide
Waste Revolution
The Guide to Sustainable Waste Management South Africa Volume 1
The Essential Guide
Waste Revolution
The Guide to Sustainable Waste Management
The Essential Guide
South Africa Volume 1
The
The
Energy Resource
Handbook
Sustainable
Handbook
South Africa Volume 1
The Essential Guide
The
Sustainable
South Africa Volume 1
Handbook
South Africa 2009/10
The Essential Guide
The
Green Building South Africa
The Essential Guide Volume 3
The
Sustainable
Transport & Mobility Handbook
South Africa Volume 2
The Essential Guide
The
Waste Revolution
The Guide to Sustainable Waste Management South Africa Volume 1
Sustainable
Water Resource Handbook
South Africa 2009/10
The Essential Guide
The
The
Handbook
Energy Resource
Green Building South Africa
The Essential Guide Volume 3
Sustainable
Handbook
South Africa Volume 1
The Essential Guide
The
Green Building Handbook South Africa
The Essential Guide Volume 3
Waste Revolution
The Guide to Sustainable Waste Management South Africa Volume 1
The
Green Building Handbook South Africa
The Essential Guide Volume 3
The
Waste Revolution Handbook
South Africa Volume 1
The Guide to Sustainable Waste Management EDITOR Richard Emery CONTRIBUTORS Andrew Marthinusen, Barry Coetzee, Bertie Lourens, Cormac Cullinan, Jan Palm, John Coetzee, Jon Pass, Kamaseelan Chetty, Larry Eichstadt, Lesley Jones, Lindsay Strachan, Mark Dittke, Prof. Martin de Wit, Melanie Jones, Melanie Traut, Michael Manson-Kullin, Michael Marler, Peter Silbernagl, Raj Lochan, Richard Emery, Sally Engledow, Susanne Dittke, Dr Suzan H.H. Oelofse.
ADVERTISING SALES Moses Manyeruke, Reginald Motsoahae, Roderick Molowa, Zokwanda Panya TEAM LEADER Nqobile Mnube CHIEF EXECUTIVE Lloyd Macfarlane DIRECTORS Gordon Brown Andrew Fehrsen Lloyd Macfarlane
PEER REVIEW Linda Godfrey LAYOUT & DESIGN Rashied Rahbeeni
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PRINCIPAL FOR UNITED STATES James Smith
BRAND MANAGER Lindsay Callaghan
PUBLISHER
DIVISIONAL MANAGER Suraya Manuel ACCOUNTS & ADMINISTRATION Wadoeda Brenner Chantall Okkers
www.alive2green.com www.wasterevolution.co.za
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ISBN No: 978-0-620-45067-6. Volume 1 first Published September 2010. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any way or in any form without the prior written consent of the publisher. The opinions expressed herein are not necessarily those of the Publisher or the Editor. All editorial contributions are accepted on the understanding that the contributor either owns or has obtained all necessary copyrights and permissions.
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THE WASTE REVOLUTION HANDBOOK
9
Effective disposal of Fluorescent tubes, CFL’s and Mercury containing lamps Are you complying with Government Policy regarding Toxic Waste Disposal?? (Spent Fluorescent & Sodium Lamps) Do you have a Waste Manifest, for Audits and inspections on file to prove that your waste Disposal & Removal is Legal? Facts : 20 mg of mercury is enough to contaminate 30000 liters of water. The mercury content in 1, 8m to 2, 4m tubes is between 20 and 50 mg. Mercury causes permanent respiratory, motor and neurological function damage.
Services: Collecting and safe disposal of mercury lamps, fluorescent tubes and CFL’s at a H.H. Landfill Site. Waste Manifests issued after collection and disposal. Distributors of Safety Gear, Chemicals used to treat Mercury waste, and “Spill Kits” Manufacturers of the “Tube and Globe guzzler”. Promoting Community Awareness of the dangers of Mercury. Fully licensed company to LEGALLY dispose of Toxic Waste.
ACTEBIS 268 CC E-MAIL: actebis268@lantic.net
www.tubeandglobeguzzler.co.za CEO, Sole Member, Supplier & Patent Holder: B.D.L. Höll ACTEBIS268CC is a registered Exporter of this Unique Product Tel: 016 423 7802 082 443 8425
Contents Part One evolutions in Materials (Waste) Generation and Use/Purpose, R What Waste Management Costs and Financing and the Cost of Revolutionising Waste Management 16
Chapter 1 Waste Management or Resource Management?
28
Chapter 2 Packaging
34
Chapter 3 Waste from an Earth Rights Perspective
42
Chapter 4 The Cost and Benefits of Waste Management Options in General
50
Chapter 5 Funding of Waste Management Services
56 Chapter 6 Costs, Benefits and Myths of Waste Management & Recycling in South Africa
Part Two Revolutions in Materials (Waste) Handling, Management and Disposal 62 Chapter 7 Household Waste in South Africa: Challenges and Opportunities 66 Chapter 8 Cleaner Production and Sustainable Consumption – Key Strategies 70
Chapter 9 Organic Waste
76
Chapter 10 Management and Processing of Builders Rubble
82
Chapter 11 Hazardous Waste
88
Chapter 12 Revolutions in the Oil Industry
94
Chapter 13 e-Waste-“The New Kid on the Block”
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Contents 100 Chapter 14 Collection, Transportation and Transfer of Wastes 106 Chapter 15 Integrated Waste Management Plans and Resultant Planning 112 Chapter 16 The Auditing, Operation and Monitoring of a Waste Disposal Facility 120 Chapter 17 Sustainable Waste Mining in South Africa 130 Chapter 18 Energy from Waste – An Overview of Africa’s First Landfill Gas to Energy Clean Development Mechanism Projects 136 Chapter 19 What’s the Composition of Your Domestic Waste Stream? Is there Value in Recycling?
Part Three Waste Management Legislation and Planning 142 Chapter 20 A Short Overview of Current Waste Management Legislation in South Africa 158 Chapter 21 Spheres of SA Government, Responsibilities and Delivery
Part Four Waste Information/ Data/ Systems 162 Chapter 22 A Revolutionary Approach and Critical Need: Waste Information on the Internet
Part Five Revolutions in Education and Community Participation (Empowerment) 168 Chapter 23 Education in the Waste Sector: “Waste is Not Waste Anymore”
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profile
CHARTERWAY – INTERWASTE CharterWay is a viable alternative to vehicle ownership, as its leasing contract requires no upfront payment or deposit, which enables fleet operators to invest their cash reserves in other crucial areas of their business. A case in point InterWaste is a leader in the South African commercial and industrial waste management business, with some 21 years of experience in the field. The company has 55 sites across the sub-continent, and the complement of 200-odd specialised waste management trucks moves around 12 000 m3 of waste per day. Its latest order of 60 Axor trucks is based on MercedesBenz’s impeccable reputation over the years for delivering excellent product reliability, backup service and customer interaction. However, funding this type of infrastructure requires very innovative and flexible financial solutions. Flexibility and control with CharterWay CharterWay is the ideal financial solution for this business, as it allows the company to operate with fixed monthly costs for the duration of the lease contract Although it still operates within the strict confines of the NCA, and requires the same credit-verification processed common to all financial transactions, its main benefits are that it requires no significant capital outlay on a deposit or outright purchase. Effectively CharterWay transfers the risk of truck ownership from the customer to the supplier, and the client knows exactly what their monthly expenses are based on the predetermined monthly rental. Maintenance and disposal One of the biggest benefits of the CharterWay package is that it includes all aspects of scheduled vehicle servicing, thereby allowing for accurate budgeting and eliminating any unforeseen costs. Mercedes-Benz boasts the largest dealer network in the country with 60 commercial vehicle centres. As a result, all the maintenance requirements of the InterWaste fleet are handled promptly and efficiently by highly trained Mercedes-Benz technicians. Plus there’s the reassurance of genuine Mercedes-Benz parts, as well as prompt turn-around times to limit the vehicle’s down-time, including the option of 24-hour emergency roadside assistance. Axor – at the top of its game InterWaste recently bolstered its fleet with 30 new Mercedes-Benz Axor 3335 trucks, as part of a total order of 60 units on CharterWay lease and maintenance. The Axor is a robust truck that is ideal for tough operating conditions. It has proven to be bullet-proof in terms of reliability, while its height and underlying strength, including items such as integrated belly pans, are perfectly suited to arduous waste management applications. Shirle Greig Media Product Specialist: Mercedes-Benz South Africa 123 Wierda Road, Zwartkop, Pretoria Tel: +27 12 677 1904 • Fax: +27 12 677 1682 • Cell: +27 82 560 2371 E-mail: shirle.greig@daimler.com • http://www.mercedes-benzsa.co.za
Mercedes-Benz Axor. In a throwaway society, you don’t want a disposable truck.
081637
Effective waste management is becoming increasingly important with millions of tons of waste being disposed of every year. With a growing population, these figures are set to escalate, placing more pressure on the vehicles performing waste management. The Mercedes-Benz Axor is a vehicle that is synonymous with best-practice in this industry. The Axor is specifically designed to accommodate
a large variety of backends, suitable for stop-start collections and tip sites. But that’s just the beginning. The comfortable cab and low emission Euro 3 engines ensure we stay committed to a safer, cleaner country for us all. And why should we settle for anything less? For more information contact your Mercedes-Benz Commercial Vehicle dealer, telephone 0800 133 355 or visit www.mercedes-benz.co.za
chapter 1: Waste Management or Resource Management?
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the waste revolution HANDBOOK
chapter 1: Waste Management or Resource Management?
Waste Management or Resource Management? Sally-Anne Engledow Associate Jeffares & Green (Pty) Ltd, South Africa
introduction What has changed in the way that we manage waste? Many would say not much and in many instances would be correct. Waste management in South Africa was not considered a priority issue for many years and until recently focus has been on ‘end-of-pipe’ solutions. In the past, the location of disposal sites were chosen haphazardly and were by and large poorly designed (Department of Environmental Affairs and Tourism, 1999). In general, the management and operation of sites were (and remain) poor, with little control over the waste types disposed of at the landfill sites. This often lead to hazardous waste being co-disposed with general waste streams (Department of Environmental Affairs and Tourism, 1999). Poorly sited, designed and operated sites often lead to the contamination of ground and surface water and soil resources through leachate generation (White et al, 1995; Johannessen & Boyer, 1999). Low priority status of waste management has had a negative impact on the environment and human health within South Africa. As a result of inadequate planning and using an approach which is neither holistic nor integrated, many waste disposal sites were sited on undeveloped land, without consideration of the possible expansion of the surrounding communities. Communities were never involved in the proposed development of waste disposal sites and expanding communities often encroached on buffer zone areas, only to experience problems related to the site, eg odour and flies (Department of Environmental Affairs and Tourism, 1999). A holistic approach to waste management in the form of integrated waste management was rarely pursued as an option to waste management until fairly recently. There are still disparities across the country in terms of waste management facilities. Smaller municipalities that struggle to recover rates and tariffs for services provided often have facilities that are not engineered appropriately resulting in impacts to the environment and surrounding communities. The primary method for waste disposal in South Africa is by landfill. Recycling occurs through private companies, charities, schools, environmental groups, Non-Governmental Organisations, CommunityBased Organisations and informally. Informal recycling is typically in the form of waste picking directly from household bins on collection day or from the landfill site. As is seen in many economically developing countries including South Africa, waste picking is a form of livelihood strategy in order to eke out an income to support individuals and families living in poverty. the waste revolution HANDBOOK
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chapter 1: Waste Management or Resource Management?
International waste management literature identifies factors contributing to inadequate waste management within economically developing countries - which in many respects is similar in South Africa. Factors contributing to inadequate waste management can be attributed to the lack of capacity within all tiers of government - from insufficient funding and resources; apartheid legacy which lead to inadequate service delivery for many South Africans; and the low priority status given to waste management (Department of Environmental Affairs and Tourism, 1999; Millard, 2003).
Legislation & Policy Change Historically, legislation and regulation presented the turning point in waste management. This was initiated by the promulgation of the Environment Conservation Act (ECA), 1989, Section 20. This was the first attempt to control and regulate waste management within the country. Permits were required to operate disposal sites, including composting facilities. Minimum Requirements Guideline Documents were later published in order to guide authorities for the issuing of permits for the disposal, hazardous waste management and monitoring requirements. The National Environmental Management Act, 107 of 1998, followed the Minimum Requirements Document series preceding the Environmental Impact Assessment Regulations in 2006. The most recent overarching waste management legislation is the National Environmental Management: Waste Management Act (NEMWA), 59 of 2008, which requires any individual, organisation or organ of state operating within the waste management industry (including recycling industries) to apply for a waste licence. A refreshing turn in legislation in terms of the NEMWA, is the need for a different approach. Extended producer responsibility and waste minimisation are now legislated and will ultimately be supported by the documents being developed in terms of the National Waste Management Strategy. While legislation and regulation are necessary, there is ultimately an additional burden on the state to police the compliance of laws and regulations. In terms of resources at local, provincial and national levels governments appear to be constrained. This is further complicated when organs of state are not complying with the required legislation and regulations and the bureaucratic process that need to be followed via the Intergovernmental Relations Framework Act, 2005, and the Constitution, 1996, in order to address these issues. Therefore, it is further encouraged that a different approach is adopted – one that is not necessarily a new concept and one that has fortunately been captured in the Draft National Waste Management Strategy (2010).
Paradigm shifting In a study conducted during the course of 2009 to assist the Department of Environmental Affairs (DEA) with the backlog of unpermitted landfill and non-landfill (eg recycling, drop-off and composting) municipal facilities; a total of 439 landfill facilities, and 116 non-landfill facilities were visited and assessed across the country in terms of legal requirements for permitting in terms of the Environment Conservation Act, 1989; and as of July 2009, licensing requirements in terms of the NEMWA. The study highlighted the disparities between the different categories of municipalities, with the Metros leading in terms of more appropriate waste management methods. The Metros generally tended to have landfill or non-landfill facilities that had or were striving for minimum requirements; while the remaining municipalities were challenged with providing the most basic service and infrastructure. Challenges identified included lack of resources (human and financial); capacity and skills to implement the necessary management systems in order to comply with legislation. Enforcement 18
the waste revolution HANDBOOK
chapter 1: Waste Management or Resource Management?
of compliance is further constrained because of the legal process that needs to be followed in terms of intergovernmental prosecution. The study also brought to the fore, once again, the value associated to ‘waste materials’. Many sites had salvagers recovering recyclables for re-sale into the market, which again raised the question of ‘Should we not be referring to waste management as materials management?’ The basic concept of waste management has been in terms of regulation, management and monitoring of waste generated on a day to day basis. Is there a point when we are overregulated? Is South Africa heading down the same road as other countries (eg EU, Australia, USA etc) in terms of overregulation? And is waste not a consequence of incomplete consumption? (Goleman, 2009). These are difficult questions with no real tangible answers, but there are many ideas. NEMWA certainly provides the overarching law in terms of waste management going forward as well as providing the necessary avenues to explore Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) and waste minimisation. The Act also should ignite opportunities for organisations to initiate a new way of thinking and design in order to be proactive before the implementation of additional regulations in terms of the NWMS. What is encouraging is that the DEA and the Department of Trade and Industry (DTi) are working together in terms of waste minimisation activities and cleaner production activities respectively. The DEA through the NEMWA has the authority to implement waste minimisation targets, as well as instruct industry to submit Industrial Waste Management Plans. The DTi, in partnership with the National Cleaner Production Centre of South Africa (NCPC), however, are working further upstream with companies and organisations in terms of cleaner production in an attempt to reduce the amount and type of waste being generated in the first place. What is clear is that the past and current methods of waste management are no longer feasible. Wolman (1966) said that inputs are ‘…all the materials and commodities needed to sustain the city’s inhabitants at home, at work and at play… Over a period of time these requirements include even the construction materials needed to build and rebuild the city itself. The metabolic cycle is not complete until these wastes and residues of daily life have been removed and disposed of with a minimum of nuisance and hazard. As man has come to appreciate that the earth is a closed ecological system, casual methods that once appeared satisfactory for the disposal of wastes no longer seem acceptable. He has the daily evidence of his eyes and nose to tell him that his planet cannot assimilate without limit the untreated wastes of his civilisation’ (Wolman, 1966:167).
Figure 1.1: Brown haze - industrial area in Gauteng (Engledow, 2010)
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chapter 1: Waste Management or Resource Management?
Figure 1.2: Random burning of waste at a ‘landfill’ site in Mpumalanga (Williams, 2009).
What is Waste: Burden or Resource? Waste in the field of waste management includes a variety of materials with varying degrees of potential impacts on our environment and community. The industry and the associated regulations and laws have defined and classified waste extensively and these will not be repeated here. What is interesting to note though is that waste is generally considered a ‘useless’ material of ‘no value’. However, waste materials are constantly being recovered for reuse or recycling purposes, eg builders rubble; green/organic waste, plastics, glass, metals, paper etc. There have also been numerous studies abroad and locally in terms of the mining of landfill sites to recover materials (Geysen, 2009; Emery, 2010; Rathje & Murphy, 2001). Rathje and Murphy (2001), through their involvement with the ‘Garbage Project’ in the United States since 1973, have found that consumers are becoming wiser in terms of waste. Previous beliefs that waste decomposed within landfill sites has been dismissed with the findings. It is interesting to report that a local study at Coastal Park Landfill site in Cape Town has had similar findings: newspapers were found from the 1980s that were still perfectly legible. Our current waste management system of disposing of waste into landfills is merely a materials storing system that incurs large costs to operate, manage and monitoring after closure. Rathje and Murphy (2001) comment on the advent of the ‘throwaway society’ - a term coined by Life Magazine in 1955. However, it is noted that this consumerist type behaviour was initiated at the time of the industrial revolution. Leonard (2010) referred to the term ‘planned obsolescence’ in her documentary about ‘The Story of Stuff’ which explains how the term was first introduced by Bernard London in a pamphlet entitled ‘Ending the Depression through Planned Obsolescence’. The essence of planned obsolescence (also referred as built-in obsolescence) was to stimulate the economy by instilling a desire in people to buy more goods by ensuring the products had a predetermined lifespan (London, 1932). Companies would be encouraged to change a product for the sake of sales not necessarily because of an improved function. Landfill sites therefore are middens of our past with a chronological order of changes within the economy.
Materials Management & Self Regulation While certain waste materials may be recovered and recycled, the upstream design of products does not take into account the recyclability of the products. Often recycling entails down-cycling of the product. Therefore, while many waste materials are recovered for recycling, the material is downgraded and not recycled for the same purpose. 20
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chapter 1: Waste Management or Resource Management?
A different approach is required and has been identified and included within the Draft NWMS that includes improved ‘Product design which facilitates reduced hazardous components, reduced mixed materials, and ease of separation, is (sic) an important measure to support recycling.’ (Draft NWMS, 2010:33). This approach is not new and has been expressed in terms of ecological systems, ie industrial ecology; industrial metabolism; design for the environment (eco-design); and the most popular being sustainable development. Gray (1993) states that ‘there are intrinsic human/economic reasons for minimising waste but these become critical when the biosphere can no longer handle the wastes we produce. This is what is currently happening. The utopian dream of the greener industrialist consists of a closed loop system in which all wastes (including all heat and emissions) are virtually eliminated and recycled back into an economic system which introduces ‘new’ material into the system only from truly sustainable and renewable sources’ (Gray, 1993:126). Senge et al (2000) explore this concept in terms of a systems thinking approach where consideration is given to all systems within society as a whole including the natural, technical and social systems. It is important to view product re-design within the complex system and start at the beginning, ie resource extraction. It is estimated that 94% of extracted materials become waste while only six percent enters the manufacturing system to become products (Senge et al, 2000). There are four main areas to consider: 1. Increase productivity in terms of natural resources 2. Ecological re-design 3. Service & flow economy – solutions based business model 4. Investment in natural capital
Figure 1.3: Systems Thinking (Senge et al, 2000)
In brief, increasing productivity in terms of natural resources in essence is to ensure that extracted materials are used to the maximum efficiency. This may require changes in technology in order to the waste revolution HANDBOOK
21
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The Sustainability Series Handbooks tackle the key areas within the broader context of sustainability and include contributions from South Africa’s best academics and researchers. The Handbooks are designed for government and business decision makers and are produced in Volume format. Each new Volume builds on the previous Volume without replacing it. The Sustainable Transport and Mobility Handbook and the Green Building Handbook deal with two sectors that are the largest contributors to greenhouse gasses. The Water and Energy Handbooks tackle the issues and solutions that South African’s face with two of our most important resources and finally the Waste Handbook deals with the principles concerned with waste minimisation and ultimately waste eradication.
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The Handbooks also profile some of the top companies and organisations that are represented in each important sector.
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The Essential Guide Waste Revolution Sustainability Series Handbooks are also used as text books Volume 3 The Guide to for the alive2green eLearning Modules. Please consult Sustainable Waste Management South Africa Volume 1 www.alive2green.com/education for further information. Handbooks and eLearning Modules in some instances validated for CPD The Category 3 and/or Credits via SACAP Green1 Building Handbook enquiries: info@alive2green.com
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chapter 1: Waste Management or Resource Management?
realise these types of gains. However, the business case in terms of financial savings would motivate for it. To illustrate this point, an example of the automotive and textile industry can be used, where computer numerical control (CNC) machines and associated software packages are used to maximise the number of patterns that can be cut from a sheet of metal or cloth. The implementation of this type of system saves the company costs in terms of both input costs (ie raw materials) and output costs (ie waste material). Designing products in terms of ecological design principles means that the product is designed with recyclability in mind and maintaining the materials within the system. The glass industry essentially has been practising this ethos for many years in that glass can be recycled over and over again and therefore remains a technical nutrient. The plastics industry has also adopted this approach in terms of Polyethylene Terephthlate (PET) and the recent ‘bottle2bottle’ recycling initiative where previously PET bottles were down-cycled for roofing insulation, clothing etc. This approach is further captured by Braungart, M and McDonough (2002) in their book Cradle to Cradle: Remaking the way we make things. Their argument is that ‘waste equals food’ and that all ‘waste’ must be transformed into either a biological nutrient for nature or a technical nutrient for industry. A shift from a goods flow to a service flow economy is required to change the goods-based model where the owner of the product is responsible for disposal, to a service flow where the producer maintains ownership of the product and encourages a take-back system for re-manufacture or recycling of that product. UNIDO (2009) has introduced a chemical leasing system based on a serviceoriented business model that shifts the focus from increasing sales volume to a value-add approach. The chemical leasing model aligns the needs of both the customer and the supplier, ie reduction in the chemicals used. What the customer pays for is the expertise offered by the chemical company in terms of how the chemicals supplied should be used and how to optimise conditions for use and disposal requirements. The final shift in the system approach is the required investment in natural capital and the conservation of natural resources. This encompasses more integrated planning in terms of landuse, infrastructure and activities. Incorporating the natural elements within a development assists to preserve ecological linkages and ecosystems. What is encouraging to note is that industry is taking ownership of this approach and not necessarily waiting for government intervention or regulation. Industry has realised the benefits of generating less waste in terms of the cost savings for reduced input costs. The re-design of products will also have long-term benefits when take-back or EPR policies are implemented through government initiatives.
CONCLUSION Waste management requires a further paradigm shift in South Africa. While waste management over the years has improved in terms of minimising the impacts on the environment and surrounding communities, ultimately the way we think about waste itself requires change. The change needs to be initiated further upstream and a cradle to cradle approach (as opposed to cradle to grave) is required when designing intelligent products. It is no longer feasible to bury valuable materials only to ‘mine’ them at a later date. Although this may be seen as a short-term intervention, the ideal is to change the way we make products in order to retain the biological and technical nutrients within the economic cycle. Historically, it seems that we would have to look back beyond the Industrial Revolution to realise that systems thinking was part of everyday life. The Industrial Revolution disconnected the linkages the waste revolution HANDBOOK
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between all systems which has ultimately lead to a breakdown in the system as a whole. Albert Einstein is quoted as saying that ‘we can’t solve problems by using the same kind of thinking we used when we created them’. Herein lies the challenge. Government intervention in terms of legislation and regulation will be able to achieve its aims only with enforcement and compliance. Encouragement is therefore placed on individuals and organisations to act before the implementation of additional laws from a systems perspective to realise the benefits of working within a closed-loop economy.
REFERENCES
Department of Environmental Affairs and Tourism. 1989: Environment Conservation Act 73 of 1989. Juta Statutes, Volume 6. Department of Environmental Affairs and Tourism. 1999: National Waste Management Strategies and Action Plans for South Africa, Action Plan Development Phase: Action plan for Integrated Waste Management Planning (version C). Department of Environmental Affairs and Tourism, Pretoria. Department of Environmental Affairs. (2010). Draft National Waste Management Strategy. First draft for public comment March 2010. Goleman, D. (2009): Ecological Intelligence: Knowing the hidden impacts of what we buy. Penguin Group, England. Johannessen, L.M. Boyer, G. (1999): International Development Bank for Reconstruction, The World Bank. 1999. What a Waste: Solid waste management in Asia. Urban Development Sector Unit: East Asia and Pacific Region. Washington DC, USA. Leonard. A. (2010): The Story of Stuff. Free Press. New York. http://www.thestoryofstuff.com. Accessed 16 June 2010. Nuttal, K. (1964): Savings from Waste: Services we use 4. Taylowe Ltd, Maidenhead. Purnell, G. (2009): National Waste Quantification and Waste Information System. The Department of Environmental Affairs. Rathje, W. & Murphy, C. (2001): Rubbish! The Archaeology of Garbage. The University of Arizona Press. United States of America. Visser, W. (2009): The Top 50 Sustainability Books. University of Cambridge: Programme for Sustainability Leadership. Greenleaf Publishing. Wolman, A. (1966): A ‘Scientific America’ Book. Penguin, Harmondsworth Senge, P; Seville, D.; Lovins, A.; Lotspeich, C. (2000): Systems Thinking Primer for Natural Capitalism: The four basic shifts. Sustainability Institute, United States of America. http://www.sustainer.org/?page_id=105. Accessed June 2008. UNIDO. (2009): Chemical Leasing. http://www.chemicalleasing.com/ Accessed 25 June 2010.
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PACKAGING Andrew Marthinusen Executive Director Packaging Council of South Africa
INTRODUCTION
This paper analyses all the main materials used in the packaging sector – paper, plastic, metal and glass. Our statistics on recycling also include other printing and writing papers as they are collected and recycled together with packaging papers.
Reuse
The beverage sector in particular has been extremely active in developing refillable packaging supplied to the market in returnable crates. For example, some three quarters of all malt beer consumed in South Africa (SA) is sold in refillable glass bottles. These impressive numbers have been maintained in spite of a decline in this method of selling beverages elsewhere in the world, driven by our fast paced, convenience lifestyles – particularly ‘consuming on the hoof’. The participants in the beverage sector have invested extensively into refillable packaging, as shown by statistics provided by the Glass Recycling Company. Infrastructure spend is cumulative and investments on returnable packaging relate to packaging in circulation at present. • R1,5-bn on infrastructure such as washing and cleaning equipment. • R300-m on annual operating costs. • R2,0-bn on inventory of returnable packaging. There are other examples of reuse such as refillable plastic bottles for washing liquid which are replenished using lighter and less expensive flexible plastic packaging. However, refillable packaging or returnable crates are not always the best option and a number of factors need to be considered before taking this step, notably: • The cost and energy of the return loop; • The nature of the product; and • Use of water and cleaning materials; • The recycling rate of the alternative one way pack.
Reduce
The primary roles of packaging are to protect and preserve the contents as well as to attract and inform consumers. To state the obvious, packaging fails if it does not deliver the contents in good condition for consumption. Technology has helped to reduce the material weight of packaging without compromising this basic requirement. As examples: • The metal beverage can now weighs less than 30g compared to 62g when it was first introduced in SA some 30 years ago. • A 750g glass wine bottle reduced mass by 21% in 2008 following improved glassmaking technology. • Detergent refill packs reduce mass of primary packaging by 70%. • Microflutes in the corrugated box industry can reduce the overall mass of a box without compromising quality. The packaging industry is under unrelenting pressure from the market to continue these trends and we can expect to witness continual improvements in this area. the waste revolution HANDBOOK
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Recycle In 2008 South Africans consumed 3 629 million tons of packaging (metal, paper glass and plastic) and paper. We use this definition because it includes not only packaging papers but also the other papers we find in the waste stream –newspapers, magazines, mail etc. In that year we collected 1 595 million tons of pre- and post-consumer waste (a rate of 43,9%) for recycling. This information has been collected and corroborated by an independent company, BMI Research, which has been tracking the paper, packaging and food industries in SA for the past 30 years (and in our view is the most knowledgeable and accurate in this sector). It is difficult to compare our recycling statistics with other nations because everyone seems to use a different statistical methodology. With the services of an international consultant to help us get the facts, we find that the following broad assumptions can be made: • Our recycling rates are probably in the top third of world countries; and • We are similar to the USA and better than the South Americans. This has not developed by chance. The private sector has invested billions into developing markets for recyclable materials so we are now in the fortunate position that much of our recyclate has a market in SA. We would like to quote examples from each of the main materials to illustrate this commitment that not only caters for current demand but will grow the markets for the future: • The paper recyclers have invested R600-m in infrastructure to collect and sort waste paper. • The glass packaging manufacturers have either invested in or have committed to a total of R265-m in colour sorting equipment for used glass, thus radically improving their capacity to accept more cullet into their production. • Collect-a-Can shareholders have invested more than R600-m into the Company in either direct or indirect subsidies to get the beverage can recycling rate to its current world class level of 70%. • Petco stakeholders have invested R230-m in technology to convert used PET (clear plastic) bottles into other products and have provided R70-m in funds to support recycling activities. • Recyclers in the other plastics sectors have invested over R250-m in infrastructure and recycling equipment The Paper and Packaging Industries can therefore claim that they have a good base and excellent voluntary industry driven initiatives on which to grow recycling rates. It is important to note that the recycled product does not necessarily need to become the same product again. In many sectors it is both economically and environmentally preferable for a completely different product to be produced. Some examples: • Used plastic cooldrink bottles are converted to hollowfill for eiderdowns or pillows. • Styrene plastic trays are made into picture frames and cornices. • Paper waste can be used as the basis for insulation. • Glass can be made into aggregate for the construction Industry. The impact of packaging and paper waste on total landfill is much smaller than generally believed. While statistics on the actual mass going to landfill in SA is hugely variable, PACSA estimates that the net contribution (after recycling) is less than 10%. This is a national average estimate which is broadly in line with the first world experience and clearly the higher income waste streams in SA will contain a bigger proportion of packaging. The resolution of the packaging and paper waste streams will thus not solve the landfill problem.
Recover Not all packaging and paper can be recycled – it may be contaminated or may be so light that it is totally unattractive to collect. Most plastic has a calorific value much better than our SA coal. In Europe a market has been created for this type of material in which, under controlled conditions to avoid 30
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toxic releases, this waste is incinerated and the energy created is used to supplement the country’s electricity needs or heat homes. It is important that good valuable recyclables are not disposed of in this manner as this would be wasteful.
WHAT IS THE INDUSTRY’S GOAL?
The Packing Council of South Africa is in the process of receiving an instruction from the Minister of Environmental Affairs to develop an Industry Waste Management Plan for the Packaging and Paper Industries. This will be very comprehensive, will probably be effective from 2011 and will set targets for recycling until the middle of this decade. The Plan will be approved by Government before implementation.
WHAT NEEDS TO BE DONE TO ACHIEVE THIS GOAL?
The achievement of our plan will rely on three very important issues A requirement that households separate their waste into wet and recyclable or dry components and the recyclable materials are then transported to Material Recovery Facilities (MRFs) where this waste is further separated into the material streams and delivered to the recyclers. This will achieve a twin benefit of larger volumes and generally better quality waste. Initially the requirement will be aimed at the wealthier areas as this is where the volume of packaging and paper waste is generated. The development of markets to absorb this extra quantity of better quality waste. This is critical for the sustainability of our Plan and the material Associations are addressing this issue. The active co-operation and collaboration of the Public sector, the Private sector and the communities at large will be necessary. The first two are obvious but we need the support of the communities in the separation of waste as well as dealing with our unacceptable litter mentality in SA. We envisage some extensive communication/awareness programmes to deal with both these issues.
WHAT OPPORTUNITIES EXIST?
An improved management of our waste in the packaging and paper sectors will provide inter alia the following opportunities: A reduction in the carbon footprint, caused both by continued reduction in mass of packaging and by using more recycled materials, which have a lower carbon footprint than their virgin alternatives; Better collection systems providing better quality jobs than the current practice of waste picking on landfill; and More recycling to offer more jobs at recyclers. While we note the job creation opportunity we are concerned that some officials have a very high and unrealistic expectation of job creation.
CONCLUSION
The packaging and paper industries will be developing an Industry Waste Management Plan under direction from the Minister of Environmental Affairs and will build on the existing voluntary-driven Industry initiatives which have already established markets for recyclable material collected.
REFERENCES
Investments in refillable packaging and structures, The Glass Recycling Company Recycling Statistics in SA, BMI Research Investments in recycling by the main materials: • Paper – Paper Manfacturing Association of SA • Glass – The Glass Recycling Company • Beverage cans – Collect-a-can • PET Bottles – PETCO • Other plastics –Plastics Federation the waste revolution HANDBOOK
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WASTE FROM AN EARTH RIGHTS PERSPECTIVE
Cormac Cullinan (BA, BA (HONS), LLB (Natal), LLM (London)) Director Cullinan and Associates Inc En Act International
INTRODUCTION A hallmark of 20th and 21st Century civilisations is their reliance on industrial conveyor belts that extract ‘natural resources’ from nature and process them into products which are later disposed of - usually in a landfill site (‘The Story of Stuff’). Energy (usually from fossil fuels) is expended and waste is generated at every stage of the process so that only a small percentage of the original natural material makes it into the final product and is actually used. In other words, we expend large amounts of non-renewable energy extracting material from perpetually self-renewing natural systems and modifying it until it becomes useless to us. This waste is then disposed of in ways that makes it virtually impossible for that material to be reused by ecosystems and sometimes creates hazards. Reuse and recycling has reduced the amount of waste that is disposed of but has not fundamentally changed the on-going conversion of nature to waste. ‘Waste’ is a human invention. Nature is not characterised by one-way extractive processes because it cannot be sustained. Nature’s patterns are circles, cycles, spirals and vortices - dynamic balances of growth and decay, life and death, in which the waste of one being is the food for another. This ensures that nutrients and energy continue to flow through and vitalise ecosystems and Earth as whole.
INDUSTRIAL THINKING Most contemporary societies are shaped not only by industry processes but also by industrial thinking that focuses on inputs and outputs from an enterprise without considering the impacts on wider systems. To apply this linear thinking to nature is to work against the grain and natural flow of nature and is ultimately unsustainable. Landfill sites and incineration may seem necessary from an industrial and commercial perspective, but make no sense from the wider perspective of the Earth system as a whole. From that perspective, landfills are stagnant backwaters that trap energy and matter that would otherwise flow through the ecosystems and cycles that support life and drive evolution. One of the reasons why our civilisations produce so much waste, particularly toxic wastes, is that we believe that everything on Earth exists for our use, and that the best way to increase our wellbeing is to use as much of what Earth produces as possible. The beliefs that more is better and that money equals success, drive accelerating consumption which cannot ever satisfy our needs. But what is the antidote to this pervasive disease?
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THE EARTH COMMUNITY One of the routes back to sanity is to remember something that all human societies once knew and some still do. Humans are not the masters and managers of the planet, but participants in a wonderful, intricate community of life that sustains and teaches us. As the great American scholar Thomas Berry, put it: “The universe is a communion of subjects, not a collection of objects.” (Berry, T, 2006). In other words, our role is not to exploit an inanimate world of objects (‘natural resources’) but to enter into healthy relationships with the other beings among whom we evolved. However, in order to do so we must first recognise that all that exists on Earth, all that has come into being, is due respect as a being and has the right to exist and to play its part in the Earth community. Every part of the system, every aspect of Earth, has come into being as part of the Earth Community and has its place within it. Degrading or destroying any part diminishes the whole and risks unsettling the natural balances and processes that sustain life. Climate change is an example of the consequences of doing so. Seeing the world around us as a community of beings in relationship with one another infuses the world once more with the magic of childhood. However, this is not mere magical thinking.
AN UNDIVIDED WHOLE The Universe is an interrelated whole. Quantum physicists have revealed the existence of mysterious interconnections at the subatomic level. For example, the French physicist Alain Aspect demonstrated that when two photons (ie quantum objects) are spatially separated so that even a signal travelling at the speed of light could not pass between them during the time interval of the experiment, changing a property of one of the photons produces an instantaneous complementary change in the other photon (A.,Dalibard, J., Rogers, G. (1982). This ‘quantum non-locality’ has been repeatedly confirmed by experimentation and supports the conclusion by the eminent physicist David Bohm that at the quantum level reality is an undivided whole (Bohm, D. (1980); De Quincy, Q. (2002). And ecologists are discovering that even trees communicate with one another. Wouter Van Hoven, a zoologist from Pretoria University found that acacias nibbled by antelope produce leaf tannin in quantities lethal to the browsers, and emit ethylene into the air which can travel up to 50 yards. The ethylene warns other trees of the impending danger, which then step up their own production of leaf tannin within just five to 10 minutes. Van Hoven made his discovery when asked to investigate the sudden death of some 3 000 South African antelope, called kudu, on game ranches in the Transvaal. He noticed that giraffe, roaming freely, browsed only on one acacia tree in ten, avoiding those trees which were downwind. Kudu, which are fenced in on the game ranches, have little other than acacia leaves to eat during the winter months. So the antelope continue to browse until the tannin from the leaves sets off a lethal metabolic chain reaction in their bodies (www.newscientist.com). Some scientists deny that this is an active form of communication arguing that this is a purely physiological response involving the release of tannins at the wounded area which are picked up by special receptors in the leaves of trees downwind which are then stimulated to release tannin. The fact is that we exist within a world of communicating beings bound together by mutually beneficial relationships, and the separation between us and our ‘environment’ is illusory. Gases, water, food and heat pass constantly through us, and our bodies are ecosystems that support myriads of other life forms. We are, quite literally, one with Earth. It is just that we don’t believe it.
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WHO – OR WHAT - HAS RIGHTS? In most contemporary legal systems, all other species and aspects of nature are defined as objects, and are consequently incapable of having any legal rights. Since nature has no rights, our governance systems are ineffective in protecting nature. Many activities that fundamentally damage the systems on which life as we know it depends, such as emitting large quantities of the greenhouse gasses, are perfectly legal. Furthermore, by upholding human rights while defining other beings as property we have created a dangerous imbalance in our relationships with other beings. If we are all part of a single, interrelated whole, it doesn’t make sense to recognise and enforce rights for humans and not for the beings with whom we are in relationship and without whom we could not survive – if they have no right to be then neither do we. One of the ways of beginning to restore an appropriate balance is to make establishing harmonious relationships with nature our goal and to enforce rights for all. This has been done in the Constitution of Ecuador which establishes the achievement of human wellbeing in harmony with nature (el buen vivir or sumak kawsay) as a fundamental goal of Ecuadorian society. The Constitution states explicitly that: “Nature or Pachamama, where life is reproduced and exists, has the right to exist, persist, maintain and regenerate its vital cycles, structures, functions and its processes in evolution.” (article 72). It also empowers every person or community to demand the recognition of these rights before public bodies.
DECLARATION OF RIGHTS ON MOTHER EARTH This perspective is now spreading rapidly. On 22 April 2010, more than 32 000 participants in the People’s World Conference on Climate Change and the Rights of Mother Earth held in Cochabamba, Bolivia proclaimed the Universal Declaration of the Rights of Mother Earth. The Declaration invites all people, organisations and states to adopt it, to co-operate in implementing it, and to support its adoption by the United Nations. It recognises that Earth is an indivisible, living community of interrelated and interdependent beings with inherent rights (Article 1) and defines fundamental human responsibilities in relation to other beings and to the community as whole (Article 3) The Declaration uses the ancient term ‘Mother Earth’ to refer to this community in order to emphasise that humans should relate to the being that gives them life in a deeply respectful manner and not as an inanimate ’resource’ to be managed. The Declaration recognises that all natural entities which exist as part of Mother Earth - including plants, animals, rivers and ecosystems - are subjects who have the inherent and inalienable right to exist and to play their role within the community of beings (Article 2). It also acknowledges that because humans derive everything necessary for a good life from the living communities within which we live, we cannot maintain human rights and the freedom to live well unless we respect and defend the rights of Mother Earth(Preamble).
CONCLUSION This understanding is shared by indigenous peoples throughout the world, as well as by many wisdom traditions, and faiths. It is also consistent with contemporary scientific understandings which have revealed the complex subatomic, chemical, ecological and other interactions which bind all beings into a single living community. However it is incompatible with the belief that human wellbeing should be achieved by rapidly the waste revolution HANDBOOK
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profile
McVigar Construction and Trading McVigar Construction and Trading is managed by enthusiastic and committed managers who are dedicated to delivering quality service. Description of business McVigar Construction and Trading specialies in the following: • Mining construction • Road construction • Building construction • Plant machinery • Building materials • Supply and delivery of materials Description of services Services include the following: • Renovations • Building • Road development and construction • Carwash • Mechanical workshops • Farming Mission The company’s mission is to: • Provide quality service, value for money and instil pride of ownership • To provide fair and progressive employment practices in accordance with the company’s requirements for skills and potential of its employees, therefore reducing unemployment. • To generate a sustainable return on investments, which will reward its members and secure funding for its continued growth. Target markets Mining and construction companies Key facts and figures Year established: 2006 No of staff: 22 Major clients: Kalagadi Manganese Project (Pty) Ltd BEE status % black ownership: 100% % black directors: 100% % black staff: 100% Key contact people: Rorisang Leboko, Director Gilbert Leboko, Manager Evaciois Leboko, Supervisor
Rorisang Leboko
Tel: +27 79 197 9248 • Fax: +27 53 712 3076 Email: rorisangmcvigarleboko@yahoo.com Physical address: House No 205, Madibeng Village, Kuruman, 8460 Postal address: P O Box 2575,Kuruman, 8460
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exploiting ‘natural resources’ in order to maximise economic growth indefinitely, which is the foundation for most contemporary legal, political and economic systems. If the global community begins to move away from seeing Earth as a vast larder of resources available for humans to plunder and convert to waste, towards the worldview reflected in the Declaration, we will have to re-think almost every aspect of contemporary civilisation. Pollution will be an unlawful infringement on the rights of ecosystems and we will have to redesign industrial and manufacturing processes to reduce, and eventually eliminate, highly toxic substances. Mining will be severely restricted and we will begin mining old landfills for valuable materials. Today’s waste managers will be replaced by experts in channelling the waste products of humans into biological systems that can benefit from them. Natural cycles and mutually beneficial relationships between humans, bacteria, fungi, insects, soil, water and other beings, will gradually replace the oneway exploitative relationships of today. Alternatively, we can continue turning Earth into a wasteland. The choice is ours.
REFERENCES
“The Story of Stuff” narrated by Annie Leonard, at http://www.storyofstuff.com/ Berry, T. (2006): quoted in Evening Thoughts, reflecting on Earth as Sacred Community edited by Mary Evelyn Tucker, Sierra Club Books, San Francisco. A.,Dalibard, J., Rogers, G. (1982): Physical Review Letters 1804, no.49. Bohm, D. (1980): Wholeness and the Implicate Order. London: Routledge and Kegan Paul. De Quincy, Q. (2002): Radical Nature. The Soul of Matter, Rochester, Vermont, Park Street Press, 2002 (2010 edition) p28. http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg12717361.200-antelope-activate-the-acacias-alarm-system.html). People’s Voices in favour of the defence of life and the Mother Earth. Conclusions and Action Plans of the First World People’s Conference on Climate Change and the Rights of Mother Earth, Tiquipaya, Cochabamba, 20 to 22 April 2010, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Plurinational State of Bolivia, 2010, pp 56 -59.
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WASTE GIANT – Waste Management with a Difference
Waste Giant is the fastest-growing, most innovative waste management company in South Africa. With our head offices in Johannesburg we are ideally positioned to assist our customers by a young and dynamic team, equipped to tackle any requirement. With more than 15 years’ experience in the industry Waste Giant offers a full range of services and products to satisfy all aspects of waste removal, handling and management. We are committed to providing excellent service to our customers and this is one of the ways we distinguish ourselves in the market. Our long term objectives are to ensure eco-friendly waste management through responsible practices, having aligned ourselves to ‘the waste management hierarchy’ which stipulates the preferred activities of promoting and facilitate reuse, recycling and reduction of waste. Waste Giant’s unique selling point is the manner in which we apply our resources (fleet, people and knowledge) to provide the most bespoke service to meet our customers’ individual requirements. We do this by harnessing years of collective industry experience to provide the optimal customer experience, ranging from the level of client communication to exceptional service delivery. SERVICES Waste Giant offers a comprehensive range of services, including: • Compactable waste removal. • Non-compactable waste removal. • Building rubble removal. • Hazardous waste removal. • Industrial clean-ups and site rehabilitation. • Landfill management. • On-site waste management. FLEET We have a substantial waste management vehicle fleet comprising Compactors, Luggers, Tippers and RoRos (roll-on, roll-off ) vehicles. We also employ a range of earthmoving equipment to supplement and support our operations, including Bobcats, Landfill compactors, Excavators, Front-end Loaders and many more. The size and variety of our fleet allow us to provide an efficient service to our existing customer base and to cope with increasing market demand for our specialised services. PRODUCTS We stock a wide range of waste-handling and management products, such as: • Static compactor units (to buy or rent) • Oil/chemical pollution-control products (spill kits and absorbents) • 240-Litre wheelie bins and medical waste containers • Fluorescent tube crushers • Personal Protection Equipment (PPE) CONTACT US Head office and enquiries: Phone: +27 (0)11 493 2441 Fax: +27 (0)11 499 1407 Email: waste@wastegiant.co.za Web page: www.wastegiant.co.za
Physical Address: 2 Fennell Street, Village Main, Johannesburg, 2000 Postal Address: P O Box 6169, Westgate, 1734
We offer the following comprehensive range of services: &RPSDFWDEOH DQG QRQ FRPSDFWDEOH ZDVWH UHPRYDO :DVWH UHGXFWLRQ DQG UHF\FOLQJ LQLWLDWLYHV %XLOGLQJ UXEEOH UHPRYDO +D]DUGRXV ZDVWH UHPRYDO ,QGXVWULDO FOHDQ XSV DQG VLWH UHKDELOLWDWLRQ /DQGILOO PDQDJHPHQW 2Q VLWH ZDVWH PDQDJHPHQW VHUYLFHV
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chapter 4: The cost and benefits of waste management options in general
The cost and benefits of waste management options in general Professor MP de Wit Director De Wit Sustainable Options (Pty) Ltd
INTRODUCTION The need for the sustainable management of waste is becoming more important with the opportunity to conserve materials, landfills competing for valuable land, and the health, environmental and aesthetic impacts of ineffective disposal methods. Waste managers are increasingly challenged to create and maintain sustainable systems that are financially and economically affordable, acceptable by society, environmentally effective and practically implementable. Before elaborating further it is useful to define the terms ‘sustainability’, ‘integrated’ and ‘systems’. Sustainability is the capacity of a system to endure. It is the flexibility and adaptability of a system over time that is important in a sustainable system. A system has a purpose and consists of an interrelated set of elements or components (Meadows,2008). For example, the primary purpose of a waste management system may be service delivery, while a secondary purpose may be to divert waste from landfills. The purpose or function is often driven by legal mandates. An integrated waste system is one that recognises (see Staniskis, 2004; Van de Klundert,1999): • The different elements of the waste system as a whole from generation to disposal; • A range of options on various scales (eg household, neighbourhood, city); • Interactions between the waste system and other systems (socio-economic systems, for example); and • inputs from all stakeholders and interest groups in the design of a system that is acceptable and feasible. As all potential waste management options have advantages and disadvantages, a thorough evaluation of options within the broader waste management system is needed. Waste management is no longer a technical issue only, and needs to be approached in an integrated, systematic way (Van de Klundert,1999).
CHOOSING WASTE MANAGEMENT OPTIONS From a municipality’s perspective the focus is on managing post-consumer waste. The management of post-consumer waste includes the collection, transporting, processing, recycling and/or disposal of waste. In general, sustainable waste management would typically focus on an optimal way to collect and sort waste followed by sustainable processing and/or disposal of waste. Processing options include the recycling of materials, the biological treatment of organic materials to produce compost the waste revolution HANDBOOK
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and methane, and thermal treatment with the possible benefits of energy recovery. Landfilling, the most widely used disposal option, can be designed and operationalised in such a way as to minimise pollution and reduce disamenities. The dependent and often competing nature of these options requires an integrated approach. Developing a sustainable waste management system requires not only a comparison between technical options focused on collection, transporting, processing or landfilling; but also a focus on the interrelationships between such options and the processes of change caused by implementing such options throughout the whole waste system. This means that in the planning for a sustainable integrated waste management system, a choice between alternative waste management systems, and not merely between alternative waste management options, is required. To inform such a choice, the material flows, the environmental and social impacts, as well as the financial and economic costs and benefits throughout the whole waste chain of collecting, transporting, processing, recycling and final disposal needs to be taken into consideration. At a minimum, an evaluation of options in relation to the criteria of financial and economic affordability, acceptability by society, environmental effectiveness and practical implementability is needed.
LEARNING FROM INTERNATIONAL EXPERIENCE With the transition towards more sustainable waste management systems in Europe, Japan and the US in recent decades, a wealth of learning and experience has been accumulated. A few pertinent issues are highlighted here: Issue One: Absolute decoupling between economic growth and waste creation has not yet occurred (Mazzanti & Zoboli, 2009; Mazzanti, 2008; Cole et al,1997; Strange, 2002). With the exception of a few countries, an increasing GDP (per capita) is associated with rising municipal solid waste (MSW) per capita (Matsunaga and Themelis, 2002), casting doubt on the success of waste prevention strategies, at least in Europe (Mazzanti & Zoboli, 2005). Waste generation does not grow at the same rate as economic growth, however. Waste generation has a positive elasticity to income, but this elasticity is generally considered to be less than one (Porter, 2002; Beede & Bloom, 1995). Nevertheless, in some limited cases, such as for Italian data on a municipal level, a turning point in the relationship between income and household waste generation has been detected (Abrate & Ferraris, 2010) and only at very high levels of value added per capita (Mazzanti et al, 2008). Issue Two: Most waste still ends up in landfills, and waste management systems differ greatly among European countries. According to Strange (2002), and based on 1996/7 data, countries that still have more than 70% (by weight) of their waste going to landfill at that time included the UK, Italy and Spain. A later study by Audit Scotland (2007), based on 2003 data, mentioned that Greece, Scotland, UK and Portugal landfilled more than 70% of their municipal waste. Italy and Spain were both close to 60% at that time. According to Strange (2001), Denmark was the leader in energy recovery (58% of waste as measured in weight), followed by Switzerland and the Netherlands. Only the Netherlands, Germany, Austria and Switzerland recycled more than 30% of their waste, while only Spain composted more than 15% of its waste stream. These numbers, although somewhat outdated by now, do not only highlight the large amount of waste that is still landfilled in European countries, but also the large variability in waste management systems per country. Local context and local policies do seem to matter a lot. 44
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Issue Three: It is the way in which waste is collected, and the subsequent sorting, that determines which waste management treatment option will be most effective (Strange, 2002:13). For example, considerable success has been achieved with a weight-based collection programme in a Dutch municipality, where three years after the introduction of weight-based pricing, annual total waste collection had dropped by 42%, and non-recyclable waste by 56%. It must be noted that in this case the problem of illegal dumping is deemed to be small largely thanks to an effective monitoring and ďŹ ning system (Linderhof et al, 2001), a crucial factor that may not be replicated everywhere. Once an effective waste collection and sorting system has been developed, such successes in waste prevention, if achievable on large scales, can impact on the waste needs of downstream processing and treatment options. Issue Four: The problem with composting from mixed domestic waste is that such projects struggle to be financially viable and have a chance of being successful only at high volumes with a marketable quality. Especially in Germany, but also in some other European countries, the problem is an inability to find markets for compost from municipal waste (Strange, 2002:19). In a review of 19 MSW composting facilities in the US, Renkow and Rubin (1998) concluded that few of the facilities surveyed received sufficient revenues to offset costs; and that MSW composting cannot be justified on financial grounds unless the cost of landfilling is high, which is a geographically limited case in the US. A study by Ekelund and NystrĂśm (2007) on the composting of MSW in South Africa reached the similar conclusion that such projects do not generate sufficient income to cover the costs, but expressed the expectation that some projects may break-even or make a profit in future. Strange (2001) pointed out that the encouragement of home composting and/or separate collection of organic material is a possible way to deal with the problem of quality. This is only one part of the solution. However, as economies of scale favour more sophisticated systems with larger annual volumes (Renkow et al, 1994). A balance between separate collection systems that guarantee high quality marketable compost at sufficient volumes needs to be achieved in the sustainable management of composting systems. Issue Five: Thermal treatment of MSW yields net environmental benefits when compared to landfilling and mechanical-biological treatment, but is the financially more expensive option. Strange (2002) did argue that thermal treatment of non-recyclable household waste makes economic and environmental sense, but some subsequent studies have questioned this claim. A comparison of the social costs between landfilling and incineration using waste-to-energy (WTE) plants found that incineration is preferred over landfilling only if environmental costs are included in the analysis (Dijkgraaf & Vollebergh, 2004). Once the private costs of incineration are included, landfilling is the social cost-minimising option at the margin even in a densely populated country such as the Netherlands. It is only with very strict application of the precautionary principle that thermal treatment options compare favourably with other mechanical-biological treatment options. For example, Doberl et al (2002) found that thermal waste treatment scenarios reach Austrian waste management goals more efficiently than mechanical-biological treatment scenarios, but only under the strict condition that the same weights are given to short and longer-term effects, irrespective of when they occur. Issue Six: Recycling has generally proven to be difficult, as based on the relatively small volumes achieved even in many well-developed European countries. Even within countries recycling rates may differ sharply. In Scotland, for example, recycling rates differ considerably across councils, from the waste revolution HANDBOOK
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10% to 40%, driven by issues such as travelling distance, costs, and access to subsidies. The Scotland case also highlights that the marginal cost of recycling increases sharply as the recycling rate increases (Audit Scotland, 2007). On the other hand, in certain wealthy countries such as Finland, it has been concluded that mandates for achieving 50% recycling in municipalities do not appear far-fetched if all economic and environmental costs are included (Huhtala, 1996). In Sweden, people are willing to invest more time into recycling than what can be motivated by savings on their waste management bill (Bartelings & Sterner, 1999). Issue Seven: Landfilling remains the most widely used waste management option globally. Whether this is sustainable is questionable, as disposal charges (eg tipping fees) usually do not take account of the full costs of landfilling, including the private costs, such as land and development costs; as well as the external costs, such as the environmental, disamenity and health costs imposed by landfills on society. Several published case studies show that landfills do cause external costs. For example, in 1990, in the Carter community of Knox county, Tennessee, based on a contingent valuation study, it was concluded that households were willing to pay $227 per household per annum to avoid having a landfill sited in the community. This willingness to pay rose significantly (by $141 per household per annum) if the perception existed that water supplies are affected (Roberts et al,1991). Similar results were reached with a choice experiment in Japan. It was concluded that residents evaluate accepting waste originating from outside their community negatively, while large external costs were found for siting landďŹ lls near sources of drinking water (Sasao, 2004). Siting landfills very far away from affected communities is also not the solution, as the savings achieved by doing this need to be balanced against the additional private and social costs of transporting solid waste to remote landfills (Barbagallo, 2001).
CONCLUSION Based on this short review, the following issues are important considerations in the planning, design and evaluation of a sustainable waste management system: To sustainably manage the increasing amounts of waste associated with economic growth, an integrated, systems approach is needed. The full costs and benefits, not only of the chosen waste management option, but also of the waste management options in relation to the entire waste system, need to be considered. The material flows, the environmental and social impacts, as well as the financial and economic costs and benefits throughout the whole waste chain of collecting, transporting, processing, recycling and final disposal need to be considered. Based on international evidence, no one preferred waste management option is identified, highlighting the importance of an assessment based on local conditions. With the exception of a few countries, landfilling remains the default option, even in several highly developed economies. Waste collection and sorting options are vital in a sustainable waste management system, as this choice determines which downstream waste management treatment option(s) will be most effective Composting options struggle to be financially viable and only have a chance of being successful at high volumes with a marketable quality. Thermal treatment yields net environmental benefits when compared to landfilling and mechanical46
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biological treatment options, but is financially expensive. Recycling proves to difficult to implement in relatively large volumes. Landfilling remains the most widely used waste management option, but once the full costs are taken into account the sustainability of this option may be questioned.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I am grateful to Anton Nahman and Richard Emery for their valuable comments on an earlier draft.
REFERENCES
Abrate and Ferraris. The Environmental Kuznets Curve in the Municipal Solid Waste Sector. Hermes Working Paper no 1 (2010) Audit Scotland. Sustainable waste management. (2007) pp. 1-48 Barbagallo. External cost estimates of transporting solid waste to remote landfills. CSWD (2006) pp. 1-5 Bartelings and Sterner. Household waste management in a Swedish municipality: determinants of waste disposal, recycling and composting. Environmental and Resource Economics (1999) vol. 13 (4) pp. 473-491 Beede, D.N. & Bloom, D.E. 1995. THE ECONOMICS OF MUNICIPAL SOLID WASTE. World Bank Research Observer. Volume 10, Number 2. Pp. 113-150 Cole et al. The environmental Kuznets curve: an empirical analysis. Environment and Development Economics (1997), vol. 2 (4) pp. 401-416 Dijkgraaf and Vollebergh. Burn or bury? A social cost comparison of final waste disposal methods. Ecological Economics (2004) vol. 50 (3-4) pp. 233-247 Doberl et al. Long-term assessment of waste management options-a new, integrated and goal-oriented approach. Waste Management & Research (2002) vol. 20 (4) pp. 311 Ekelund and Nyström. Composting of Municipal Waste in South Africa. (2007) Huhtala. A Post – Consumer Waste Management Model for Determining Optimal Levels of Recycling and Landfilling. (1996) pp. 1-23 Linderhof et al. Weight-based pricing in the collection of household waste: the Oostzaan case. Resource and Energy Economics (2001) vol. 23 (4) pp. 359-371 Matsunaga and Themelis. Effects of affluence and population density on waste generation and disposal of municipal solid wastes. Earth Engineering Centre, Columbia University, New York (2002) Mazzanti and Zoboli. Delinking and environmental Kuznets curves for waste indicators in Europe. Journal of Integrative Environmental Sciences (2005), vol. 2 (4) December, pp. 409 – 425. Mazzanti. Is waste generation de-linking from economic growth? Empirical evidence for Europe. Applied Economics Letters (2008) vol. 15 (4), March pp. 287 – 291. Meadows. Thinking in Systems. A Primer. Chelsea Green (2008). Mazzanti et al. Municipal Waste Generation and Socioeconomic Drivers: Evidence From Comparing Northern and Southern Italy. The Journal of Environment & Development (2008) vol. 17 (1) pp. 51 Porter, R. 2002. The Economics of Waste. Resources for the Future. Washington: RFF Press. Renkow and Rubin. Does municipal solid waste composting make economic sense? Journal of environmental management (1998) vol. 53 (4) pp. 339-348 Renkow et al. A cost analysis of municipal yard trimmings composting. Compost Science & Utilization (1994) vol. 2 (2) pp. 22-34 Roberts et al. Estimating external costs of municipal landfill siting through contingent valuation analysis: a case study. Southern Journal of Agricultural Economics (1991) vol. 23 (02) Sasao. An estimation of the social costs of landfill siting using a choice experiment. Waste management (2004) vol. 24 (8) pp. 753-762 Staniskis. Integrated Waste Management: Concept and Implementation. Environmental research, engineering and management (2005) vol. 3 (33) pp. 40-46 Bartelings and Sterner. Household waste management in a Swedish municipality: determinants of waste disposal, recycling and composting. Environmental and Resource Economics (1999) vol. 13 (4) pp. 473-491 Strange. Overview of Waste Management Options: their efficacy and acceptability. Issues in Environmental Science and Technology (2002) vol. 18 pp. 1-52 Van de Klundert. Integrated Sustainable Waste Management: the selection of appropriate technologies and the design of sustainable systems is not (only) a technical issue. Paper prepared for the CEDARE/IETC Inter-Regional Workshop on Technologies for Sustainable Waste Management, held 13-15 July 1999 in Alexandria, Egypt (2000).
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Directorate: Integrated pollution and waste management Mission Statement: To reduce pollution in the Limpopo province INTEGRATED POLLUTION AND WASTE MANAGEMENT (IPWM) Key performance areas: - Provision of technical and general support to stakeholders on waste and air quality management - Licensing of air quality management and waste management listed activities - Management monitoring of industries to identify areas of improvement - Promote cleaner technologies SUB-DIRECTORATES: 1. Air Quality Management Air pollution is defined as the presence of undesirable, unwanted material, or substances in the atmosphere. The quality of air remains the determining factor in the health and quality of life of the community. The province has seen massive developments that are characterised by significant air emissions that gave rise to numerous sources of pollution. The Limpopo Provincial Government has devoted considerable effort to initiate measures and systems to reduce and maintain air pollution levels to acceptable concentration through development of stakeholder engagement protocol, guidelines, framework, forums, and awareness programmes. Objectives: - To ensure that the object of the National Environmental Management: Air Quality Act 2004 are being achieved within the province - To provide sound scientific basis for the development of cost-effective control policies and solutions in air quality challenges - To protect human health and minimise the impact of air pollution to the ecosystems - To provide the public with reliable and up-to-date information on air pollution 2. General Waste Management Waste is defined as any matter, whether gaseous, liquid or solid or any combination thereof, which is from time to time designated by the Minister by notice in the Gazette as any undesirable or superfluous by-product, emission, residue or remainder of any process or activity. (National Environmental Management: Waste Act, 2008 (Act No. 59 of 2008)(NEMWA) Objectives: - To ensure that the object of the National Environmental Management: Waste, 2008 is being achieved within the province; - Licensing of waste disposal facilities; - Management monitoring of waste disposal facilities; - The provision of support to the stakeholders; and - The implementation of the National Waste Management Strategy. Currently the sub-directorate is funding the implementation of waste collection services to
profile the Makhuduthamaga Local Municipalities as a way of assisting them in extending waste services provision within the municipality. It is also funding the Makhado Local Municipality in licensing and developing their new waste disposal site and assisting them in adhering to the requirements of NEMWA. Projects and Initiatives: - The Limpopo Cleaner Consumption Strategy (LCCS); and - The Paper Recycling project. The aim of the LCCS is to green the procurement of Limpopo Government through the purchase of goods and services that are resultant of resource efficient, low carbon yielding and optimal labour intensive production methods and promote optimisation of resource/end product consumption or utilisation. Objectives: • To promote separation of waste paper; • To increase the amount of paper reclaimed for recycling; • To reduce the volume of waste that goes to the landfills and resultant management costs; • To promote the utilization of recycled paper; • To stimulate markets for recycled paper; • To create job opportunities through paper recycling; and • To combat deforestation and destruction of plant life. 3. Hazardous waste and chemical management Hazardous waste is any waste which because of its quantity, concentration, or physical, chemical, or infectious characteristics may pose a substantial present or potential hazard to human health or the environment when improperly treated, stored or disposed of, or otherwise mismanaged; or cause or contribute to an increase in mortality, or an increase in irreversible or incapacitating illness. Objectives: - To ensure that the objectives of the National Environmental Management: Waste, 2008 that were delegated to provinces are being achieved; - Licensing of sewage and effluent treatment facilities; - Management monitoring of wastewater treatment facilities; - The provision of support to the stakeholders; and - The implementation of the National Waste Management Strategy. The sub-directorate is embarking on a programme of identification, co-ordination of engagements between generators, transporters and recyclers of used oil, e- waste and other hazardous waste types. ADDITIONAL INFORMATION The following contacts can provide additional information on pollution and waste management: Legislation and policies – www.environment.gov.za Air Quality Management - www.saaqis.org.za General and Hazardous Waste Management - www.sawic.gov.za Provincial office Address: Cnr Dorp and Suid Streets POLOKWANE Tel: 015 290 7000 Fax: 015 295 4836 www.ledet.gov.za Visit your local Municipalities for additional information. Contact Details: Mr. Trevor Mphahlele (Senior Manager) Office - Tel: 015 295 4836/ Fax: 015 295 4836
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FUNDING OF WASTE MANAGEMENT SERVICES
Michael Marler, Civil Infrastructure Specialist Development Bank of Southern Africa
INTRODUCTION Like any service, waste management should be viewed from a business perspective. All businesses need finance - but where will this come from? Who is responsible for the costs incurred? From an investor’s perspective, regardless of what is being financed, it is important to know whether the investment will be an asset or a liability. Will the investment generate a return or will it require further contributions to keep it going? The funding of waste management is no different. Funding for waste management is available from various sources. However, whether this is provided by government in the form of grants or by finance institutions through loan or equity funding, it is clear that investments will be made only on the basis of a solid business case. For municipal infrastructure, it would be necessary to know whether the cost of operations will be recovered from the revenues received for the services provided or whether the municipality will be required to subsidise the service from its main budget - which may already be constrained. Private sector companies, on the other hand, need to demonstrate market demand and full financial viability. The level of service that must be delivered is predetermined by legislation. The recently promulgated Waste Management Act (2009) gives substance to the standards that need to be adhered to - which in turn will require certain capital expenditure. In addition, other relevant legislation also needs to be examined to determine the financial implications of providing the service. The Municipal Infrastructure Grant system (MIG) is intended to help authorities with the provision of basic services. But within the MIG system, only 5% (MIG Policy Framework, 2004) is allocated to a section labelled ‘others’ which includes street lighting, other small infrastructure elements and waste management. This is hopelessly inadequate to address all the needs. In starting to unpack these funding requirements, one must investigate what has to be financed and how much is required? Who should be borrowing the money and what if the waste management authority cannot take up a loan due to financial constraints? To what extent should partnerships be explored? It is evident that whichever option or level of service embarked upon, investors will need to take comfort in the long term sustainability of the particular intervention. This paper addresses the above issues from the perspective of a development finance institution, the Development Bank of Southern Africa (DBSA). It explains concepts of resource requirements in various phases of a projects life cycle, project finance, bankable feasibility studies, as well as the due diligence process followed by any financial institutions which will provide some guidelines to waste management practitioners. the waste revolution HANDBOOK
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It is well known that approximately 45% of the South African population, mainly in informal settlements and rural areas (Department Water Affairs & Forestry, 2001), do not have access to acceptable domestic waste-collection services. Failure to manage waste effectively results in negative environmental impacts which affect the health and well-being of society. Waste management is the fourth largest cost centre(Department Water Affairs & Forestry, 2001) in a municipality’s operations budget - which is not widely appreciated by municipalities. According to industry experts, turnover (income and expenditure) in general municipal waste is approximately R14-billion per annum (2009 estimates -private interviews). This compares with estimates of income generated by municipalities in rendering waste collection services of R9 billion per annum.
POLICY AND REGULATORY ENVIRONMENT The National Environmental Management Waste Management Act recognises that South Africa needs to shift away from thinking about waste simply as a problem and instead adopt a resource management approach (ie that waste could be an asset that may produce revenues). The generation and disposal of waste are therefore key environmental issues. Local government is mandated to collect, transport and dispose of domestic waste from all households and to ensure that the service is equitable to all communities within its jurisdiction. In addition to municipal waste services, the private sector has grown and diversified, providing waste services to municipalities and industry (including the mining industry, the largest generator of waste). The Waste Act recognises that a portion of waste has a value that through partnerships, can be managed to reduce municipal waste costs and at the same time increase sustainable jobs, protect human health and the environment and make resources available for other economic activities. The Waste Act is intended to create a formal environment for planning, implementation, monitoring and enforcement of national policy in which: Overall national policy for sustainable development, elimination of poverty and spatial development provides an effective framework for designing effective strategies for implementation; and Existing legislation for the creation of developmental local government and the inter-governmental relations system supports implementation. The Act has major financial implications for municipalities as responsible authorities for the service .
KEY AREAS FOR INVESTMENT SUPPORT
Municipal Integrated Development Plans (IDP) outline strategies for the sector to be included in Integrated Waste Management Plans (IWMP) required in terms of municipal legislation (Local Government Municipal Systems Act, 2000). Physical assets in the form of collection containers, vehicles, plant and equipment for the processing of the collected waste and a waste disposal facility (landfill site or alternative) should be indentified in the IWMP, quantifying financial needs and support. Simply stated, the Integrated Development Plan (IDP1) will ultimately result in an Investment Delivery Programme (IDP2). Financial support can include co-funding to service providers in the waste sector. All funding support should, however, take cognisance of: Strategic planning; Organisational development; 52
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System optimisation and support technology; Formalised value chains for recycling/treatment; and Physical infrastructure for recycling and disposal of remaining waste. Consulting Engineers South Africa (CESA) and the Construction Industry Development Board (CIDB) have documented (Procurement Guideline for Consulting Engineering Services, 2010) a typical Project Life Cycle which can be utilised in identifying the funding needs and sources of funding for Waste Management as outlined in table 5.1: STEP IN PROJECT LIFE CYCLE
INPUTS AND OUTPUTS
RESOURCE REQUIREMENTS AND POTENTIAL SOURCES OF FUNDING
Identification
Following the acceptance of the Municipal Integrated Development Plan (Input) an Integrated Waste Management Plan for the Municipality must be prepared. (output) Preliminary Design of projects identified in IWMP. Prefeasibility Studies to identify scale of funding requirements Following approval of prefeasibility studies, finalise ‘Bankable Feasibility Study’ for consideration by financiers. Due Diligence by financiers for funding considerations. Negotiations with funders. Financial closure.
Professional expertise (Internal and possibly external consultants). Funded from own budget, Provincial Government grants or Technical Assistance grants from funding institutions.
Definition
Feasibility
Concept and Viability Design Procurement Construction Operations and Maintenance
Project detailed design, documentation and tenders. Contracts in place with appropriate guarantees. Technical and Financial Closure. Appropriate budgets for O&M
Technical and Financial expertise. Own budgets and grants. Technical and Financial expertise. Own budgets and grants. Financial expertise. Banking Institutions (finance) Institutional expertise and consultants. Banking Institutions Technical expertise and/or consultants. Project finance in place. DFI’s and Commercial Banks. Project finance as arranged either from internal sources or financiers. Revenue stream for O&M from users and municipal budget.
Table 5.1
The DBSA and the Development Fund have provided, and continue to provide, technical assistance for the preparation of Integrated Waste Management Plans (IWMP) to municipalities for them to satisfy the mandatory requirements of local government. Based on a project life-cycle approach, the DBSA will continue to explore means of providing catalytic and development funding for waste management aimed at economic, environmental and social sustainability. Other forms of assistance include feasibility studies for recycling operations and loans for capital costs.
FUNDING RISKS Various risks were indentified in the National Waste Management Action Plan (Oct 1999) which financiers will consider in their investigations. Other risks may also be identified, depending on the circumstances of the project being funded. The more risks there are the higher the cost of funding will be. It is therefore important to identify risk mitigation measures that will contain the costs.
CONCLUSIONS The reality of waste management is that most of the costs are operational. Apart from the purchase of the land for the landfill site, equipment to collect, transport and compact the waste, the cost of the the waste revolution HANDBOOK
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Environmental Impact Assessment and the process of obtaining the necessary operational permits, there is very little that requires long-term funding. The operating equipment does not need to appear on the authority’s balance sheet as this should ideally be leased from plant suppliers. As stated earlier, investing in waste management should be seen as investing in a business that is sustainable. However, the most practical form of investment would be to consider waste management as an INTEGRATED service and to package a number of waste management projects that work together. This would be a far more attractive consideration for all. Leon Bredenhann, when he was a Director at the Department of Water Affairs, defined waste very well as, “WASTE IS A RESOURCE WASTED”.
REFERENCES:
Republic of South Africa, 2009. National Environmental Management Waste Act. No. 59 of 2008. Department of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs. 2004, Policy Framework for the Introduction of the Municipal Infrastructure Grant. Department of Water Affairs and Forestry, 2001. Situation Analysis based on Baseline Studies regarding Waste Management in South Africa. (in preparation for the National Waste Management Strategy for South Africa) Number W.7.0 Department of Water Affairs and Forestry, 2001. Towards the formulation of a National Waste Management Strategy for South Africa. Number W.6.0. Private communication with CEOs and Directors of large private waste management companies. 2009. Republic of South Africa, 2000. Local Government Municipal Systems Act, Act No. 32 of 2000. Consulting Engineers South Africa, April 2010. Procurement Guideline for Consulting Engineering Services. P16
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SAWMC SAWMC is a wholly black owned business that partners with clients to offer acceptable integrated waste management solutions. …why choosing us as your partner is an wise choice to make Knowledgeable We specialize in developing integrated waste management solutions for the domestic and healthcare industries. Our passionate knowledgeable team will provide quality service from managing solutions, through to training, coordinating and monitoring the overall waste management strategy. Processes Processes we follow when designing and implementing effective waste management strategies are responsive and innovative. Our specialist waste collection vehicles have state of the art capabilities to ensure handling of toxic chemicals. Client participation during all phases of waste management strategies is critical to the success of our collaboration. Green & Safe At SAWMC we believe in innovative ways to protect and enhance the environment in every respect as we handle and advise on waste management. We are also committed to maintain a culture of safety when handling or advising on hazardous waste. Flexible We acknowledge the diversity of our clients and provide tailor made waste management strategies. Key to the solutions is meticulous research process from understanding procurement to analysis of waste streams and types. We also perform a methodological legislation compliance check before implementing the agreed upon waste management strategies. …our services Our wide range of services includes development of waste management plans; collection of general and hazardous waste; alternative technology for treatment of hazardous waste; recycling services; disposal services; environmental training; health and safety training; waste management training; regulatory and compliance consulting services; waste profiling services and environmental research. Contact details PO Box 2005 Brooklyn Square 0075 Tel: 072 1817840 Fax: 0865100898 info@sawmc.co.za
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COSTS, BENEFITS & MYTHS OF WASTE MANAGEMENT & RECYCLING IN SOUTH AFRICA Barry Coetzee Manager Technical Strategic Support Utility Services Directorate, City of Cape Town
The National Environmental Management Waste Act (Act 59 of 2008) or NEMWA was promulgated last year. This long-awaited transformative legislation is bound to cause major changes in our waste management systems. Another new statute that has a bearing on future waste management, is the Consumer Protection Act (Act 68 of 2009), which was also promulgated last year. While many see the new Acts as a threat to financial bottom lines, there are certainly key opportunities in what is regarded as a new business sector in the economy, the so-called green economy. NEMWA has created great expectations among the green lobby, who have ardently argued that recycling must be better for the environment and must therefore be cheaper. On the first account a resounding yes!. Consumerism was defined by terms such as ‘throw-away society’, sending countless tons of recoverable and reusable waste materials, or recyclate, to landfills across the world. On the second account, however, we grapple with a difficult issue. Intuitively, the answer must also be “yes”, but is it? After all, if one saves resources by recovering economically valuable materials for reuse or recycling purposes, this has to have an impact reduction all around? Undoubtedly, there will be impact reduction, but for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction. Whether we like it or not, we are a capital and profit-oriented society that is very dependent on income or revenue. The substitution of raw materials will have job effects in primary sectors too. Any developed system must take time to adjust and develop new mechanisms capable of delivering fresh outcomes. A ‘big bang’ approach to implementing extreme changes in a complex system will have fairly predictable negative socio-economic consequences that need to be managed carefully. Many arguments lead to the erroneous conclusion that recycling must cost the consumer less than just putting recyclate out as waste. “Can I pay half if I put only 50% of my waste in the wheelie bin?” Well, yes, but you also have to pay for the handling and management of the other 50%, even if it will not go to a landfill. “What? That’s a rip-off – I am doing my bit for the environment! How can you expect me to pay for that? Think of how much landfill we can save or even do without...” And herein lies a populist myth: ‘Recycling’, or the recovery for either reuse or reprocessing and manufacturing (true recycling) must cost nothing and must even cost less than normal waste management operations. Costs, or profits, depending on one’s viewpoint and perspective, are at the heart of a hot debate since the new legislation was formalised. Most people expect some form of compensation for the the waste revolution HANDBOOK
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extra effort to recycle. Who should pay for adjustments to the system that will involve substantial amounts of capital and market development? Who should pay for the recovery and processing of materials until they are truly recycled, and who should benefit and by how much? The City of Cape Town commissioned Stellenbosch University’s accredited Sustainability Institute in 2008 to study the implementation cost of its new by-law that supports NEMWA’s objectives of waste minimisation. Historic costs, based on traditional end-of-pipe waste disposal with some recovery were used and included capital and operating costs to determine a baseline. The live pilot project for recycling encompassing 132 000 households was compared with two “what-if” scenarios to test and model variations on the system comparing levels of participation by households, greater number of households serviced, population growth and waste projections over five years. The cost model (De Witt & Nahmann, 2009) that was developed, showed some sobering figures. In a metro municipality like Cape Town, post-consumption ‘separation-at-source’ increases the unit cost of waste collection by slightly more than double. Surprisingly, the landfill airspace savings are roughly 10% of the unit cost of the new recycling service! To define tangible benefits derived from environmental and natural resource savings is very difficult due to interpretive differences. To quantify this in a balance sheet is almost impossible despite the populist use of terms such as ‘Triple Bottom Line’. The reality is that right now, municipalities are providing for infrastructure that will service a business need. But is this sustainable, given the many competing issues that must be addressed in a municipal budget? The reality is that NEMWA provides for Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR). Coupled with this, Section 59 of the Consumer Protection Act clearly links with the intent in NEMWA, and confers rights on consumers to take back that which is used, broken or unwanted and the provider must provide infrastructure and systems to make this possible. The broad implication of either statute is that a number of industry sectors will be obliged to provide for sizeable investment sums to develop appropriate mechanisms. To make this sustainable, one of the key success factors will be to create or expand existing markets for recovered materials and goods with recycled content. Perhaps the conundrum can be solved by using business process thinking. Can there be profit in waste? Perhaps an old movie line “...there’s money in them muck” provides a pointer? Can there be a saving by generating less waste? Or as a manufacturing concern, can design and materials usage be optimised to provide savings? The answers are not all simplistic. A review of any of the value chains shows that they are affected by volatility in the waste recycling markets and that profitability relies on a fair amount of crosssubsidisation and diversification. The margins are often thin and cannot be expected to offset the costs of these operations, especially against rising energy and fuel prices. The additional piece of the puzzle can be provided by a key roleplayer. The National Treasury has yet to promulgate regulations or legislation in support of initiatives that will have a positive outcome for the environment, natural resources and quality of life in general. A draft policy was in circulation in 2005 to explore the possible economic and fiscal instruments to provide for some relief and ensure long term sustainability for initiatives that will require substantial investments and changes to systems and infrastructure to deliver on waste minimisation objectives. However, in small measures, these principles have already been applied through the levy on plastic shopping bags, and a premium on incandescent light bulbs. Both of these measures are disincentives. The plastic bag levy has generated millions of rands since it was introduced, but has not been applied 58
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to assist in developing and sustaining the industry’s recycling efforts. Studies commissioned by the Department of Environment (Lees, Watson & McLaren, 2009), (Goldblatt, 2009) in the run up to review the National Waste Management Strategy, compare systems and practices in other countries and shows that these fiscal and economic measures will have to be considered to sustain recycling. Waste is inevitable, like death and taxes. The services rendered to clear litter and illegal dumping, and the collection of our waste for onward disposal in the interest of public health to keep the environment aesthetically pleasing and healthy must have a cost attached that each generator of waste is responsible for? Surely, the same then has to apply to a recycling argument? The essence of the success of a new waste management system that incorporates large volume recovery of materials for reuse, or processing and manufacturing lies in the hands of three stakeholder groups, none of whom can operate or profit alone to make it succeed. Government, the consumer and the private sector will literally have to take each other by the hand and move forward in an altruistic manner. So, the answer to the conundrum is: everyone is responsible, everyone can benefit but everyone is going to pay in our children’s and our children’s children’s interest. Let us not realise too late what the ancient Scots already knew, as paraphrased by Franklin in 1753: “When the well is dry we know the value of water”.
REFERENCES
De Wit, Martin P & Nahman, Anton (2009): “Costing the Integrated Waste Management Bylaw with specific reference to airspace savings”, School of Public Management and Planning, University of Stellenbosch. Lees, Z, Watson, D and McLaren, G (2009): “Producer responsibility and consumer awareness”, KPMG Services (Pty) Ltd. Goldblatt, M (2009): Macroeconomic trends, targets & economic instruments, Palmer Development Group.
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profile
Infrastructure and Services Department: Waste Sector City of Johanneburg Metropolitan Municipality Who are we? The Infrastructure and Services Department (ISD), which was set up in 2006, is the command centre for services and associated infrastructure in the City of Johannesburg (the City). The Department’s primary responsibility is the delivery and management of energy (electricity), water, sanitation and waste services. The Department exercises this responsibility through its implementing agents or Municipal Owned Entities namely, Joburg Water, Pikitup and City Power respectively.
Waste Services and Keeping the City Clean The Infrastructure and Services Department: Waste Sector, through its entity Pikitup, currently provides waste services to all households in the City of Johannesburg. All formal households enjoy a full weekly waste collection service in which 240 litre wheeled bins are issued to each household and then collected on a weekly basis. In addition, all households with property values less than R150 000-00 currently receive free waste services. Furthermore, from 2008, a new cleaning model was introduced to the cleaning of informal settlements. From a total of 182 informal settlements identified to be within the jurisdiction of the City, Pikitup sustained cleaning services through the community-based model to a total of 119 informal settlements, comprising 185738 units. The remaining 61 informal settlements are receiving a once a week basic level of service in the form of 85 litre bins and bin liners. This community-based cleaning program, coupled with educational awareness campaigns and several recycling initiatives at community level, has gradually and greatly improved the level of cleanliness in informal settlements. The cleanliness levels in the City, particularly the Inner City, have been greatly improved through the introduction of output-based contractors that sweep the streets round the clock and through containerisation of litter in the form of litterbins and underground bins, which are installed in places with high population densities such as taxi ranks.
The Need for Waste Reduction Over and above ensuring that the City is clean, as the ISD: Waste Sector and Pikitup, we are currently implementing mechanisms for ensuring waste reduction, through customer intervention programmes as well as through providing infrastructure that will encourage
profile separation of waste for recycling purposes as well as waste treatment technology. There is critical need for waste reduction for reasons outlined below. Firstly, the City is currently experiencing a major growth period, and this growth leads to large quantities of waste being generated and disposed at landfills. The key concern is that the existing landfills are running out of airspace at a very fast rate. Added to this is the fact that there are now very stringent conditions in developing new landfill sites due to environmental concerns and shortage of suitable land. Furthermore, the City Integrated Development Plan (IDP) target for the 2006 - 2011 IDP cycle is to reduce waste to landfill by at least 15% by 2010. In addition, the new Waste Management Act prescribes a hierarchy of waste management objectives and mandates waste minimisation, re-use and recycling as higher priorities than treatment and disposal.
Waste Reduction Programmes The waste minimisation and recycling programmes have been upscaled. These programmes include dry waste recovery mainly at the City’s garden sites, waste separation at source at household level, builder’s rubble crushing facilities and composting of green waste. In the 2009/10 financial year, tonnage diverted away from the landfills was 115,575 tons, which translates to a diversion rate of 7.70% of the total annual waste generated. This was an improvement in performance from previous years. The waste separation at source pilot programme, which involves about 56000 households in the catchment area of Waterval Depot commenced in November 2009, gained momentum between November and June 2010. The pilot project yielded positive results with 78% participation in high income areas and 22% participation in lower income areas. Plans are underway to roll out the waste separation at source programme citywide in the 2010/11 financial year. Furthermore, through its development of strategic programmes, the Infrastructure and Service Department is currently exploring the feasibility of procuring suitable alternative technology for waste treatment. Proven technologies exist worldwide which can drastically reduce the quantities of waste going to the landfills. A feasibility study is currently underway to procure this technology through a public private partnership mechanism.
Contact Us: Palesa Mathibeli Director: Waste Sector City of Johannesburg Infrastructure and Services Department P O Box 1049 Johannesburg 2000, South Africa Switchboard: +27 11 381 0300 Fax: +27 11 381 0379 E-mail: palesamat@joburg.org.za
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HOUSEHOLD WASTE IN SOUTH AFRICA: CHALLENGES AND OPPORTUNITIES Bertie Lourens Managing Director Waste Plan (Pty) Ltd
INTRODUCTION South Africans on average generate 8.8 million tonnes of domestic waste per year, as calculated in mid-2004, with a projected rise to 10 million tons by 2010 (DEAT, 2006; Fiehn & Ball, 2005). Domestic waste accounts for between 2% and 4.5% of the total waste generated in South Africa, with the highest waste generator being the mining industry at around 88% of South Africa’s waste (DWAF, 1998). In many municipalities, however, including Cape Town, Ekurhuleni, the Nelson Mandela and eThekwini municipalities, domestic waste accounts for between 25% and 50% of the total waste stream (DEAT, 2005b; Mega-tech, 2004a and 2004b in Engledow, 2007; NMMM, 2005; eThekweni Municipality, 2004).
POTENTIAL TO RECYCLE It is estimated that 50% to 60% of the domestic waste South Africans send to landfill has the potential to be recycled or composted, which translates into roughly 5 million tonnes a year that could be diverted from the general waste stream. This is based on two separate studies in Cape Town in 2004 and 2007 (Mega-tech, 2004b; Lourens pers.comm., 2010). Characterisation of the general waste stream in Durban, Johannesburg and Cape Town produce comparable results for the main components such as organics, plastics, paper etc (Mega-tech, 2004b). Therefore, South Africa’s definition of waste at present includes approximately 5 million tonnes a year of useful material, that has the potential not only for practical purposes in re-use or re-manufacture in a recycling process, but has the potential to generate income and provide jobs (DEA, 2010). A fundamental re- definition of waste is required at all levels of society in South Africa. Although there is little data on the categorisation of domestic waste in South Africa, the studies that do exist report similar percentages for the main waste streams, with on average 50% organic waste, 17% paper and cardboard, 12% plastics, 7% glass and 4% metal comprising domestic waste by weight (Figure 1; DEAT, 2005b; Kula-Seiteisho & Wiechers, 2006; Mega-tech, 2004a and 2004b in Engledow, 2007; NMMM, 2005).
WASTE AS A RESOURCE If most of South Africa’s current waste stream was to be reclassified as a resource (Oelofse & Godfrey, 2008), South Africans would handle these materials very differently. The integrated waste management hierarchy of waste avoidance and reduction; recovery, re-use and recycling; treatment; and disposal in landfills, would be a natural consequence of the value placed on ‘what is waste’. This would begin with the waste revolution HANDBOOK
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the materials brought into the home (waste avoidance) – with more attention given to the questions, what is needed? Can this item be effectively re-used? Can this item and/or its packaging be recycled? What will happen to this material at the end of its usefulness and what will the impacts be on the environment, including humans? Unwanted material in the home would still have a value attached for the broader community, encouraging separation into different recyclable or compostable waste streams in the home, such that contamination of potentially recyclable material would be avoided. The biggest potential for minimisation of the domestic waste volume is the organic waste, which mostly consists of discarded food, although in some areas garden refuse may constitute a significant proportion of the organic component (DEAT, 2005b; see later chapter). Very little attention has been paid to organic waste in South Africa, and discussions around the first draft of the National Waste Management Strategy (DEA, 2010), have highlighted the need to formulate a policy for this valuable waste stream.
SA SUCCESS IN CANS The success story of South African recycling is found in metal cans; the 70% to 85% post-consumer recovery rate is among the highest in the world (Figure 2; Purnell, 2009). Approximately 52% of paper and paper products are recycled, while 22% of glass produced and 14% of plastics are diverted from landfill. About 75% of the plastic recycled is packaging material (Purnell, 2009). About 60% of all plastic manufactured is packaging (Plasfed, 2007). Plastic streams that require greater attention in terms of coding and labelling as well as recycling, include multilayer-plastics (polymer code No 7), plastic components of the e-waste stream, as well as those plastics used in the motor industry. Glass recycling in the Netherlands, with recovery rates of 90%, demonstrates the potential in glass recycling in South Africa (Lees et al., 2009). Although constituting a small proportion of the domestic waste stream, batteries and energy-saving light bulbs (CFLs) have been identified as requiring attention due to the potential for the release of toxic chemicals into the environment (NWMS, 2010). Pick ‘n Pay and Woolworths both provide disposal points in some stores to ensure responsible treatment and landfilling or recycling of these materials. E-waste (electronic waste) volumes are increasing at a rapid rate, with an urgent need for policies and initiatives to effectively apply the waste management hierarchy to this growing problem and its associated health hazards (DEA, 2010). Drop-off points have been set up by Ewasa and options and technologies for full recycling of e-waste are being explored in South Africa. National Government is looking to industry to drive waste minimisation and recycling by requiring Industry Waste Management Plans (IndWMPs) for some activities, with the paper and packaging industry among the initial mandatory IndWMPs to be completed by the end of 2010. The plans will include waste reduction targets. If the targets set by the Industry are not met, the Minister may institute an Extended Producer Responsibility scheme, by which the Minister requires adherence to the waste management hierarchy including waste minimisation targets and product design that enhances recovery of material (DEA, 2010). With the policy framework provided by national government including waste minimisation targets with legislative backing, the economic and political driving forces will be in place to encourage innovative technologies and solutions at all levels of the integrated waste management hierarchy, as well as end markets for recycled material and associated job creation. By redefining the word ‘waste’, its original meaning would be recovered to denote material of 64
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no practical value, and therefore be responsibly subject to the last resort of the integrated waste management hierarchy – landfilling. Such a re-definition of waste would lead to assessing the need for such materials in our society. This would entail, for example, re-thinking any packaging that cannot be recycled or the recycling of which is economically prohibitive, such as waxed paper or cardboard, as well as our use of non-rechargeable batteries which are encapsulated prior to disposal to prevent the release of toxic leachate into the environment.
CONCLUSION Landfill airspace in South Africa is being rapidly depleted with increases in waste generation beyond that accounted for by population growth or economic trends (NWMS, 2010). Couple this with poor waste separation at source, and low rates of re-use and recycling (NWMS, 2010), as well as the lengthy arduous process of siting new landfills (eg the Western Cape’s EIA process began in 2000, and by mid-year 2010 community objections have held up the record of decision), and the urgency in revolutionising our definition of waste and thereby the practice of waste management in South Africa is highlighted.
REFERENCES
Department of Environmental Affairs (DEA), 2010. National Waste Management Strategy: First draft for public comment, March 2010, pp.155. Department of Environmental Affairs and Tourism (DEAT), 2000. Starter Document for Waste Recycling: A Framework for Sustainable Post-Consumer Recycling in South Africa, Department of Environmental Affairs and Tourism, May 2000. DEAT, 2005a. Extended Producer Responsibility: Status Quo Report, Department of Environmental Affairs and Tourism, Pretoria, October , 2004. DEAT, 2005b. Recycling: Waste Stream Analysis and Prioritisation for Recycling. National Waste Management Strategy Implementation, Annexure H. DEAT, Report No. 12/9/6, pp.45. DEAT, 2006. South Africa Environment Outlook. A report on the state of the environment. Department of Environmental Affairs and Tourism, Pretoria, pp.370. Department of Water Affairs and Forestry (DWAF), 1998. Waste Generation in South Africa: Baseline Studies. Waste Management Series. Department of Water Affairs and Forestry, Pretoria.Engledow, S., 2007. Integrated Analysis Solid Waste Baseline Report. Integrated Resources Management for Urban Development (FUNDP Project No. 00038512). Sustainability Institute, Stellenbosch, pp.98. Fiehn, H and Ball, J., 2005. Background research paper: Waste. South Africa Environment Outlook. National State of the Environment Project. Department of Environmental Affairs and Tourism: Pretoria Kula-Seiteisho, J. and Wiechers, H., 2006. Mbombela/Mpumulanga Recycling Pilot Project: Waste Minimisation and Office Paper Recycling. National Waste Minimisation Strategy Implementation, Annex I3. DEAT, Report No. 12/9/6, pp.69. Lees, Z. Watson, D. McLaren, G., 2009. Producer responsibility and consumer awareness. Framework for National Waste Management Strategy, DEA, pp 86. Lourens, B., 2010). Personal communication regarding waste characterisation study at the Vissershok and Coastal Park landfill sites. Mega-tech, 2004a. Integrated Waste Management Plan for the City of Cape Town: Final Status Quo Report. City of Cape Town. Mega-tech. 2004b. Integrated Waste Management Plan for the City of Cape Town: Final Assessment Report. City of Cape Town. Nelson Mandela Metropolitan Municipality (NMMM), 2005. Integrated Waste Management Plan, 2005-2010. First Generation, July 2005. Nelson Mandela Metropolitan Municipality, Environmental Services Business Unit, Waste Management Division, pp.96. Oelofse, S.H.H. And Godfrey, L., 2008. Defining waste in South Africa: Moving beyond the age of ‘waste’. South African Journal of Science, 104(7&8), pp.242-246. Plasfed, 2007. Statistics: www.plasfed.co.za/ Purnell, G., 2009. National Waste Quantification and the Waste Information System. Research Paper commissioned for the National Waste Management Strategy, DEA, pp.55. eThekweni Municipality, 2004. Integrated Waste Management Plan. Final Draft, August 2004. Document No. 2214/D0147, pp.231.
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CLEANER PRODUCTION AND SUSTAINABLE CONSUMPTION – KEY STRATEGIES Susanne Dittke (MSC. ChemEng.) Integrated Resource and Waste Specialist Minimisation EnviroSense CC
INTRODUCTION
Industrial activities are a major source of environmental problems and account for approximately onethird of the generation of greenhouse gas emissions and a large percentage of the hazardous waste generation (Advanced Cleaner Production Technologies, 2005). At the recent Western Cape Provincial Waste Minimisation Summit it was highlighted that industrial-based waste exceeds domestic waste by a factor ranging from 33-1 to 77-1 (Gottlieb, 2010). This is indicative of the huge volumes of waste that are generated before the consumer stage. In the movie clip “The Story of Stuff” (www.storyofstuff. com) it is stated that in North America 99% of the total material flow (resources we harvest, mine, process, transport to become consumer goods) become waste within six months. Such inefficiency and wastefulness of traditional industrial and commercial activities combined with an ever increasing per capita rate of product consumption (UNEP Industry and Environment, 2001) has resulted one-third of the planet’s natural resources base being consumed in the past three decades (Hawken, 2005). If everyone on the planet would consume at US rates, we would already need three to five planets to sustain our current economic activities and consumption patterns. Sustainable development is a holistic view of development, which can be further divided into more manageable aspects, including sustainable consumption and production. Cleaner production and sustainable consumption are integrated and are both able to offer powerful and practical solutions for a cleaner environment and ‘at source’ resource conservation. Sustainable consumption and cleaner production are, in fact, two sides of the same coin (UNEP, 2001). Whereas cleaner production is encouraged in every industry due to its triple bottom line; financial, environmental and social benefits, sustainable consumption is the response of a consumer with an altered environmental perception and newly defined purchase behavior.
WHAT IS CLEANER PRODUCTION AND HOW IS IT DONE?
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Cleaner production is a broad term that encompasses what some parties also call eco-efficiency, waste minimisation, pollution prevention, or green productivity. The essence of a Cleaner Production approach is characterised by a need to avoid, eliminate, prevent or significantly reduce the causes of environmental problems. This is done typically during the manufacturing stage within industries as opposed to managing the impacts, wastes and emissions arising further down the product or service life cycle. Until the early 1990s, global environmental protection strategies were focused on ‘end-ofpipe’ methodologies. However, it is now widely accepted that a preventive approach would offer a long-term and sustainable solution (CSIR, 2005). Cleaner Production does not deny growth, it merely insists that growth be ecologically sustainable. It should not be considered as an environmental strategy only, because it also relates to economic considerations. In this context, waste is considered as a ‘product’ with negative economic value. Each action to reduce consumption of raw materials and energy, and prevent or reduce generation of waste, can increase productivity and bring financial benefits to enterprise. By UNEP definition: “Cleaner production (CP) is the continuous application of an integrated preventive, environmental strategy to processes, products and services to increase eco-efficiency and reduce risks to humans and the environment.” Experience shows that the application of CP can significantly improve the competitiveness of industry and reduce the negative environmental impact of processes, products and services alike, through the efficient use of water, energy and raw materials. A schematic process diagram of CP methodology is presented below.
Figure 8.2: Schematic Definition of Cleaner Production (CSIR 2005)
In Cleaner production (and independent of the industrial activity) any ‘process’ can be optimised through the five intervention points as shown in the diagram (right). 68
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Figure 8.3: Process Optimisation Through Cleaner Production
Technology improvements may be accomplished through: Redesigning of existing products and services; Modification or upgrading of existing equipment and processes; Acquisition of new equipment, processes and product lines; and Adoption of the best available techniques (BAT). Both raw material substitution and product redesign can be geared to replace toxic materials and to design a product that can become a reusable/recyclable ‘technical nutrient’ after its useful lifetime rather than ‘waste’. • • • •
THE POWER OF SUSTAINABLE CONSUMPTION
As developing countries such as South Africa become more affluent, new populations benefitting from a personal economic upswing increasingly seek to mimic the material throughput standards of today’s wealthy economies. This places additional burden on the planet’s remaining resources. Sustainable consumption is therefore not only about the scale of throughput, but also about who enjoys the benefits of material consumption. What we decide to buy is influenced by many factors, including our age and health, place of residence, income and wealth, social and cultural beliefs and even our moods. Sustainable consumption asks us to consider issues that go beyond the individual when we shop. These include not only the ecological impacts of what we buy but also the equity, human rights and political dimensions of sustainability. Sustainable consumption means to increasingly practise a personal lifestyle that places greater value on social cohesion, local traditions and non-material values. The ultimate idea is to purchase and use only what is required to satisfy human need and favouring a good quality of life through decent but not decadent standards of living.
REFERENCES
Paul Hawken, Amory Lovins and L. Hunter Lovins (1999), Natural Capitalism, LittleBrown and Company. UNEP Industry and Environment Volume 24 No. 1-2 January – June 2001. CSIR Advanced Cleaner Production Technologies Core Team (internal document) 2005. United Nations Environment Programme Division of Technology, Industry, and Economics. Presentation given by Gottlieb Arendse from DEADP at the March 2010 Waste Summit. UNEP Industry and Environment Volume 24 No.1-2 January – June 2001 “Cleaner Production Sixth High Level Seminar Montreal”. UNESCO: Teaching and learning for a sustainable future a multimedia teacher education programme. Version 4; 2005 http://www.unesco.org/education/tlsf/ TLSF/theme_b/mod09/uncom09t06.htm
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chapter 9: organic waste
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Organic Waste Melanie Jones Manager Zero to Landfill Organics
INTRODUCTION
Organic waste is a wonderful, renewable resource that has incredible potential. The current practice of throwing organic material into landfills not only creates toxic leachate and methane gas (21 times more harmful than carbon dioxide as a greenhouse gas) but also causes us to lose the value of the organic material. Organic material has immense energy and nutrient value which is easy and cheap to recover – it just takes a little care. This chapter will cover how to prevent organic waste going to landfill and how to practically stabilise the material to make compost and extract energy. There are two approaches to recovering the potential of organic waste, namely composting and anaerobic digestion, which will be discussed in more detail.
Types and Volumes of Organic Waste
Organic waste can be defined as waste containing carbon compounds, derived from animal and plant materials. There are several sources of organic waste within the waste stream going to landfill. These include food waste, green garden waste, abattoir waste, kelp, water hyacinths, wood, paper, cardboard, animal manure and bedding, animal carcasses and sewage sludge. Volumes of organic waste generated vary greatly depending on the type of waste generator. For example, residential areas where the average household includes a large garden, more organic waste in the form of green garden waste will be produced than a residential area which consists of blocks of flats. Hotels and restaurants will produce large amounts of food waste and industrial areas with woodmills will produce large quantities of wood chips and sawdust. There are also seasonal fluctuations that must be taken into account. For example garden waste volumes increase in autumn and summer and food waste volumes increase when hotel and restaurant occupation levels rise during the holiday seasons.
Transportation
How organic waste is transported is dependant on the density and moisture content of the waste. Organic waste with a low density, for example garden refuse, should be chipped prior to transportation to decrease the volume of the waste. Eight cubic metres of unchipped garden waste is the equivalent of two cubic metres of chipped waste so chipping makes a huge difference to transport costs. (Ekelund et al, 2007) High moisture content organic waste, for example food waste, needs a sealed, enclosed bin for transport to ensure there is no leakage. Processing facilities for organic waste should be located close to where the waste is produced to reduce transportation costs.
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Diverting Organic Waste from Landfill
To see a real reduction in organic waste being landfilled, composting facilities need to become mandatory at all landfill sites, transfer stations/stand-alone sites. The key to diverting organic waste from landfill is to ensure that the organic waste stream is separated at source. Organic waste that is free from contamination with glass, plastic and metals can more effectively be turned into a high quality product increasing the economic viability of processing organic waste. Some of the organic waste streams are fairly uncontaminated –garden refuse and abattoir waste, food waste tends to be the most contaminated and needs to be separated at source whether from residential waste producers or hotels and restaurants. A three bin colour-coded system works well – green bins for organic waste, blue bins for dry recycling (paper, glass, metals and plastic) and black bins for landfill waste (very contaminated material and hazardous waste). Training is vital for source separation systems to work and all involved need to be dedicated to implementing the system.
Organic Waste Processing
You may ask how does one turn potentially smelly, rotten waste into new products. There are several processes that can be used that are sustainable and cost effective:
Composting
The first of the processes is composting. This can be defined as the breakdown of organic material by bacteria and fungi in the presence of air. It is easy to compost garden and food waste at home and much of the garden waste produced in our citys suburbs is composted on a large scale, usually using open windrow methods. Correct moisture levels, carbon:nitrogen ratios and regular turning or forced aeration is required for compost to be produced after 8-12 weeks. For large quantities of the more putrescible wastes, eg food waste and abattoir waste, a more sophisticated method of composting is required. In-vessel composting is composting in a vessel or a container. This may be an aerated shipping container, concrete tunnel or plastic bag which contains the leachate and odours and ensures sterilisation of the material. While composting uses bacteria and fungi to break down material to a stable product enough heat is generated (65 deg C) to sterilise the compost of pathogens, most commonly Salmonella and E. coli. bacteria and virus. The remaining beneficial bacteria and viruses are introduced into the soil along with the nutrients improving soil health and crop production. A study done in California found that over a 15 year period in-vessel composting is 48% less expensive than land filling (De Toro, 2004) In-vessel composting controls odours and leachate more effectively than open composting, allowing composting sites to be located closer to cities reducing transportation costs. Not only does the composting process sterilise the waste and produce compost for enriching the earth but it can also provide a method for heating water. By running water pipes through the compost heaps water can be heated to up to 60 deg C. Composting on a small or large scale could reduce organic waste going to landfill and provide business opportunities.
Case Study 1 - small scale composting site Small scale community composting site adjacent to an organic vegetable garden. Waste producers (instead of paying a landfill tipping fee) pay a composting fee for their source separated food waste to be composted. Food waste is mixed with bulking material (straw, leaves, wood chips, paper) and placed in 2m X 1.5m X 1m heaps covered with plastic sheeting. Heaps are turned manually twice a week and heap temperature recorded to ensure sterilisation. At the end of eight-12 weeks the mature compost is sieved and bagged for sale. The composting site provides a way of heating water without electricity or fuel. A 30m X 30m area required to compost nine tons of food waste per month. 72
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Advantages Labour intensive business Dual income sources – waste processing and compost sales Compost sustains food garden Hot water for washing/bathing 2-4 jobs created Raw materials required food waste garden waste water
Equipment/Resources required 30m X 30m land Gardening forks Spades Plastic sheeting Thermometer Sieve Bags for packaging PVC piping and 210 l drum for heating water
Anaerobic Digestion
Anaerobic digestion is defined as the breakdown of organic material in the absence of air and can be a wet or dry fermentation process. Organic material is mixed with a source of methanogenic bacteria, usually sewage sludge or animal manure, at the correct carbon nitrogen ratio to produce methane. Methane is an odourless, flammable gas that can be used for cooking, heating and electricity generation and even used in petrol or diesel vehicle engines. Anaerobic digestion requires temperatures around 38 deg C to function optimally and at the end of the Figure 9.1: Small scale open composting of food and anaerobic phase (no air present) the material can be garden waste composting nine tons of food waste from hotels and businesses per month aerated to complete the stabilisation process. After eight-12 weeks the processed organic material is now ready for use as a soil enhancer. Anaerobic digestion of organic waste requires an airtight tank or container to ensure the process is safe and various systems are available for household use and large scale anaerobic digestion. Many of the invessel composting systems can be adapted for anaerobic digestion- either a dry or wet fermentation process depending on the system and type of material used.
Conclusion
Organic waste is, in fact, not waste at all but a valuable resource and no organic material should be ending up in a landfill. Composting and anaerobic digestion are both sustainable ways of both processing the organic waste and creating a nutrient rich compost and extract energy. We cannot continue to throw valuable organic material in landfills where it its value is lost to us forever. Do your bit and start composting.
References
Figure 9.2: In-vessel composting system for aerobic and anaerobic digestion
De Toro, A., Hershberger, J. Marsh, A. Verma, P. Zurawski, D. (June 2004). A Feasibility Study of Commercial Food Scrap Diversion for the City of Santa Barbara, p. viii. Ekelund, L. Nystrom, K. (January 2007). Composting of Municipal Wastes in South Africa – Sustainability Aspects, p. 54. the waste revolution HANDBOOK
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• Industrial & Commercial Contract Cleaning Services • On-site Waste Minimization, Recording and Recycling to reduce environmental footprint in accordance with Waste Regulations “Adopta-Road” Initiative: - Cleaning and beautification of roads and streets in SA through a system of Business Sponsorships to create jobs and reduce crime • Garden Services • Hygiene & Pest Control
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Franchise Opportunity This new franchise offers an above average return on investment • Entrepreneurial flair and the commitment to run your own business • A passion for customer services • Dedication to operational excellence • Experience in the industry an advantage • Franchise areas available countrywide For a free assessment and quotation please contact us on: Tel: 0861 005 902 Email: info@iwesco.co.za
“We care for your environment while you take care of your business”
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IWESCO (PTY) LTD LAUNCHES ITS NEW “ADOPTA-ROAD” INITIATIVE IWESCO (Pty) Ltd, a leading Cleaning and Waste Management Services Company in South Africa, in setting up its franchise arm, recognised the need to act on its community responsibility with regards not only to environmental needs but also in response to doing something for entrepreneurship and job creation. Shellie Roodt, founder and CEO of IWESCO (Pty) Ltd, concerned with the increase of litter on our roads, decided to take action. “With the FIFA Soccer World Cup as the motivator, we have put together a sponsorship plan that will become a permanent national initiative and will ensure our roads are litter free whilst affording entrepreneurial opportunities in small business development.” “ADOPTA-ROAD” initiative involves The the cleaning and beautification of roads and streets throughout South Africa through a system of business sponsorships to encourage entrepreneurship, creating jobs and thereby assisting in reducing crime. Participating companies will award the franchise contract to an emerging entrepreneur of their choice or from within their company and employment will be offered to 27 workers who will make up the team cleaning the chosen 50 km road. IWESCO CHALLENGES ALL COMPANIES TO BECOME SPONSORS OF THIS INITIATIVE Join IWESCO (Pty) Ltd in cleaning up our roads: • Sponsor a BEE franchise under your brand stimulating entrepreneurship and creating green jobs. • Enjoy high visibility with branded franchise teams and road-side advertising. • Score Enterprise Development and Social Responsibility points. • Share your resources in terms of small business development with the broader community. “ADOPTATo be part of the ROAD” Initiative contact us on 0861 005 902 or email info@iwesco.co.za
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chapter 10: MANAGEMENT AND PROCESSING OF BUILDER’S RUBBLE
MANAGEMENT AND PROCESSING OF BUILDER’S RUBBLE Richard Emery Associate Jeffares & Green (Pty) Ltd
Michael Manson-Kullin Civil Engineer Jeffares & Green (Pty) Ltd
INTRODUCTION
Clean builder’s rubble is defined as waste consisting of broken bricks, sand stone, cement, plaster and similar inert materials, but excluding paper, plastic, wood, glass and metal. Clean builder’s rubble is utilised for constructing temporary roads on disposal sites and therefore should not damage vehicle tyres. However, if builder’s rubble is contaminated by more than 10% (at City of Cape Town sites) then it will be regarded as mixed waste, which will be charged at the ‘Full Disposal Tariff’ (City of Cape Town Solid Waste Management Definitions).
CURRENT DISPOSAL LOCATIONS
Builder’s rubble is currently received for disposal or reuse in two streams, namely ‘domestic scale’ and ‘full scale’. Domestic scale builder’s rubble is categorised as being small loads brought in by trailer or light delivery vehicle, typically from home. This is limited to one load not greater than 1.3 tons per homeowner per day. Domestic scale builder’s rubble may be disposed of at all municipal drop-off facilities. Full scale builder’s rubble, ie that produced by large scale building and civil works, is currently not allowed at drop-off facilities. The facilities that currently accept full scale builder’s rubble are typically the landfill sites where there is sufficient space for stockpiling and crushing activities. These sites are permitted, or licenced, for such activities, Illegal dumping can occur for any number of reasons. These could be because of a too greater distance between the work site and the nearest disposal site; people not knowing where builder’s rubble may be disposed of; and and an incorrect understanding of what may be disposed of legally. There are a great number of sites open to domestic scale builder’s rubble but this is not so for full scale builder’s rubble disposal.
PROPOSED CHANGES TO THE DISPOSAL PROCEDURE
The key to being able to recycle larger proportions of the builder’s rubble waste stream is through separation and preferably separation at source. The nature of builder’s rubble is that large quantities of material suitable for recycling can be rendered unusable by small amount of contaminants. The City of Cape Town has recently introduced a tariff at disposal sites for disposing of builder’s rubble, albeit far lower than that for ‘mixed waste’. The new tariff by the City of Cape Town, however, could mean: • Rubble generators will start looking for other means of ‘disposing’ of the rubble, eg send it directly to a recycler, use for fill at construction sites, earth-fill berms, etc. In other words this rubble will not enter the landfill sites; or • Illegal dumping.. the waste revolution HANDBOOK
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Procedures need to be developed that will assist in the process of keeping uncontaminated, similar material grouped together so that there is more likelihood of it being recycled. Producers of builder’s rubble need an incentive to keep the different materials separate at source. This could be done through a different use of tariffs to those currently in place. Instead of all builder’s rubble being charged for disposal, the waste stream could be separated into two streams. Builder’s rubble that is suitable for recycling and is of good quality leading to a high potential for re-use, should have a near-zero tariff disposal fee. This will discourage illegal dumping and encourage the separation at source. Builder’s rubble that is not suitable for recycling or will require additional effort to allow for recycling should be separated further into two streams: • All full scale builder’s rubble that goes to one of the landfill sites and is not suitable for recycling must receive a tariff charge (no change to status quo); • Unsuitable builder’s rubble brought to one of the full landfill sites must either be re-routed to a disposal site for a tariff-based disposal, or if disposed of at the landfill site, a fine should be imposed to compensate for the additional haulage required to transfer the waste by the solid waste department; Fines for illegal dumping need to be increased substantially to reflect more accurately the true cost of rehabilitation measures. Perhaps this can be linked to a reward system for members of the public who report the perpetrators of such activities.
PROCESS BEYOND THE GATE The biggest change required is not so much in the disposal mechanism but in what happens ‘beyond the gate’. Builder’s rubble that arrives at landfill sites or selected transfer stations or full landfill sites is expected to go through the following process: • Identification • Crushing • Separation • Screening • Classification • Stockpiling • Stockpiling • Commercial Sales
Identification: Builder’s rubble that arrives at a municipal disposal facility would need to be identified as builder’s rubble suitable for recycling. The criteria for this would need to be developed but is expected to include a visual inspection of the load to determine whether the material appears to be free of contaminants. Contaminated material will not be allowed into the recycling stream.
Separation:
Unsuitable material is to be diverted to the landfill site and disposed of as per the current system. Suitable builder’s rubble would be separated out and no longer forms part of the refuse stream.
Classification:
The separated material will need to be looked at more closely so as to classify it into further subcategories of suitable material. A proposed three level system of categorisation is: - concrete suitable for crushing and re-use in building works - granular inert material and bricks suitable for crushing and re-use in road works - materials suitable only for earthworks
Stockpiling:
Classified material would need to be directed to their respective stockpiles so as to prevent the better quality material from being reduced in quality through the addition of inferior material. 78
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Crushing: The stockpiled material will need further processing prior to it being acceptable for re-use. This would involve crushing through one or two crushers. Recovered metal will be diverted to another recycling process.
Screening:
The crushed material will need to be screened to as to be able to categorise it for grading purposes.
Stockpiling:
Crushed and screened material will need to be stockpiled in separate areas to prevent cross contamination of materials.
Commercial sales:
Stockpiled material will be made available for re-use by either public or private contractors. This facility will require a commercial component but use of the material would be done as if the stockpiles were a borrow pit. The operator of the facility will need to do testing and have control measures to make sure that they are supplying material that can be classified for construction purposes and most importantly is not contaminated. It is recommended that a third party accredited laboratory be appointed to undertake period control testing to monitor the quality of material. Ultimately though, like with any borrow pit, it is the consumer who would be responsible for checking the material to see if it meets the required specifications.
MUNICIPAL FUNCTIONS AND ROLES IN THE NEW BUILDERS RUBBLE REUSE PROGRAMME (BRRP)
The Municipality would play a leading role in the success of the BRRP by dealing with both ‘soft’ and ‘hard’ issues. The hard issues encompass items such as the physical infrastructure that would be required and the personnel needed at the disposal sites for managing the day to day activities. The soft issues are those that deal with policy. Policy level requires the buy-in by several local government branches to make the re-use of builder’s rubble in municipal sponsored construction activities a matter of policy and not just an afterthought. The main roleplayers would be the procurement section, roads and stormwater, parks and any other departments involved in reuse.
IMPLICATIONS OF THE CHANGE IN PROCESS
• A change in tariff structure is required, although this should take cognisance against illegal dumping vs providing financial reasons for industry to rather reuse and not send to landfill. • Training, or appointment of staff that are able to identify suitable and unsuitable builder’s rubble. • A mechanism for imposing fines on those disposing of unsuitable builder’s rubble at the incorrect facilities. • A set of standards suitable to characterise rubble and test materials for acceptance into construction activities. This will require a review of the current municipal specifications to see what specifications could be changed without compromising the quality of the final product, and what additional tests may be required that are not needed for virgin materials because of the contamination aspect. • Independent testing of processed materials. • Full landfill sites are not to be closed so as to allow for the management of inert materials including; tipping, stockpiling, crushing and removal. • Transfer of unsuitable material from full landfill sites to active landfill sites by solid waste.
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THE BENEFIT TO THE WASTE MINIMISATION STRATEGY The baseline case is that all builder’s rubble eventually lands up in a landfill site. The private sector already plays a large role in processing the best builder’s rubble for re-use in the construction industry. This portion never ends up in the waste stream and is therefore not considered as part of the municipality’s achievement in waste minimisation. Only builder’s rubble that enters the waste stream can therefore be considered. The primary benefit to the municipality is the reduced amount of rubble that will end up in the landfill. Secondary benefits are that the builder’s rubble could produce a revenue stream or at least a reduction in the expenditure stream, the occurrence of illegal dumping should decrease along with its benefits, and the municipality and construction industry will have access to additional construction materials. This will reduce the rate at which virgin construction materials will need to be mined. A recent article by Cape Brick (Cape Brick website, 20/8/2010) supports the City of Cape Town’s primary initiative - which is to first divert builder’s rubble arriving at the landfill sites. It reads: “…In conjunction with Ross Demolitions, Cape Brick was one of the first masonry manufacturers to set up a crushing facility to reduce construction and demolition waste, consisting of mainly reinforced concrete to recycled crushed aggregate which is then used as the main ingredient in all the company’s products. “In fact, our products contain on average of 70% recycled material and we use about 70 000 tons of it every year,” Tresfon says. He points to the following advantages of Cape Brick’s model: • The construction and demolition waste would normally be dumped in landfill sites, thereby impacting on sensitive areas. Thus, using recycled crushed aggregate, eases the pressure on landfill sites. • Using this aggregate means that less virgin materials such as sand and stone have to be quarried, thereby directly lessening the mining impact on the environment. • Cape Brick is only 5 km from the centre city where most demolition takes place, resulting in important transport energy savings, as most sand and stone quarries are between 15 km and 50 km distance and require a large transport component. • The quality of the recycled crushed aggregate is actually superior (better shaped) to that of the quarried materials available at a similar price. This means a superior quality end product is produced. Cape Brick’s own waste products are processed into recycled aggregate and therefore do not have to be disposed of.”
ALTERNATE SITES
Municipalities should: • S trongly consider multiple sites for stockpiling and temporary storage of topsoils, inert materials, quality recyclable rubble, etc, over and above using space at landfills; and • Consider the establishment of multiple ‘inert storage sites’. This would benefit haulage distances (minimise transportation costs) and the licensing of such facilities is simpler due to the type of material to be stored.
CONCLUSION Builder’s rubble reuse is one of the ‘big ticket’ items for minimising the impact on landfill airspace, albeit recycling of a certain amount of rubble is already underway at most landfill sites. Diversion can be improved through better quality management.
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chapter 11: HAZARDOUS WASTE
HAZARDOUS WASTE
Melanie Traut Professional Officer City of Cape Town
INTRODUCTION The management of hazardous waste is an issue many would rather not attempt because of the knowledge gap in how to handle this particular waste in a responsible manner. Once the need arose to dispose of this waste, Waste Contractors were called on and did so for many years. Some industries preferred to treat their waste, but they were always in the minority. Others found alternative routes for their waste and some were able to recycle, although this had to be approached cautiously and responsibly. The idea of exchanging waste with other useable waste was brought to life to encourage re-use rather than disposal of that waste. All of this, however, did not contribute sufficiently to minimise the amount of hazardous waste that ended up at our landfill sites, filling them up year after year. Eventually the landfill sites will run out of airspace, but before that happens, we should explore alternative disposal routes and concepts such as industrial ecology.
CURRENT DAY PRACTICES In the Western Cape there are only two landfill sites that are permitted to receive hazardous waste, the Vissershok Landfill Site owned by the City of Cape Town Municipality and the Vissershok Waste Management Facility co-owned by Wasteman and Enviroserv. The Vissershok Landfill Site is classified as a H:h landfill site which means that it can accept low hazardous waste only, whereas the Vissershok Waste Management Facility is classified as a H:H landfill site and can accept any hazardous waste including high hazardous waste. There are plans to establish an additional hazardous waste site, but it has not proven easy to find a suitable area. Having only two hazardous waste sites to serve the entire Western Cape area and environs has put a strain on the capacity of these sites. Fortunately, there has been an increase in recycling efforts to divert waste away from the landfill sites. Various business concerns have started to emerge that recover specific types of hazardous waste. Examples of this include the recovery of Compact Fluorescent Lamps (CFL), fairly clean solvents and chlorinated solvents from industry. More industries have also started to treat their waste and manage to send less hazardous waste to the landfill sites. An example of this would be of industries that have invested in small scale treatment plants at their premises. By treating the waste generated, less waste needs to be sent to the landfill sites. Another practice would be the separation of the liquid layer from the sludge layer and just having the sludge layer to treat. This applies particularly to plating industries where the hazardous the waste revolution HANDBOOK
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profile
BCD Safety Services CC BCD Safety Services was founded in 2003 to offer an integrated waste management approach for the Handling, Classification and Safe Disposal of all Hazardous and General Waste. Our aim is to curtail the risks associated with the handling and disposal of waste acceptable to man and his environment. Our implementation approach is waste prevention, waste minimization, resource recovery, treatment and finally disposal. We can now offer a total waste management solution, including General Waste, Hazardous Waste, Health Care Risk Waste, spill clean ups and recycling. Our areas of expertise are: • Industrial Waste • General Waste • Compactable Waste • 24 Hr Spill Response • Hazardous waste • Building rubble & site cleaning • Demolitions • Industrial cleaning (Hazardous and non-hazardous) • Bio-remediation • Spill kits • Confined space operations • Asbestos demolition & disposal (Registered Asbestos Contractors) • Safe disposals Contact Details: Tel 087 351 5121 Fax 086 693 9589 Cell 082 482 6629 E-mail deshnee@bcdsafety.co.za www.bcdsafety.co.za
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component would be the metal concentrations in the sludge layer. A reliable and tested method for treating the sludge layer would be to neutralise it with commercial lime. The sludge can then be sent to a low hazardous landfill site instead of a high hazardous landfill site. Oil is another waste stream that is recyclable. There are numerous companies that are specifically geared towards oil recovery and recycling. Two such companies operating in the Western Cape are Fuel Firing Services (FFS) and the ROSE Foundation. They are responsible for diverting large volumes of oil away from the landfill sites and thus saving valuable airspace. These operations have proven to be sustainable and contributed in various ways to ensure a less polluted environment. An example of the various hazardous waste types disposed at the Vissershok Landfill Site over a year is given in Figure 11.1.
Figure 11.1: Different types of hazardous wastes disposed at the Vissershok Landfill Site measured in Kilolitres (Directorate Water and Waste, 2000)
As can be seen in Figure 11.1, the food waste (7094 kl) and petrol/oil trap waste, bilge water, oil/ water mixture (19 670.6 kl) account for the largest percentage of the waste. No waste containing Hazard Rating 1 substances (batteries, trichloroethylene, chloroform) are accepted at the Vissershok Landfill Site. Hazard Rating 2 substances (aluminium, arsenic, vinyl chloride) are allowed after delisting. The Hazard Rating refers to the system used to classify waste according to the degree of hazard they present (DWAF, 1998). Since 2000 some of the waste type volumes (oils) have reduced because of alternative disposal options used as discussed previously. This is encouraging as concerted efforts have been made to divert hazardous waste away from landfill sites. In practice, delisting of waste is often a long and tedious exercise. Waste can be delisted if the the waste revolution HANDBOOK
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PROFILE
HUMELANI TRADING AND PROJECTS Humelani Trading and Projects is a 100% Black-owned biodiesel manufacturing company that was formed in 2007 to provide innovative technologies without damaging or polluting the environment. We are a registered biodiesel producer that collects used vegetable oil and animal fats for biodiesel production purposes. Our biodiesel production facility is based in Bronkhorstspruit and has one million litres per annum production capacity. All our biodiesel tests quality are done by Chemcity, a subsidiary company of Sasol at their state of the art accredited laboratories. The biofuels industry is on the verge of a major boom in South Africa, and Humelani is carefully positioning itself to capitalize on this boom with maximum effect. Our current biodiesel customers include farmers, industry, bus and transport companies, contractors and individuals who are interested in green technologies, who are concern about the environment, and want to make a difference in their carbon footprint. Why not use locally produced biodiesel for your fuel requirements? It is an easy replacement from traditional fuel sources but with added benefits such as: • Biodiesel is the only alternative fuel that runs in any conventional, unmodified diesel engine. • Biodiesel can be used alone or mixed in any ratio with petroleum diesel. • The use of biodiesel can extend the life of diesel engines because of its lubrication character, while fuel consumption, auto ignition, power output, and engine torque are relatively unaffected. • Biodiesel is safe to handle and transport because it is as biodegradable, non toxic and has a high flashpoint. • Biodiesel is a proven fuel with over 20 years of use • Combustion of biodiesel provides over a 75 - 90% reduction in environmental pollution, thus reducing GHG emissions. • Biodiesel is the only alternative fuel to meet all environmental and human health requirements for energy sources. BUSINESS DETAILS Physical Address Factory 196/7 Manganese and Pers Street Ekandustria Bronkhorstspruit 1020 CONTACT DETAILS Contact Person : Abel Manganyi Postal Address Office Phone : 013 933 3685 P.O. Box 11358 Cell phone : 082 786 0484 The Tramshed Fax : 086 604 1498 Pretoria E-mail : info@humelani.co.za 0126 Website : www.humelani.co.za
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Estimated Environmental Concentration (EEC) is lower than 0.01 of the median lethal dose; that which will kill 50% of aquatic organisms (DWAF, 1998). The delisted waste still has to meet the permit requirements of the particular site to be accepted there. This is not a route favoured as the process can take a long time to conclude.
INDUSTRY’S GOAL Since the promulgation of the new Waste Act, more responsibility of managing waste has been placed on the generators of waste. This has forced industry to take more responsibility for the waste they generate and eventually dispose of. Through educating the waste generators on how to handle their waste, there is now improved understanding of ways to minimise and reduce waste. Since most of the industrial waste ending up on landfill sites originates from industries, a concerted effort has been made to specifically target them to address the problem. There is still a lot more that can be done to help the industries with their waste management. The local Provincial Government has embarked on various workshops to involve industries and make them aware of what is happening with regard to management of hazardous wastes. Various consultants work closely with companies to change outdated systems and modernise their methods to improve their waste management techniques. One such system is Cleaner Production (see Chapter 8) - a new way of reducing waste output and ‘greening’ a company. It has now become the industry’s responsibility to change the way things have been done things in the past and to embrace new ideas and methods to handle hazardous waste.
OPPORTUNITIES Various opportunities exist for entrepreneurs to formulate new ways of dealing with hazardous wastes and ultimately reduce volumes to the landfill. This can be done only if all roleplayers have the same goal, namely to find alternatives. In recent years there has been an increase in the reuse of hazardous wastes that would otherwise have ended up on landfill sites. An example of this is the artwork created for the commercial market from metal cans, plastic, computer parts, etc.This has brought home the idea home that this type of waste can generate an income that is sufficient to sustain whole communities. In the Western Cape alone, various community projects are trading specifically in low hazardous waste materials that have been recovered. The curriculum in schools should also be updated to include dealing with hazardous wastes and the disposal thereof. Changing young people’s attitudes towards hazardous waste (specially the need for its generation) could go long way to alleviating future problems. .
REFERENCES
City Of Cape Town, Directorate: Water And Waste (2000). Annual Report. Waste Management Department:152. Department Of Water Affairs And Forestry (DWAF). (1998). Waste Management Series. Minimum Requirements for the Handling, Classification and Disposal of Hazardous Waste. Department of Water Affairs and Forestry, Private Bag X313, Pretoria, 0001, South Africa.
Contact details
Fuel Firing Services: Eugene Johannes - 021 557 4529 Vissershok Landfill Site: Riedewaan Anthony - 021 557 3398 Vissershok Waste Management Facility: Craig Mitchell - 021 557 6160
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chapter 12: REVOLUTIONS IN THE OIL INDUSTRY
REVOLUTIONS IN THE OIL INDUSTRY
Raj Lochan CEO ROSE Foundation
INTRODUCTION Used motor oil is hazardous – it contains harmful compounds with carcinogenic properties, and one litre of used oil has the capacity to contaminate 1 million litres of water. The ROSE Foundation estimates that South Africa generates an average of 120 million litres of used lubricant oil in a year.
WHAT HAS BEEN DONE TO ADDRESS THIS?
Formation of the ROSE Foundation
The ROSE Foundation (Recycling Oil Saves the Environment), a national non-profit organisation, was established in 1994 by the major producers of lubricants to promote and encourage the environmentally responsible management of used oils and related waste in South Africa. To date the organisation has championed the responsible collection of over 1 billion litres of used oil in South Africa (1994-2010).
Formation of NORA-SA In 2005, the National Oil Recycling Association of South Africa (NORA-SA) was established, a body created specifically to represent the interests of the collectors (currently at 100) and processors (of which there are currently 10) of used oil. The organisation set out to ensure that the collection, transportation, storage, refining recycling, disposal and utilisation of used oil is managed in a sustainable, ethical, environmentally compliant and responsible manner. NORA-SA also aims to assist and empower small collectors, and encourage sustainable, environmentally friendly practices in the recycling industry. With this in mind, an Environmental Advisor was appointed to assist smaller collectors with environmental compliance and training where needed.
Incentives offered In 2007 the ROSE Foundation began to pay NORA-SA collectors and processors an Environmental Incentive (EI) for used oil collected. In 2009 ROSE paid out approximately R3.8 million in incentives.
Related efforts As part of the ROSE Foundation’s efforts to further promote and drive the recycling of used oil filters, the waste revolution HANDBOOK
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a new filter crushing facility has been opened in Chloorkop, Gauteng, that will be operated by Automotive Waste, which will provide a service to collectors in Gauteng and its surrounding areas. In addition to this, a monetary incentive is paid on used oil filters to collectors of 20c per kilogram for collection and 30c per kilogram for safe disposal. Further to this, 2008 saw a compliance model initiated for drum re-conditioners as well as support for grease disposal.
WHAT IS CURRENT-DAY PRACTICE IN CLOSED-LOOP? When accredited members collect used oil, it is delivered to processors, depots and bulk storage facilities. It is then processed and resold for use in furnaces or re-refined into lubricating base oils. The accepted methods of used oil disposal in South Africa include combustion without treatment, combustion after treatment, re-refining, kiln combustion, and use in explosives. Each process, however, does have environmental impacts and the best method to deal with used oil is to recycle it back into base oil – which is in keeping with the international trend of re-refining. However, in South Africa we lack adequate facilities to re-refine the total amount of recoverable used oil and the high cost of approximately R1,25 billion for a plant makes this possibility prohibitive.
More used oil collected The recovery and recycling of waste oils represents huge ecological and economic value and decreases significant environmental burden. ROSE would like to see a significant increase in used oil collections. Currently 75% is being collected. However the organisation’s objective is to collect 80% by the end of 2012.
More bulking storage points Additional bulking points will be opening in various locations around South Africa. At present ROSE has bulking facilities in Weenen, Richards Bay, Pietermaritzburg, Middelburg, Burgersfort and Rustenburg. This assists the smaller collectors to bulk their volumes before selling on to a processor.
WHAT NEEDS TO BE DONE TO ACHIEVE THIS GOAL? There is a huge worldwide shift towards sustainable business practices in order to protect our environment. The Waste Act as well as the development of a waste classification system for South Africa means that responsible waste management within a business environment is no longer a nice thing to do but a necessary thing to do. The ROSE Foundation is extremely concerned about the large amount of used oil that is still not being collected, both because of ignorance and blatant non-compliance with environmental legislation. It is imperative to educate the community about used oil pollution, and to back this up by ensuring that sustainable collection services, convenient storage sites and effective processing facilities are readily and conveniently available. Oil can be recycled many times over, without losing its efficacy. ROSE champions the Petroleum industry’s ‘cradle to cradle’ philosophy for used oil management which assumes environmental responsibility for the products produced and marketed by supporting the used oil recycling industry. 90
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Working with government ROSE is working closely with the Department of Environmental Affairs (DEA), who, in a necessary step to begin monitoring and managing waste streams in South Africa, has developed The South African Waste Classification and Management System.
WHAT OPPORTUNITIES EXIST? It is estimated that South Africa generates an average of 120 million litres of used lubricant oil in a year. NORA-SA collectors and the industry are currently collecting approximately 75% of the total used oil available for collection but ROSE would like to see a significant increase in used oil collections to put South Africa in line with global best practices.
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PROCESS COLOUR
profile
Ai-TEC
Advanced Industrial Technology With over 20 years experience in steam reticulation installation, repair and service, Ai-TEC has gained a reputation as a forward thinking and innovative supplier of heat exchange technologies. Over the years, we have diversified our offering to include a wide range of industrial products and services. PROCESS COLOUR
PROCESS COLOUR
PROCESS COLOUR
20c 100m 100y 20k
10c 70m 90y 0k
55c 50m 50y 45k
Quality, Safety and the Environment We are committed to global best practice, quality standards in accordance with ISO9002. Our systems and processes ensure the quality and safety of our products and our workplace. We are conscious of the need to preserve and protect our environment and strive to conserve energy, reduce emissions, manage effluent and utilise renewable resources wherever possible. All of our products are built with energy efficiency in mind. Reducing the harmful effects on the environment Macrotec, the manufacturing division of the Ai-TEC Group, recently completed a new large capacity medical waste incinerator, which is one of the most advanced incinerators available anywhere in the world. The incinerator has been developed in response to the urgent need for safe incineration of medical waste, with no harmful effects to the environment. The increase of illegal dumping of medical waste and non-compliant incineration, have become global problems. Growing concern for the environment and greater knowledge of the complexity of the combustion process has inspired the team to constantly improve the technology and efficiency of Macroburn incinerators and cremator units. The new Macroburn VMed 500c incinerator has the capacity to handle approximately 4 845 kg of mixed medical waste per day, safely and efficiently, without any smoke or toxic emissions. This Macroburn incinerator, which is smokeless and odourless during normal operating conditions, achieves complete burnout within the incinerator itself, thereby maintaining emissions well within EU and DEAT standards. For the incineration of high calorific value wastes, this incinerator can be fitted with the Macro ceramic filtration system and Macroburn acid gas dosing systems, as well as Macroburn in-line monitoring to ensure emission levels are maintained within specified tolerances.
profile
Another important feature of this new system is its economical operating system, which is highly efficient compared with traditional wet scrubbing systems. Conventional incinerators require large quantities of water that need to be treated for contamination prior to release. Ai-TEC‘s investment in research and product development has culminated in a highly efficient environmentally friendly incinerator that ensures safe and efficient operation, as well as extended service life and low maintenance requirements. For more information contact: Ai-TEC Group of Companies 7 Bauhinia Road, Stanger, 4450, KwaZulu Natal, South Africa P O Box 647, Stanger, 4450, South Africa 0861 248 320 www.ai-tec.co.za Contact: Arnold Retief Arnold@zsteam.co.za
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E-WASTE-“THE NEW KID ON THE BLOCK”
Susanne Dittke (MSC. ChemEng.) Integrated Resource and Waste Specialist Minimisation EnviroSense CC
INTRODUCTION
The term ‘e-waste’ is the internationally accepted abbreviation for ‘electronic’ and/or ‘electrical’ waste and it is used to describe old, end-of-life or discarded appliances using electricity or running on batteries. A typical e-waste mix might include computers, monitors, consumer electronics such as TVs, decoders, play stations and HiFi systems, white goods such as fridges and stoves etc which have been disposed of by their original users for one of three reasons: They are either really broken beyond repair; are technically outdated (planned/designed obsolescence) or are no longer rendered acceptable (perceived obsolescence). Less obvious e-waste candidates include the energy saving Compact Fluorescent Lamps (CFLs), discarded mobile phones (wastage accelerated with each ‘upgrade’) and battery operated toys (such as those distributed free in fast food stores with the kid’s meal and which work exactly for the duration of your stay before they become- you guessed it- ‘e-waste’!)
WHAT IS IN E-WASTE?
Up to 36 different chemical elements can be incorporated into certain e-waste items and a typical monitor may contain as much as 6% of lead by weight. Environmental pollutants that can be easily released by e-waste (if for, example, smashed and broken up or burnt) are hexavalent chromium, arsenic, mercury, barium. bromium. PCB containing capacitors, cadmium and plastics treated with highly toxic flame retardants.
THE ENVIRONMENTAL AND HUMAN HEALTH FOOTPRINT OF E-WASTE
E-waste contains both valuable and very harmful materials (the latter requiring special handling and sound recycling methods typically not available in most developing countries). In such economically vulnerable regions (in particular China, India and many West African countries such as Ghana and Nigeria) a vast informal ‘cherry-picking’ sector of ‘e-waste traders and recyclers’ has sprung up prepared to deal with the growing amounts of illegally imported e-trash from developed nations (based predominantly in the US and Europe but also found in techno-savvy Asian nations such as Japan). Therefore, people with no other job prospects to earn money (including children as young as four years) salvage selected e-waste components and burn or dump the rest. The e-waste received in such countries is scantily disguised as ‘donations’ for charity; still working ‘second-hand goods’; or recycling commodities. Informal recycling and salvaging for the few valuables (steel, copper and traces of goldcontaining printed wire boards) by the poorest of the poor (where toxic trash always tends to end up) have already created massive environmental and human health problems. In addition, cybercrime through data recovery from old hard drives is flourishing in places such as Nigeria and Ghana.
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WHAT IS THE MAGNITUDE OF THE PROBLEM?
E-waste is the fastest growing waste streams worldwide. According to Greenpeace, the estimated amount of e-waste generated on the planet each year is conservatively estimated between 20-50 million tons. This constitutes on average about 5% of the total municipal solid waste stream (2005). Figuratively speaking, if all this waste was put into containers on a train, that train could stretch at least once around the world each year!
THE SOUTH AFRICAN CONTEXT
So it comes as no surprise that e-waste is now officially the fastest growing waste stream in South Africa too (Finlay, 2008). In larger urban and fairly affluent metropoles such as Cape Town it constitutes 5-10 percent of the municipal solid waste mix already - accumulating at a rate three times that of other more traditional solid waste items such as locally unrecyclable packaging (Finlay, 2008). Mobile phones and computers are causing the biggest problem (Finlay, 2008) because they are replaced most often. As a result, developing countries including South Africa are expected to triple their e-waste production over the next five years (Finlay, 2008). A 2008 South African baseline assessment done by the e-Waste Association of South Africa (eWASA) revealed that the combined ICT, consumer electronics and white goods purchased by South African consumers today will swell to an e-waste avalanche of between 1-2 million tons in five to 10 years.
CHALLENGES AND OPPORTUNITIES –FINDING SUSTAINABLE SOLUTIONS FOR E-WASTE
From the above it becomes clear that we have to start to address our ‘home-made’ e-waste problem very effectively by fast-tracking the development of an appropriate and viable ‘one stop shop’ treatment and recycling infrastructure locally, while creating a nationwide solution for the safe takeback of electronics as part of the manufacturer/supplier’s extended producer responsibility (EPR). The National Waste Act is now requiring workable solutions and finance models (as part of an Industrial Waste Management Plan) from the respective e-waste related industrial sectors (including the lighting industry, the IT industry and the electronic appliance manufacturers and distributors). The aim is to devise an integrated e-waste management plan that will successfully optimise and continuously increase the reuse and recycling of e-waste (as opposed to landfilling) while stimulating the economic sector towards formalised job creation To this end eWASA was recognised and appointed by the Department of Environmental Affairs (DEA) to be the official body tasked to bring the relevant industrial parties together and develop such a system.
SOUTH AFRICAN RESPONSE TO E-WASTE
GOVERNING BODY EWASA
This was established in 2008 to manage the establishment of a sustainable environmentally sound e-waste management system for the country.
BUSINESS OPPORTUNITIES
Large scale investment opportunities in South Africa are currently explored by individual businesses around CRT, Plasma and LCD monitor recycling facilities, mercury recovering facilities (eg for CFLs) and fridge degassing and recycling services. The limited recycling potential for plastics treated with flame retardants is also a concern (Finlay, 2008). Various large scale recyclers of e-waste ‘cherry-pick’ valuables out of certain equipment only Unfortunately printers, cell phones or electrical toys have virtually no economic value but are instead a liability to handle and come therefore ‘at a cost’. Detoxification steps are virtually non-existent as 96
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those would come at extra cost and effort - which they can currently not be compensated eg via the planned eWASA-driven Advanced Recycling Fee (ARF). It is hoped that the latter will be introduced to South Africa in the near future, extracting recycling funds from the key suppliers of electronics and electrical equipment based on import and sales figures.
NON-PROFIT ORGANISATIONS
The Western Cape e-Waste Alliance - A Blueprint for (South) Africa?
In the absence of any South African legislation binding producers to take back their e-waste and finance the treatment as part of their Extended Producer Responsibility, a grassroot blueprint project was developed in 2007 named the ‘e-Waste Alliance’ under the guidance of Swiss government body EMPA and with direct funding support from HP. The e-Waste Alliance is made up of independent ‘for profit’ operated business units which are able to handle all parts of the e-waste waste stream in the most integrated and value added manner and according to the best technologies locally available while assuring safe data destruction. The NGO, its members and the e-waste treatment order are guided by the following hierarchy of options: giving preference to the recovery of function of equipment and/or components where possible (through refurbishment or repair activities) before optimising the recovery of materials (from dismantling) for further downstream recycling and/or rework options (eg.in the form of local Waste2Art manufacturing). The cooperation of each individual business entity forming the membership of the e-Waste Alliance allows the optimisation of the ultimate goal namely to: • Minimise waste and maximise resource use and job creation; and • Add value in each step of the e-waste. What makes this pilot project so unique and suitable for Africa is its attempt to follow triple bottom line sustainability principles by introducing a low technological-high labour intensive operational set-up to maximise formal job creating opportunities by following the integrated waste management hierarchy.
REDUCING E-WASTE STARTS WITH YOU!
It does not matter if you are a designer/manufacturer of electronic and electrical equipment, a supplier or distributor of goods, a private business or household consumer or a government official the prerogative of preventing the generation of unnecessary, environmentally damaging and costly e-waste remains the same for everyone concerned, despite the very different strategies that can be applied by each party. Product developers and manufacturers (typically based outside South Africa) are increasingly challenged to develop environmentally intelligent product designs and services. Environmentallyfriendly electronics typically offer long-lasting (upgradable), high quality and non-toxic material finishes, easily recyclable parts and materials - and an industry-driven take-back system. Environmental watchdogs such as Greenpeace offer a consumer guide to greener electronics and classify global manufacturers on a chart according to their triple bottom line performance. Commercial and private consumers have the power of controlling manufacturers with their ‘demand’ for a product and its specification. There are various strategies that should be applied (in decreasing order): First, the question should be asked: do new electronics really have to be bought or can old equipment be upgraded to overcome the challenge of either technical or perceived obsolescence? If equipment is really required, it should be leased instead of purchased. In that case the product ownership stays with the supplier and therefore there will be a responsibility to take back used equipment. the waste revolution HANDBOOK
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Donating still working and refurbishable/upgradable equipment to charities, community programmes and schools etc will increase the useful lifespan of equipment before it becomes actual e-waste. Only real e-waste should be discarded and then only at authorised collection points. E-waste should never be put out on the curbside with other general waste because it will be either salvaged by the informal sector at great detriment to the environment or land up directly at a landfill site that is typically not ground-water protected. Use municipal drop off sites (where provided) and selected retailers and formalised private recyclers. A comprehensive list of small business/private household collection points and collection services within South Africa can be found on the eWASA website. All tiers of the South African Government (national, provincial and municipal) are key electronic consumers - in particular for IT products. Green Procurement Guidelines for electronics are a powerful strategy to demand ‘take back’ from the original supplier and proven responsible treatment of ‘endof-life’ equipment purchased either by the supplier itself or by third party services.
Figure 13.1: Child in Accra (Ghana) salvaging e-waste
REFERENCES:
Figure 13.2: Waste2Art product: Keyring from Harddrive components
Learn more about the health impact of those hazards at http://www.zerowastewa.com.au/recovery/community/ewaste/index.php#toc3 Learn more about the environmental and health situation in Ghana and other developing countries on: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OkpBcFDjk7Y and http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5feq1P3ndC0 GreenPeace (May 2005) http://www.greenpeace.org/international/en/campaigns/toxics/electronics/the-e-waste-problem/ eWASA 2006 http://www.ewasa.org/node/314 Learn more about the e-Waste Alliance here: www.ewastealliance.co.za and here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IXYq0N4kv7Q http://www.greenpeace.org/international/en/campaigns/toxics/electronics/Guide-to-Greener-Electronics/ www.ewasa.org http://www.ewasa.org/ewaste/collectionpoints e-Waste Assessment South Africa e-Waste Association of South Africa (eWASA). Author Alan Finlay (2008)
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PROFILE
Bitou Municipality Where is Bitou Local Municipality?
Bitou Local Municipality, commonly known as the “Jewel of the Garden Route”, incorporates the former Outeniqua District Council and Plettenberg Bay. More than 50 000 people live here. It includes the town of Plettenberg Bay and surrounding areas such as Covie, Nature’s Valley, the Crags, Kurland, Keurbooms, Wittedrift, Green Valley, Kranshoek, Harkerville, Kwanokuthula, New Horizons as well as Qolweni and Bossiesgif.
What are the municipality’s priorities?
Bitou Municipality recognises the importance of social development issues and has a strong focus on crosscutting issues such as gender, youth, disability and HIV/Aids in municipal plans. Primary health and HIV/Aids have been given key priority status in the IDP. Local Agenda 21 issues, with specific reference to sustainability and the environment, also enjoy a high profile. Innovative pilot projects on social housing are under way and Bitou Municipality has an indigent policy in place. The following services are provided: - Waste Management - Traffic Control - Disaster Management - Human Settlement (Provision of descent Houses) - ECD and Library Services
Vision
Developmental vision “To be the best together” “Om saam die beste te wees” “Sobalasela sonke” Contact Private Bag X1002 Plettenberg Bay 6600 Tel +27 (0) 501 3000 Fax + 27(0) 533 3485 / +27 (0) 533 6161
http://www.plett.gov.za
- Water and Sanitation - Roads, Stormwater and Electricity - Beaches and Amusement - Parks and Recreation - Tourism - Local Economic Development
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COLLECTION, TRANSPORTATION & TRANSFER OF WASTES John Coetzee (PR Eng) Director Jeffares and Green (Pty) Ltd
INTRODUCTION Wastes generated in South Africa by the household, commercial, institutional and industrial sectors are generally placed into containers such as plastic bags, bins or ‘skip’ containers and collected by municipal or private waste collectors for transportation to a waste disposal site (eg a landfill), transfer station, materials recovery facility, composting or waste processing facility or directly to a recycling facility. These wastes are generally “mixed general wastes” which have not been ‘separated at source’ into the different recyclable categories of waste, and are taken to a licenced municipal waste disposal site and land-filled by compacting and covering the waste with soil in accordance with the requirements of an Operating Permit (now licencing) issued by the relevant regulatory authority. Hazardous wastes such as medical and infectious wastes, chemicals, poisonous substances, wastes containing heavy metals and other pollutants or contaminants, are not permitted to be disposed of into a general municipal landfill. These wastes are required to be collected separately and disposed of to a licenced hazardous waste landfill or a healthcare waste disposal facility such as an incinerator, autoclave or hydroclave. New legislation ie the National Environmental Management: Waste Act (NEMWA), 2008 (Act No. 59 of 2008), the Draft National Waste Strategy (2010) and Draft Waste Classification and Management Regulations (2010) governing the management of solid and liquid wastes, reinforces the requirements that waste minimisation measures are to be implemented by waste generators and local authorities to reduce the quantity of waste that needs to be collected for disposal. Avoiding, reducing, re-using or recycling waste before it is collected for transportation to a landfill facility will therefore need to become an everyday practice for all generators of waste in South Africa, from individuals (domestic waste) to large companies and institutions (commercial waste) to industry. Many towns and cities in South Africa have already commenced with ‘separation at source’ initiatives to separate wastes into separate streams for separate collection or disposal, eg • Separate bag or containers for co-mingled recyclables (packaging wastes such as paper, cardboard, plastics, glass, metals), collected separately and taken to a materials recovery facility (MRF) for separation into material types and subsequent recovery. • Garden wastes (collected separately or taken directly to a public ‘drop-off’ or composting facility) or for conversion to ‘green’ energy. • Builders’ and inert (soil) wastes (collected separately or taken directly to a public “drop-off facility or demolition waste processing facility). the waste revolution HANDBOOK
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• G lass bottle banks, ‘Collect-a-Can’, schools’ recycling and many other recycling initiatives. • Home composting of food and organic wastes (eg wormeries). • Municipal ‘residual’ wastes (also referred to as ‘wet’ wastes) which should be the final remaining waste destined for transportation to a landfill, only after the abovementioned waste minimisation measures have been performed. • Waste Tyres. • Healthcare Risk. • Hazardous Waste including electronic wastes, batteries and asbestos waste. Wastes are generally collected in special purpose-built vehicles such as ‘rear-end-loading’ (REL) or side loaded refuse compactor vehicles, tip-trucks, trailers, baled waste transportation systems, containerised waste transportation vehicles (eg skip containers, vehicles using hook-lift containerhandling systems, ‘drop-body’ systems, etc). The most common vehicle collection system currently used in the larger towns and cities of South Africa is the REL compactor vehicle which can typically transport up to 10,0 tons per trip, in conformance with National Road Ordinance regulations. Municipal waste collection departments collect general or ‘wet’ wastes at least once-a-week, with a collection (catchment) area divided into ‘beats’ and ‘lifts’ (or service collection points). Smaller and rural towns often use a tractor-trailer or similar basic systems.
Figure 14.1: Example of a typical Rear-End Loading (REL) Waste Compactor Vehicle
The selection of the most cost-effective and suitable types of waste collection or transportation systems may differ for various municipalities, cities (even suburbs) or commercial, institutional and industrial areas requiring waste to be collected for either disposal to a landfill, refuse transfer station, materials recovery facility or to a recycling facility. Each situation needs to be evaluated on its own merits, taking into account various financial, technical, institutional, practical and environmental considerations. Affordability, geographic and climatic conditions, technical and management capacity of municipalities, types and quantities of wastes, haul distances and road gradients, technical support infrastructure, demand for recyclables, infrastructure for receiving wastes at disposal facilities, cost, etc, are some of the factors that need to be taken into account when considering which collection system is the most appropriate. 102
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In terms of the Waste Classification and Management Regulations, the handling, collection and transportation and disposal of hazardous wastes is strictly controlled and monitored. The generators of hazardous wastes are required to complete a waste manifesto document which confirms the nature, composition, quantity and details of the waste. A waste manifesto is also completed by the waste transporter and confirmed by the generator as well as the disposal facility operator and returned to the generator so that a full inventory and control of the hazardous waste transfer is fully recorded.
TRANSFER OF WASTES By definition, refuse transfer stations relate directly to waste transportation efficiency and economics. Transfer stations are generally a necessary component of solid waste management infrastructure and serve to reduce the overall cost of waste disposal where the distance between the areas of waste generation/collection and the disposal (landfill) site increases. Waste collection (compactor) vehicles are not efficient or cost effective for travelling long haulage distances, hence transfer stations provide the necessary link between the functions of collection and disposal of wastes, when the disposal sites are located remotely from the points of collection (ie such as in the case of a regional disposal facility). Transportation from a transfer station to a disposal site would generally take place by either road and/or rail.
Figure 14.2: A typical Transfer Station Compaction Hall: Compacting Wastes into Containers.
The stricter regulations promulgated in recent years in South Africa for permitting and operating landfills had led to the closure of many landfills that have failed to meet the regulatory requirements. Those remaining landfills can no longer operate without specially engineered basin floor lining systems and capping systems for disposal cells. These lining systems require special geosynthetic materials installed under strict quality assurance methods in order to ensure environmental protection and regulatory compliance. Consequently the construction of lined landfills has become expensive, and the trend is to operate fewer and more remotely dispersed regional landfills (a situation also influenced by the general public’s resistance to having a landfill located near to their place of residence!). A further consequence, therefore, is that waste collection and waste transfer vehicles have longer haul distances to accommodate in the overall cycle of waste collection to disposal. The types of modern waste transfer stations found in South Africa and other parts around the world the waste revolution HANDBOOK
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include open, top-filled container systems, large light-weight trailers with ‘walking floor’ ejection systems, stationary (static) compactors, pre-compaction systems, baled waste systems, bi-modal container systems, waste-by-rail transfer systems, etc. A fundamental consideration with transfer of waste by road is to optimise the transfer waste payload carrying capacity/trip within the constraints of the Road Ordinance regulatory requirements and to minimise the overall total cost of transfer. Transfer stations are commonly used in South Africa, with most facilities comprising simple elevated areas with a ramped access where collection vehicles can tip their wastes directly into transfer containers or vehicles. In large metropolitan areas, transfer stations tend to be expensive, mechanised facilities required to handle a large throughput of waste, with a strong emphasis on materials-handling. The City of Cape Town, for example, has three large mechanised transfer stations, each handling more than 1 000 tons per day where wastes are compacted into 30m3 reinforced containers which are transported either by road or rail to the City’s interim regional landfill site at Vissershok. The loaded containers are commonly handled using overhead gantry cranes, hook-lift or fork-lift systems, or container straddle carriers.
Figures 14.3 and 14.4: Illustrations of a typical container hook-lift system
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JAN PALM CONSULTING ENGINEERS
Specialist Waste Management Consultants
OUR VISION Jan Palm Consulting Engineers is specialist Waste Management Consultants serving its clients with absolute integrity and engineering our habitat with appropriate technology and environmental responsibility. EXPERTISE AND EXPERIENCE JPCE’s expertise and experience can be broadly categorized into the field of Environmental Engineering and specifically the fields of Solid Waste Management and Water/Waste Water Treatment. JPCE is well known and respected in the field of waste management and has been involved in numerous waste related projects covering the following aspects of waste management: • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •
Waste Collection Optimization Waste Transfer Station design Material Recovery Facility design Landfill design Composting Facility design Landfill Closure and Rehabilitation Landfill Auditing and Monitoring Identification of new Landfills Regional Waste Studies Integrated Waste Management Plans Transport Optimisation Studies Operating Contracts for Waste Facilities PPP Involvement in Waste Management Alternative Technologies for Waste Reduction Waste Management Strategies Solid Waste Master Plans Design of Water and Waste Water Treatment plants Waste Recycling Plans
CONTACT DETAILS Jan Palm Consulting Engineers cc 60 Bracken Street, Protea Heights, Brackenfell, 7560 P O Box 931, Brackenfell, 7561 Tel: +27 (0)21 9826570 Fax: +27 (0)21 9810868 Email: info@jpce.co.za Website: www.jpce.co.za
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INTEGRATED WASTE MANAGEMENT PLANS AND RESULTANT PLANNING Jan Palm Member Jan Palm Consulting Engineers Cc
INTRODUCTION Waste Management in South Africa has generally been believed to be the placing of waste in plastic bags or refuse bins on the sidewalk or in a communal bin for collection by the municipality, which would then dispose of it at a waste disposal site. The municipalities, on the other hand, provided such a collection service to most of the formal residential areas and focussed on ‘getting the waste into the waste stream’ or else more effort had to be spent on collecting illegally dumped waste. Disposal sites were, and some still are, operated on shoe-string budgets and most of the rural waste disposal sites were/are constantly burning, simply because it saves the costs of compaction and the covering of the waste as well as helping to stop scavenging. Inappropriate landfill equipment, if any, is used at most landfills and the training levels of landfill personnel are generally low. Planning of waste management services was/is mostly reduced to the periodic budgeting of a new refuse collection vehicle, without optimising the collection routes or the vehicle type.
MINIMUM REQUIREMENTS DOCUMENT The Department of Water Affairs and Forestry published the first set of Minimum Requirements documents in 1994 that served as a planning guideline document for the identification, permitting, designing and operation of waste disposal sites in South Africa. This set of documents guided and significantly improved waste disposal practices in South Africa over the past decade and a half, thereby reducing the impact of waste disposal on the environment. Landfilling, although undesirable in terms of the waste hierarchy and seen by many as an end-of-pipe solution, will remain an important element of waste management and serves as a safety net when other waste avoidance and reduction measures fail. But landfilling should not be seen as the solution to waste management, it is merely part of the solution.
NATIONAL WASTE MANAGEMENT STRATEGY The Department of Environmental Affairs and Tourism published a National Waste Management Strategy in 1999 wherein the concept of integrated waste management was introduced to focus on the avoidance and minimisation of waste rather than on the disposal of waste. Part of this national strategy was that local government submit Integrated Waste Management Plans in 2002 for implementation in 2006. Unfortunately many municipalities ignored the strategy, it being only a strategy and not an act - with the result that only a few Integrated Waste Management Plans were submitted. the waste revolution HANDBOOK
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Jahmy Cleaning and Recycling Jahmy Cleaning and Recycling was established in 2006 and is a 100% black-owned company. It is committed to uplifting dedicated and hard-working recyclers to develop their recycling knowledge by offering basic, unaccredited recycling training free of charge. This well established company aims to make a significant contribution to greening South Africa and to render professional cleaning and recycling services to all corners of the country. It aims to always maintain its excellent reputation by continuously rendering a professional and high-quality service at a competitive cost, to enter into joint ventures with established companies and events that have a profound impact on their environment, to create opportunities to alleviate poverty and create employment by establishing new waste collectors, to increase the amount of waste recycled nationally through its initiatives and to continuously disseminate environmental information to all people through our simplified but innovative ways. Jahmy Cleaning and Recycling offers four different types of services; multi-recycling services, events greeing, cleaning services and recycling training, marketing and awareness. The recycling services include all kinds of paper, plastic and plastic bottles, cardboard, glass and glass bottles, tins and cans, electric and electronic waste, and all office waste. It also collects recyclable waste from shopping malls, industrial areas, residential areas, hotels and restaurants, conference centres and schools. The events greening service includes the outdoor cleaning of, and recycling of, all waste produced during any event. Wellmarked dustbins are used to show people where to throw different recyclable products. The cleaning services includes keeping buildings, open areas, sidewalks and streets neat and tidy by collecting all kinds of litter. Jahmy Cleaning and Recycling will clean buildings, exhibition halls, ablution facilities and kitchens to the client’s standards. It washes and professionally cleans dustbins and OTTO bins as well as cleaning carpets, tiled floors and walkways, storm water drains and paved areas – no surface is too difficult for Jahmy Cleaning and Recycling. In keeping with its focus on recycling training, marketing and awareness Jahmy Cleaning and Recycling have introduced a drama called Green Revolutions. The drama is aimed at educating the public with specific emphasis on school kids about the importance of recycling to the environment and the economy. Jahmy Cleaning and Recycling stays true to its five core values which are commitment, 100% delivery, integrity, professionalism and versatility. It is the dedication to these values that sets this company apart and makes it the premier choice for cleaning and recycling services. Contact details: Ashira Mohlala Cell: 072 783 6352 Tel: 012 306 0362 Email: ashira@tshwabac.co.za
Mpho Mohale Cell: 084 862 3219 Tel: 012 306 0366 • Fax: 086 658 4174 Email: mpho@tshwabac.co.za
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THE WASTE ACT The National Environmental Management: Waste Act (Act 59 of 2008) came into affect on 1 July, 2009 and in Charter 3 it enforces the preparation of Integrated Waste Management Plans by the National Department, Provincial Departments and Municipalities. In Section 12 it lists the minimum contents of an Integrated Waste Management Plan. In short, the minimum contents cover six aspects of waste management: 1. A situational analysis that describes the applicable population profile, the types and quantities of waste, the waste management services that are provided and also indicates the number of residents that do not receive waste collection services; 2. An indication of how the authority intends to give effect to the objects of the Waste Act and other relevant legislation, address the negative impact on the environment, implement waste reduction and improve the delivery of waste management services; 3. The setting out of priorities and objectives in respect to waste management; 4. The establishment of targets for collection, minimisation, re-use and recycling; 5. The setting out of the approach to the provision of new waste management facilities and the decommissioning of existing facilities; and 6. An indication of the financial resources required. An added stipulation in the Waste Act is the annual reporting by the authorities on the implementation of the Integrated Waste Management Plans, again with a list of reporting criteria. It would thus appear as if waste management planning is quite well covered by recent (and current) legislation and that the main objective of the Waste Act, ie to protect health, well-being and the environment, will be achieved by providing a waste management service to all residents and to avoid the generation of waste, reduce the waste that cannot be avoided and the responsible disposal of the waste that can not be reduced or treated.
WEIGHBRIDGES – A PRIORITY But what information is available to authorities for planning purposes? Most current planning is based on existing waste quantities that are, due to a general lack of weighbridges at most waste management facilities, based on population data which in turn is based on the 2001 census and per capita waste generation figures that are based on volumetric estimates of truck loads. It is assumption on assumption on assumption. The only proven method of obtaining accurate waste data is by weighing it and all reduction targets that are set before weighbridges are installed at the waste management facilities will remain vague. Weighbridges are therefore a priority in implementing integrated waste management. Due to the capital cost associated with weighbridges, especially to rural authorities where the waste quantities are low, consideration should be given to utilising existing weighbridges installed for other industrial or agricultural applications or road traffic control.
REDUCTION TARGETS The setting of waste reduction targets should also take cognisance of existing waste reduction initiatives and not simply state a percentage of the waste disposed in a specific historical year. A far more focussed approach would be to set a reduction target by specifying the maximum disposal rate per capita –eg setting a reduction target by specifying that waste disposal may not exceed 700 grams per capita per day. Obviously these targets will differ from urban to rural conditions, but will provide the waste revolution HANDBOOK
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Abongi Bemvelo Environmental Management Services Abongi Bemvelo Environmental Management Services (ABEMS) provides environmental management consultancy service to the private and public sector, with a vision to extend into the mining sector. The company is dedicated to ensuring that the service provided to their clients assist to align strategic objectives with the goals of sustainable development in the areas of environmental, social and economic development. ABEMS was founded in 2002 as a Close Corporation and the company promotes sustainable development initiatives that encourage youth and women participation to build an economically viable nation. The company is led and managed by two women with qualifications in the Science field who hold about 10 years of experience collectively. The core business of the company is to provide environmental management, water services and water resources management expertise to development programs. Focus will be put on environmental management and the economic spin-offs that could be derived from it. ABEMS provide a variety of services, one of which is integrated waste management. The waste management service that they offer includes needs analysis and consultation, community based waste collection and transportation, illegal dumping sites rehabilitation and park development, setting up of systems for operation and maintenance of landfill sites. ABEMS is an accredited training service provider for Environmental Practice Level 2 and 5. Ms Nokuhle Mkebe: Managing Director Hons (Hydrology), MSc. Environmental Management (specialising in Water Resources Management - in progress) Nokuhle, is a geohydrologist, turned environmentalist. She is a qualified environmental auditor and has attained environmental management qualification such as Safety, Health, Environment, Risk & Quality (SHERQ) through Potchefstroom University. She gained extensive experience in community development activities relating to environmental management within the water sector. She has also managed various waste management programmes at a National level (Department of Environmental Affairs & Tourism). Dineo Kotane: Operations Director BSc (Botany & Zoology), BSc Honours(Taxonomy), MSc (Chemotaxonomy) Dineo is a well experienced Environmental Researcher with practical community development experience obtained from the projects she executed within communities whilst working for the CSIR. She is a qualified Botanist with experience in research and project co-ordination and management. She has completed several environmental management related short courses with Potchefstroom University such the Ecological Principles of Mine Rehabilitation, Integrated Environmental Management and Integrated Waste Management. Contact: Mrs Nokuhle Mkebe Mobile: 079 042 8307 • Fax: 086 504 7825 Email: nokuhle@abems.co.za • nmkebe@gmail.com Contact: Mrs Dineo Kotane Mobile: 083 200 5557 • Fax: 086 605 3374 Email: dineo@abems.co.za P.O Box 11177 Wierda Park South, 0057
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the resident with a personal target instead of a vague target for the whole of the town. A further advantage of such an approach would be that waste collection tariffs can be linked to the amount of waste put out for collection, whether the bins are individually weighed or a restriction on bin size and the targets can be adjusted downwards annually. his approach would provide a financial incentive to the public to reduce waste production.
SEPARATION OF WASTE But waste management planning also has to deal with the type of services that are delivered by the authority or that are available to the public. With the current regional approach, landfills are becoming more and more remote which has a significant effect on the collection logistics. The economics of collection versus travelling must be balanced and the need for transfer facilities may arise. A further complication in the collection logistics is the separation of recyclables by the residents at source. This source separated co-mingled waste should be isolated from the remainder of the waste to prevent contamination and should not be compacted to prevent breakage of glass products.
CONCLUSION Integrated waste management implies that every waste type should be reduced and that landfilling should only be available for waste materials that has no further value, either in its current form or treated. This implies that all waste types should be separated and that an alternative use or treatment be identified for each type. Waste reduction therefore does not only refer to recovery for recycling, but also recovery of garden waste for composting, recovery of builders’ rubble for crushing as fill or road building material, recovery of the organic fraction for electricity generation, etc. Should there currently not be a market in South Africa for a specific waste type or fraction, such as refuse derived fuel, that fraction should be landfilled until such a market has been created. Separation of waste types also includes the separating out of materials that are potentially harmful to the environment, such as household hazardous wastes, household healthcare wastes and electronic wastes and facilities should be established for the public to bring such materials. The authorities’ role in integrated waste management planning is to provide the facilities or services or opportunities for the separation, collection, recovery, treatment and disposal of these waste types.
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AUDITING, OPERATION AND MONITORING OF A WASTE DISPOSAL FACILITY Larry Eichstadt Director Resource Management Services
INTRODUCTION
The completion of an external compliance audit of a waste disposal facility (in particular, a waste disposal site) provides an important basis and opportunity for the evaluation of the site monitoring protocols and site operational activities in place and observed on the day of the audit. It is important that the audit outlines, in addition to the evaluation of the permit or licence conditions captured in a compliance table, the general manner in which the site is being monitored and operated in order to provide the regulator and reader with adequate information to understand the auditor’s interpretations of the data provided.
AUDIT OBJECTIVES AND PURPOSE
The primary objectives and purpose of conducting a Waste Facility Compliance Audit with an emphasis on GLB+ and H:h waste disposal sites includes: • Evaluation of the waste facility operations using the conditions of the permit/waste licence and NEMA environmental authorisation as the sole benchmark and the current compliance status of the site when compared to the previous annual or bi-annual audit, • Evaluation of the overall sites operations taking into account the applicability of the conditions being enforced on the Permit Holder. • Collation and interpretation of the site monitoring related data provided including, among other issues, water quality (surface and groundwater) and air quality monitoring data, waste types and tonnage disposed of, internal audits and minutes of health and safety meetings. • Recommendations and Action Plan to address sub-standard, partial complaint and non-compliant findings.
AUDIT METHODOLOGY
The compliance audit format normally includes three basic steps: • General meeting and discussion with site personnel to discuss general progress or constraints on site, current site development plans and partial or non-compliant issues from the previous external compliance audit; • Administrative meeting to collate relevant documentation for discussion and review ie internal audits, health and safety meetings, waste volumes being managed, issues of non compliance and future developments; and • Closure meeting to provide an overview of any key findings and to ensure that all required documentation has been collected and obtained.
PHYSICAL SITE ASSESSMENT AND DOCUMENTATION REVIEW
To present the physical assessment of a particular site or facility and to interpret data provided, the following audit report structure and content can be considered: the waste revolution HANDBOOK
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• G eneral Site Operations – Access control, site personnel and equipment, waste volumes and types, reclamation activities, site management procedures, security, aesthetics, service roads and fuel storage and machine camp. • Signage – Access signage and general site signage. • Monitoring – Waste types and volumes, Waste treatment, recycling and minimisation, Air Quality and Landfill Gas, Water (stormwater and groundwater), leachate (raw and treated leachate), incidents and complaints register, aesthetics (dust, noise and odour), site closure and rehabilitation, residents monitoring committee. • Site Engineering – new cell development, and site upgrading in general. • Findings and Overview Not ignoring the importance of the many site operational and monitoring-related issues that need to be assessed during a compliance audit (as listed above), some specific focus is now given to site management procedures and monitoring, based on selected compliance audits conducted at the City of Cape Town and ArcelorMittal waste management facilities.
SITE MANAGEMENT PROCEDURES
WASTE ACCEPTANCE: WASTE TONNAGE AND WASTE TYPE The control of the amount and type of waste that is entering a waste disposal facility is not only important for financial and future site capacity reasons but also to ensure that the wastes received fall within the authorised classification of the site. For instance, certain contractors transporting hazardous waste that requires treatment for pH may attempt to dispose this waste at a H:h site rather than at a H:H waste disposal site because it is ‘cheaper’. Spot checks, including visual inspection and lab analyses, need to form part of the waste acceptance procedure to ensure that the correct documentation is provided. It is important to document whether the weighbridge required to monitor the waste tonnages received is routinely Figure 16.1: Weighbridge inspected for calibration purposes. (City of Cape Town – Vissershok)
WORKING FACE – DISPOSAL AREAS OR APRONS
Large waste disposal sites where co-disposal, domestic-industrial waste segregation and activities such as building rubble stockpiling or building rubble crushing takes place may well have two or three active waste disposal areas on site. It is important that all of these areas are inspected and evaluated for compliance purposes. Key aspects that would need to be considered in terms of the active disposal operations would be: • General aesthetic nuisances subject to climatic • Site personnel and Personal Protective conditions i(dust generation, fly nuisances and Equipment (PPE). odours). • Service roads. • Co-disposal activities (required security and • Site signage. occupational health and safety procedures). • Specific demarcation of disposal areas. • Co-disposal activities (site water balance • Landfill equipment usage and availability. considerations). • Extent of waste disposal area/s. • Adequate covering of disposed. 114
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Figure 16.2: Co-disposal (Vissershok) Figure 16.3: General waste disposal (Coastal Park)
Figure 16.4: Odour Control Sprayers – Swartklip RTS
The effective management of Waste Transfer Stations is reliant on efficient logistical operational procedures, well maintained equipment to ensure that the waste can be tipped onto the operational apron (compacted, containerised and transported to landfill) and stringent health and safety procedures. During this type of waste handling operation key aesthetic controls are important, particularly in terms of air quality, pests and odours. Dedicated and effective odour control systems have been installed within the City of Cape Town Athlone and Swartklip Transfer Stations.
SAFE WORK PROCEDURES
Although this is primarily an internal procedure, an assessment of the level at which the site personnel (all levels) are informed of their duties and responsibilities and have signed that they accept their responsibilities, forms an important aspect of the compliance audit. Facilities which have been audited and which have safe work procedures in place, give the impression that they are more organised ie assist with achieving a higher compliance rating.
LEGAL COMPLIANCE ASSESSMENTS – HEALTH AND SAFETY
This is generally an assessment carried out by an internal health and safety department of a municipality to evaluate the site status in terms of the level of compliance with the Occupational Health and Safety Act. These assessments should ideally be carried out on a quarterly to a six monthly basis. It is important that the compliance audit takes notice of the findings and recommendations of such assessments as it provides a basis by which the minutes of the health and safety meetings later discussed can, to some extent, be reviewed ie are certain site or personnel health and safety issues persisting and are there valid reasons for this.
INTERNAL AUDITS
The completion of monthly (hazardous waste sites) or quarterly (general waste sites) internal audits by the Permit Holder is accepted as a standard requirement for all permits or licences. In the event that a waste facility which does not have a waste licence or permit is audited, the internal audits should be made available to the auditor ie this type of audit is a yardstick by which the responsible waste department can evaluate themselves and if carried out timeously before an external compliance audit, assists the facility’s managers to improve the facility operations as required.
HEALTH AND SAFETY MEETINGS
The frequency and level at which health and safety meetings are held is obviously directly linked to the nature and intensity of the waste activity ie monthly health and safety meetings should be conducted for hazardous waste and large to medium waste disposal sites or facilities. These meetings provide an opportunity for the selected personnel to highlight key issues identified the waste revolution HANDBOOK
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during the normal operation of the site which, if not addressed, can have an impact on the health and safety of personnel or public using the site. These meetings typically cover issues such as: • General hygiene issues within the administration areas, • Traffic safety: speeding; • Vehicle safety: poor disposal procedures by contractors, • Site security; • Provision and use of personal protective equipment (PPE); • Workers medicals; and • Safety signage in general.
MONITORING
Figure 16.5: Bellville Compost facility - PPE
The monitoring of air quality, water quality (stormwater, groundwater and leachate) is a prerequisite for a Permit Holder before any comment can be made as to whether a waste site or facility is being well managed or is actually having an impact on its immediate or receiving environment. The lack of an effective monitoring network - and therefore monitoring and trend data for the pathways mentioned above - puts the Permit Holder at risk in that there is no defence against a possible legal challenge based on an alleged environmental impact. It would be incorrect during a compliance audit to refer to a site or facility as being well managed and having no environmental impact if inadequate monitoring data is provided. It would be acceptable, however, to state that a site is well managed based on visual observations during the physical site or facility audit.
AIR QUALITY
The monitoring of the air quality on the waste site/facility, the perimeter of the waste activity and the surrounding environment for different variables is clearly one of the most important aspects at any waste facility. This monitoring data provides a valuable baseline for the determination and delineation of buffer zones for facilities surrounded by differing land uses. Examples of types of monitoring and areas where monitoring can take place include (Vissershok Residents’ Monitoring Committee, May, 2010); Subsurface gas monitoring - waste body and lateral gas migration. Near surface gas monitoring – on cells. Ambient Air Quality – fence line, community and general operational areas ie leachate lagoon. Site buildings. The list of parameters monitored will be influenced by the nature and characteristics of the waste being disposed of and the sensitivity of the receiving environment.
WATER QUALITY
Stormwater:
In parallel with the importance of the air quality monitoring requirements, is the monitoring of stormwater generated at a waste facility in terms of whether it is ‘clean or dirty’ to ensure that all dirty stormwater run-off from the active waste disposal handling areas is contained and tested on site prior to any release. This release would be subject to the quality of the water complying with the required standards of the National Water Act. It is accepted that all stormwater control dams would need to be designed to ensure that a freeboard of 500mm is maintained. Key water quality variables that should be analysed to determine whether stormwater can be released offsite include: pH, Chemical Oxygen Demand (COD), Ammonia, Nitrates, Potassium and 116
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Chlorides. The final list of variables should be determined based on the nature and sensitivity of the receiving environment. It can therefore be accepted that when conducting a compliance audit, the integrity and functioning of the stormwater dams is assessed. The laboratory analyses reflecting the quality of the stormwater must be compared with the quality of water in the different dams to determine the quality of the run-off from active or non-active areas and thereby identifying areas where improved management is necessary.
Groundwater:
The installation of an effective groundwater monitoring network is a prerequisite for any new waste disposal facility. Waste disposal sites which have been operational for a number of years and have failed to implement an effective groundwater monitoring system cannot comment on whether the site is having an impact on the groundwater environment. On closure, such sites will most likely require a full groundwater impact assessment to ensure that: • No site groundwater remediation measures need to be implemented; and • Adequate groundwater monitoring system is installed for post-waste closure monitoring. It is generally accepted that for small (25 and 150 tons of waste per day) and medium (150 and 500 tons of waste per day) waste sites with waste permits that groundwater monitoring must take place twice annually and for large (more than 500 tons of waste per day) and hazardous waste disposal sites (H:H (rating of 1 and 2) and H:h (rating of 3 and 4)) quarterly groundwater monitoring must be conducted. The groundwater variables analysed for will depend to a large extent on the type of waste being disposed of ie more detailed monitoring will be required for a hazardous waste disposal site and more specific monitoring for hazardous waste lagoons or mono waste disposal sites. Standard water quality variables for a small general waste site will include: pH, Chemical Oxygen Demand (COD), Ammonia, Nitrates, Potassium and Chlorides.
Leachate In terms of the Minimum Requirements for Waste Disposal by Landfill Guideline Document (DWAF, 1998), medium and large general waste disposal sites are all required to collect and contain leachate on site. In addition, small waste disposal sites with a positive water balance (B+ - water surplus climate, resulting in significant leachate generation) also require leachate collection and management. In most cases this leachate is discharged directly off-site without treatment to a waste water treatment works or removed by tanker for disposal at a wastewater treatment works. The co-disposal of leachate - where leachate is returned to site - does take place at those sites where there is an excessive volume of leachate produced during the wet, winter season. In some cases leachate is treated to the extent that it can be irrigated back onto site for dust control purposes.
Figure 16.6: ArcelorMittal – Lined Leachate containment dam
F igure 16.7: Coastal Park – Lined leachate containment dam
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profile
Safety & Allied Products Profile
Safety & Allied Products cc was started in 1995. The company initially supplied all kinds of safety and protective clothing and equipment and now it supplies a complete range of personal protective gear “from head to toe”. Safety & Allied Products also supplies a wide range of safety related equipment such as safety symbolic signs and custom signs. The company recently opened a screen-printing division which specialises in the design and printing of company logos onto work wear for corporate branding. Safety & Allied Products offers a 24-hour emergency service and successfully runs on site facilities for major contractors. It has won numerous achievements over the years and has recently moved premises to accommodate its growth. Safety & Allied Products prides itself on sound business ethics and principles. The company trains its staff on an ongoing basis. Safety & Allied Products offers a wide variety of safety and protective clothing and equipment. Its headwear range includes hard hats, welding helmets, ear plugs, ear muffs, respiratory equipment and face shields. The clothing range includes overalls, boiler suits and conti-suits, reflective vests, rain-suits, freezer suits, dust coats and fireman’s suits. In the eyewear range there are safety spectacles and safety goggles. The handwear includes PVC gloves, welding gloves (Greenline, Chrome leather) and leather gloves. The footwear range is made up of gum boots, steel-toe boots, shoes and takkies. In terms of equipment Safety and Allied Products supplies safety harnesses and belts, fire retardant blankets (both standard and specialist), chevron tape, traffic cones, traffic barriers, first aid kits, symbolic safety signs, tool bags, lifting bags and insulated thermal covers for concrete. Safety and Allied Products supplies gear made by Bova, Bata, Bell, Lemaitre, Jim Green Boots, Wayne Gum Boots, CAT, Bilsom, Ironman and many other leading brands. Contact details: Telephone Number : 031-465 7743 Fax Number : 031-465 2374 Email Address : info@safetyandallied.co.za Physical Address : 306 Edwin Swales Drive, Clairwood, 4052 Postal Address : P O BOX 13092, Jacobs, 4026
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Apart from monitoring the quality of the treated or untreated leachate, it is important to monitor the volume of leachate being produced and the point of disposal. The leachate returned to site, particularly where co-disposal takes place, must be included in the water balance calculations. In some waste site permits there are conditions that restrict the volumes of leachate that can be irrigated on site, primarily to prevent aesthetic nuisances or site management constraints from developing.
Incidents and Complaints The need for a site incident and public complaints register is important as it provides the compliance auditor with a possible external view of the manner in which the site has perceived to have been managed by the public between audit periods - and not only on the actual day of the audit which is a ‘once off’ assessment. Ppublic responses recorded revolve around aesthetic nuisances such as litter, noise, dust, odour and flies, all of which can in some cases be linked to on-site challenges or other activities in the area not related to the waste facility.
Residents’ Monitoring Committees All permits or licences for hazardous and large waste disposal sites will include conditions which stipulate the formation of a Residents’Monitoring Committee (RMC). These committees need to include a fair representation of the neighbouring landowners in the area and the authorities responsible for regulating the waste site by enforcing the permit or licence conditions. The committee provides a forum for the Permit Holder to regularly inform the neighbouring public as to the status of the waste site in terms of the daily operations and constraints that have been experienced. The public, on the other hand, has an opportunity to request clarity on any site-related issue in order to develop a better understanding of the site activities. The compliance audit report is presented by the Permit Holder and discussed at the RMC meetings. RMC meetings are normally held on a quarterly basis. It is important to understand that RMC meetings do not provide a forum for regulatory decisions to be made but provide an opportunity for the public to highlight issues which the different regulatory authorities can rule on should a serious issue of compliance be raised. The RMC is therefore an important forum where the queries or issues raised are responded to by the responsible authority, or authorities, both in writing and at the RMC meeting, depending on the nature and severity of the issue.
CONCLUSION
The management, operation and monitoring of any type of waste disposal site irrespective of whether it is a communal (0 and 25 tons of waste per day ) or hazardous site remains a challenge due to the many on-site requirements as discussed. Adding to this are potential conflicting external land issues with poor town planning and low cost housing the largest cause for concern. Despite many lessons being learnt, poor town planning remains one of the largest pitfalls for waste management as urban expansion has ignored the need for waste disposal sites and waste-related activities which can minimise the amount of disposable waste. In completing a compliance audit one of the primary objectives listed was the need to assess the applicability of the permit or licence conditions. It is apparent based on recent audits completed particularly for sites which either focus on recycling or composting (non-waste disposal activities), that permit or licence conditions are too generic and not site or activity specific in that they include conditions which are applicable to waste disposal sites only. It is a responsibility of the compliance auditor to respond to those conditions which require amendment or deletion from the permit and motivate that a permit or licence be altered to reflect the actual activities taking place. the waste revolution HANDBOOK
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SUSTAINABLE WASTE MINING IN SOUTH AFRICA
Richard Emery Associate Jeffares & Green (Pty) Ltd
INTRODUCTION
The ability to establish new landfill sites plus our social and environmental responsibilities requires us to look at alternative forms of waste management and our current day practices. This includes, not only looking ahead at the way we integrate our waste management strategies, but also looking back at what has been done and seeking opportunities. One such opportunity is to consider recovering that which was a waste but is now an asset. The immediate question that arises is whether the mining of landfill waste, also referred to as ‘urban mining’, is sustainable, viable, both financially and logistically, and a true opportunity. Is the timing right for such an opportunity and operation? A trial mining operation was done at Coastal Park Landfill Site, Muizenberg, Cape Town at five different locations on the site, each with varying ages of waste. Over 250 tons of waste was extracted and characterised. The waste content was evaluated, recorded and its potential reuse investigated. Areas of the market were consulted (NJ Consulting, 2009; Unicell, 2009; Atlantic Plastics, 2009; Earthwize Energy, 2009, City of Cape Town, 2009 & 2010) and certain material types costed.
WHY THIS STUDY?
It is widely accepted that the extensive use of raw materials and the old ‘cradle to grave’ practice is no longer environmentally acceptable and society needs to explore all possible options relating to the re-use and recycling of manufactured materials thereby limiting the exploitation of raw materials. If mining is found to be economically viable, it would also directly assist with combating the rapid consumption of airspace. The reasons for the mining of waste would be: • recovery of compost/ soil for re-use, • recovery of recyclables, • reclamation of landfill capacity, • reuse of land, • avoiding groundwater contamination.
THE SCREENING DONE AT COASTAL PARK
Initially the idea was to use a mobile trommel screen, but the costs were deemed to be excessive for the volume that was to be screened. The project team then chose to erect a screen as a permanent structure that could be used again in the future, should the need arise. Furthermore, to simplify matters, one screen was installed in this structure (rather than multiple screens). Therefore, this one sieve aperture (opening) of 80mm x 80mm would dictate how the materials would be separated. The idea was to try removing the organic, silty, sandy (mineral) component (referred to as the “fines”) from the typically bulky waste (such as plastics, papers, cardboard, metals, bottles, etc). the waste revolution HANDBOOK
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The ‘fines’ would then be evaluated to determine its suitability as topsoil or the like. The retained material (bulky waste) would be sorted as described above, and evaluated for the purposes of recycling. The residue material would be returned to sanitary landfilling. Below is a photo of the screening structure and sorting platform constructed and used. (Figure 17.1)
Figure 17.1: Completed screening structure (view from the west) – sorting platform on top and retrieval bay for ‘fines’ below.
Figure 17.2: View of screen from below
Figure 17.3: View of the screening platform and sorting area (view from the east)
This exploration chose the route of a lower output and a more manual (labour intensive) system. One reason for this is that, should this operation be found viable, it would create a great employment opportunity, in a country which has creation of employment as one of its major national focuses and goals.
THE RESULTS
For all five holes excavated, 69,55% (in mass) or 43,07% (in volume) of the material was ‘fines’ (material passing through the 80mm aperture sieve). The material that passed through the 80mm sieve is not necessarily only organic and minerals but also degraded materials (broken into smaller fractions and materials actually deposited and compacted into place in a broken state). It would be difficult to support a statement saying that the composition of materials landfilled in those years had more soils and organics. Although it can be argued that society is more aware today of what is disposed of - and 122
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organics and mineral-soils do tend to be re-used/recycled in more earnest than pre-2005. See the report below for further discussion on this ‘fines’ material. The balance of the material was retained on the sieve and sorted. Newspapers and plastic containers were found dating back from 1989 to 2000. Some interesting observations during the extraction of the old waste were: • There was a marked difference in the stench of the ‘old’ waste between the different holes. At Hole 5 the stench was strong (waste is approximately 9 – 11 years old) and the stench being not so intense at Hole 2 (waste being approximately 23 years old.) • The biggest category of material removed was ‘fines’ which is mainly soil yet contained fine-pieces of hard plastic, paper, synthetic materials etc. • It took the team (supervisor and 15 to 20 labourers) 17 working days to sort through all the waste from the five holes. This excludes weather delays (which amounted to two days during the study period – November 2009.) • All extracted waste was found relatively dry or ‘Saturated Surface Dry (SSD)’. Table 17.1 and Table 17.2 show the results of ALL five holes of the material that was retained on top of the sieve and was then removed and sorted into the various categories: Kilograms (Kg) Type
Builders rubble
Wood
Tyres
Glass
Metals
Plastic Film
Plastic bottles
Paper
Medical
Residual Waste
‘fines’ passing 80mm sieve
Total kg
Kilogram
27820
6161
238
434
626
11840
1163
459
0.3
30245
180420
259406
% Makeup
10.7%
2.4%
0.1%
0.2%
0.2%
4.6%
0.4%
0.2%
0.0%
11.7%
69.6%
100.0%
Table 17.1. Mass (kilograms) of the various material components extracted from the 5 holes in the study
Volume (m3) Type
Builders rubble
Wood
Tyres
Glass
Metals
Plastic Film
Plastic bottles
Paper
Medical
Residual Waste
‘fines’ passing 80mm sieve
Total m3
Volume (m3)
29 m3
6 m3
1 m3
2 m3
4 m3
60 m3
15 m3
2 m3
0 m3
58 m3
131 m3
308m3
% Makeup
9.3%
2.0%
0.4%
0.5%
1.4%
19.5%
4.8%
0.7%
0.0%
18.8%
42.5%
100.0%
Table 17.2 The results presented in Table 17.1 and 17.2 are shown graphically in figures 17.4 and 17.5 below
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Figure 17.4: Graphical representation) of the various material components extracted from the 5 holes in the study relates to Table 1 above.
Figure 17.5: Graphical representation) of the various material components extracted from the five holes in the study relates to Table 2 above.
• A ll builders’ rubble was stockpiled and then sent to a crusher for reuse in roads or the like. There was no commercial value of this material, yet a saving of airspace. • Any wood/ trees/ stumps were sent to a stockpile which was later chipped and sent for composting. Only large fragments of timber were found. No small pieces of timber were found among the excavated waste (assumed to have decomposed). There was no commercial value of this material, yet a saving of airspace. • Any tyres were stockpiled on site for later use in embankment stabilisation/ erosion protection. 124
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There was no commercial value of this material, although there is a saving of airspace. • A ll glass, in its unwashed state, was sold to a local glass recycler (in Retreat, Cape Town, 2009) for approximately 18c per kilogram (excludes transportation). The fact that the glass was mixed and unwashed (dirty state) made the sale of the glass not as lucrative (and more challenging). • Metals, mixed and unwashed, were sold to a local scrap yard for approximately 50c per kilogram. • Plastics were stockpiled on site. Film-type plastics (bags, plastic-film, etc) were separated from PEtype plastic and HDPE-type plastics. There was limited demand for these plastics in their mixed and unwashed state. Those in the industry stated that it would be difficult to sell as the material was too dirty and had too much sand content. Other comments received were that the plastic film has no value as the cost to wash the plastic (sand causes damage to rotors) would be too high (washwater would also need to be replaced regularly for such material). Certain new industry could come online in 2010 which will use these reject plastics, in their unwashed state, to generate energy (waste-to-energy plant). • Paper and cardboard was returned to the landfill face as this material was partly degraded and soiled. • Minimal medical waste was uncovered and no hazardous waste was found. • Residual waste that could not be categorised or readily sorted was returned to the landfill face. • pH for the material coming out of all the holes was around 7,7. • The reuse of the ‘fines’ into the industry in some way (most obvious being topsoil on the landfill site – a non-commercial reuse) would have a noticeable impact on whether the operation of mining old waste is a beneficial and financially viable operation or not. From the chemical analysis of the ‘fines’ material, it is clear that the ‘fines’ would need to be chemically altered in some form. The 80mmsieved material is not suitable as an agricultural or garden topsoil or potting soil as it stands. One economical solution could be to use the 80mm-sieved ‘fines’ material as a sub-soil (not a topsoil) in its naturally occurring state, where it would influence plant growth ie if it were covered with at least 30mm of less-alkaline and finer material.
ECONOMICS
The method for extracting the waste was labour-intensive with machinery used only for the excavationwork and transportation-work, as indicated above. The capital cost of the physical study on site was (excluding VAT and professional fees but inclusive of site supervision and all labour, plant and materials): Description of item
Quantity
Unit
Rate
Amount
Sorting structure
1
Sum
R 158,601.00
R 158,601.00
Excavation of material from all 5 holes
250
m3
R 60.64
R 15,160.00
Manual sorting, measuring, analysis and disposal/sale/ stockpiling of material
250
m
R 617.50
R 154,375.00
TOTAL=
R 328,136.00
3
Figure 17.6
Note: the five holes were backfilled with builders’ rubble material arriving at the landfill site and done by City of Cape Town at no cost to this study. The 250m3 is the in-situ compact bulk density of the waste excavated. Therefore the cost of the structure, excavations, transporting, recording, sorting, etc, all inclusive, equated to R1 312.54 per ton extracted for this study. If the cost of the structure is excluded, then the cost equates to R678.14 per ton extracted for this study. the waste revolution HANDBOOK
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IMPACT INSTRUMENTS
About us Impact Instruments was founded in 2004 as a wholly women-owned company, supplying a vast range of high quality test instruments, for condition and environmental monitoring and shipping and handling. Proudly, we represent several leading, international manufacturing companies as sole agents in Southern Africa. Our goal is to not only sell the instrumentation and provide the surveys, but to create an awareness of the impact that the manufacturing industry is making on the environment. Our focus With a combined twenty eight years of industry experience, our specialisation is focused on three diverse portfolios - Condition Monitoring, Environmental Monitoring, and Shipping and Handling of goods in transit. Our target market incorporates the utilities, mining, pulp and paper, steel manufacturing, petrochemical and food and beverage industries. Condition monitoring equipment used for fault finding, assists in the conservation of energy and the prevention of breakdowns, which could lead to loss of machinery and possibly lives, as well as damage to the atmosphere. The environmental monitoring portfolio incorporates highly sensitive detectors for SF6 gas, ppb VOC levels, flue gas emissions, mercury vapour in atmosphere, and the ground monitoring of gases in boreholes. Goods in transit, including transformers, SF6 switchgear, and dangerous and fragile commodities, can be monitored throughout the supply chain, attributing responsibility to the negligent party in the event of incident. Our approach We strive to offer a professional, personal, friendly, fast and efficient service at all times, with an exceptionally high standard and attention to customer requirements. Tel : 011 234 4644 / Fax : 011 234 6063 / sales@impactinstruments.co.za www.impactinstruments.co.za
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Income from the sale of the glass and metals from all five holes (the only materials that were extracted and were able to be sold to recyclers) amounted to: Description of item
Quantity
Unit
Rate
Amount
Glass
434
kg
R 0.18
R 78.12
Metals
626
kg
R 0.50
R 313.00
TOTAL=
R 391.12
Table 17.3
Refer to the section above on materials that were sold, reused, recycled (and thereby providing airspace) and those materials that needed to be returned to the waste pile. Therefore, the cost of the operation (R328 136.00), excluding the cost of the sorting structure (R158 601.00), minus the revenue from the sales of recyclables (R391.12) equates to R676.58 per ton excavated under this study (R169 143.88). The volume of materials that were NOT returned to the waste pile under this study (builders’ rubble, wood, tyres, ‘fines’) including the volume of materials that were sold (metals and glass), amounts to 175,2m3 minus 30% bulking factor which equates to 134,8m3. This means that 115,2m3 was returned to the waste pile (plastic film, plastic bottles, paper and cardboard, medical, residual waste). Therefore, airspace and other benefits to mining the waste (after selling recyclables, after building a similar structure and executing the study in a similar fashion) for the composition of waste extracted equal to this study, must amount to R1 255.06/m3 or greater (R169 143.88/ 134.8m3).
Scenario 1: Say the above project was executed in the exact same manner, encountered the same materials, but extended over a 1-year period, 2-year period, 3-year period, 4-year period and a 5-year period. The airspace and other benefits to mining the waste (after selling recyclables and building a similar structure) for the composition of waste extracted (compared to the R1 255.06/m3 or greater R169 143.88/ 134.8m3 for the above study) would be: Project Period
Cumulative material excavated 1
Cumulative income from sale of recyclables (metal & glass) 2
Cost of structure paid over the project period 3
Cumulative cost of excavating, transporting, manual sorting, measuring, analysis and disposal/ sale/ stockpiling of material 4
The airspace and other benefits to mining the waste must be equal to or greater than:
(Years) (tons) (Rands) (Rands) (Rands) (Rands/ ton) 1 3,676 R 5,750.00 R 158,601.00 R 2,493,161.76 R 719.72 2 7,353 R 11,500.00 R 158,601.00 R 5,110,981.62 R 715.10 3 11,029 R 17,250.00 R 158,601.00 R 7,859,692.46 R 725.43 4 14,706 R 23,000.00 R 158,601.00 R 10,745,838.85 R 739.94 5 18,382 R 28,750.00 R 158,601.00 R 13,776,292.56 R 756.49 1 Using same rate of 250 cubic metres over a 17-day period, for 250 working days a year times the number of years. This assumes an average staff rate. 2 Assume R391 obtained from the sale of recyclables for the study (250 tons) which equates to R1.56/ton of waste extracted. Assume the rate for the sale of these two recyclables remains static over the project period (Wasteplan, 2010) and remains an average rate of sale. (Possibly a conservative approach.) 3 Assume the capital cost of the structure is spread over the project period, ignoring any loans, interest or the like. The structure is built in Year 1. 4 Assume that in YEAR 1 that the rate for the operation remains the same as the study (R678.14 per ton extracted) but the rate increases at 5% per annum, compounded. Table 17.4
Table 17.4 shows that doing the project over a longer period (compared to the 17-day study period) extracting more tons of waste does bring down the REQUIRED value of airspace and other benefits to the waste revolution HANDBOOK
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ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT AND GEOGRAPHIC INFORMATION SYSTEMS TRAINING VISION AND MISSION The aim of the Environmental Management and Geographic Information Systems Training (EMGIS) is to reduce the burden of human illness and dysfunction from environmental exposures by analysing natural resources such as water, soils, and plants; EMGIS achieves its aim through multidisciplinary research programs, prevention and intervention efforts. EMGIS also communicates strategies that encompass training, education, and community outreach. EMGIS ACTIVITIES EMGIS assesses the condition of waterworks, boreholes and protected springs and also audits the skills of the waterworks operators. We mentor the operators on site and ensure the attainment of the Blue Water Drop status for waterworks as well as the Green Drop status for sewerage works. EMGIS manufactures and supplies bleach (Sodium Hypo.) for water treatment in the rural areas. EMGIS also conducts awareness campaigns on water quality and waterborne diseases. EMGIS develop and prepare standard operation procedures (SOP) for waterworks and wastewater manuals and training materials for environmental, waterworks and wastewater operators. EMGIS DIRECTORS T. J. NTOZAKHE (PhD): Dr. Ntozakhe obtained his doctorate degree in Analytical Chemistry at the University of Cincinnati (USA) where he also served as a lecturer. He has worked for Sentrachem as a manager of Analytical Laboratories, during which he worked closely with SABS and gained valuable experience in quality systems(ISO 9000), good laboratory practice (GLP) and laboratory accreditation. In 1996 he served on RAF, an advisory body to the minister of Trade and Industry on laboratory accreditation policy. He has also worked for Sasol Research and Development Division (SASTECH) as a chief Scientist. Dr. Ntozakhe is currently in the Department of Chemistry at Walter Sisulu University of Science and Technology. He has researched extnsively on drinking water quality, waste water management, waste management, river health, the traditional medicinal plants and essential oils. His business acumen in unparalleled. N. MYEKO obtained honours degree in Geography with a distiction in Water Resources Management at Walter Sisulu University. Presently she has register for a Masters degree (analysing water, soils and herbal plants). She also obtained a master diploma in Human Resources Management at Rand Afrikaans University . Her company provided services on medical waste management. She hasresearched on drinking water quality, waste management, river health, and the traditional medicinal plants. Contact us for any of your needs in portable and waste water.
Contact details P O Box 1417, Mthatha, 5099 Cell: Ms Myeko 083 2977226; Dr Ntozakhe 082 6919282
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>R719/ton (to make the project financially viable) but this value does increase over time due to the assumption that the rising cost of labour and materials has tended to outstrip the pay-back value for recyclables in the recent past, even if the structure is paid back over the longer period. The income from the sale of recyclables is poor (very low) due to the degraded and dirty state of the materials. The income is well short of what can be obtained from a clean Materials Recovery Facility.
Scenario 2: An alternative to reduce costs is to fully mechanise the operation of extraction, transporting, sorting, weighing, etc, and to increase the volumes. This has not been modelled for this chapter.
CONCLUSION:
The viability of mining old waste has benefits. These were (from the materials that was excavated from the landfill site): • The metals and glass were able to be sold to recyclers. • The timber was added to the green’s stockpile for chipping. • The pieces of builders, rubble that could be extracted (ie large pieces of concrete, bricks, etc) were added to the stockpile for crushing. • Tyres were stockpiled for later use on the site. • Airspace was created by the materials that were not returned to the waste pile. By recycling these materials, airspace was saved with minimal income (because of the materials being dirty/contaminated). The draw-backs from the operation were: • The material that passed through the 80mm sieve (referred to as ‘fines’) is chemically not a soil that can be used as a topsoil or the like, without some chemical enhancements. It can be used as a cover material, but cannot be used for plant growth. • All plastic was too dirty for any recyclers to take (even for free) so was sent back to the landfill face. • All paper was too spoilt for recycling and was sent back to the landfill face. • The rest was ‘waste’ (residual waste) as it was material that could not be sorted into categories and was retained on the 80mm sieve. This was also sent back to the landfill site. • The operation disturbs methane generation and any future gas-to-energy facilities. The cost to extract the waste, sort and transport/ dispose amounted to approximately R 678.14 per cubic metre (excluding the sorting structure). Therefore, airspace and other benefits to mining the waste (after selling recyclables, after building a similar structure and executing the study in a similar function) for the composition of waste extracted equal to this study, must amount to R1 255.06/m3 or greater.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
City of Cape Town for their ingenuity and support as owners of site, operators of site, employer, instigators of project.
REFERENCES
Blayblock A., (1994). Soil Salinity, salt tolerance and growth potential of Horticultural and Landscape Plants. College of Agriculture. USA. Dr Kotze, (2009). Bemlab, Stellenbosch, South Africa. Effect of Gypsum and Calcium Carbonate on Plants. www.fao.org Dr G Cooper. (2010). Institute for Plant Production. Department of Agriculture, Provincial Government of Western Cape, Elsenburg, Stellenbosch.
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ENERGY FROM WASTE – AN OVERVIEW OF AFRICA’S FIRST LANDFILL GAS TO ENERGY clean Mechanism PROJECTS Lindsay J. Strachan and Jon Pass Directors and Co-owners GreenEng (Pty) Ltd
INTRODUCTION “Build the Stadium, they will come” Field of Dreams (1989) The City of Durban (eThekwini Municipality) spearheaded ‘energy from waste’ technology and the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) market from as early as 2002 with the development of large landfill gas to electricity projects - in particular the landfill gas projects of the Mariannhill and Bisasar Road Landfills. Following protracted environmental authorisation processes where both landfill gasfired internal combustion engine technology and the CDM concept were challenged, these projects were both CDM-registered and operationally commissioned in December 2006 and March 2009, respectively. Only one other landfill gas to energy project has since been commissioned (as well as CDM registered), this being the Alton Landfill Gas-to-Electricity project by ENER-G Systems. While there are three other CDM registered landfill gas projects in SA, only two are operational and none produce energy. The Central Energy Fund (CEF) of South Africa has no fewer than 18 proposed landfill gas projects having submitted Project Idea Notes (PIN’s) to the Designated National Authority (DNA), but none, in our opinion, are set to materialise. The South African Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) market is growing at a fairly slow pace with some 140 projects now submitted to the country’s Designated National Authority (DNA) yet only 17 projects (as at September 2010) are registered as CDM projects by the CDM Executive Board (EB) of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). South Africa may be described as a latecomer to the CDM (Engineering News, 3 August, 2007) but to the contrary, South Africa was one of the first entrants back in 2003. However, the CDM market has been significantly delayed by protracted environmental authorisation processes and detailed procurement legislation – in particular by the Municipal Finance Management Act 56 of 2003 (the MFMA, 2003). Indeed, the latter is a chief reason for the scarcity of Municipal CDM projects throughout the country. The Durban landfill gas CDM projects were on the very first list of what were 14 projects proposed to the UNFCCC in 2003 applying for methodology approval (in the pre-ACM0001 methodology days). In fact, the Landfill Gas CDM methodology of the UNFCCC was ‘Out of Africa’ and is Proudly South African. However, because of the protracted EIA processes, South Africa literally dropped off the CDM map until 2005. The first registered CDM project in South Africa was that of Kuyasa, a low income housing scheme which was registered in August 2005. The 2012 CDM window of opportunity has the waste revolution HANDBOOK
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rapidly closed and South African CDMs are beginning to miss the opportunity to offer energy-fromwaste projects as environmentally responsible waste management action – as well as valuable efforts towards combating climate change and generating renewable energy. Moreover, the economicallychallenged waste management industry has certainly much to gain from CDM.
THE CDM PROTOTYPE – THE DURBAN LANDFILL GAS TO ELECTRICITY PROJECTS The World Bank’s Prototype Carbon Fund (PCF) is most appropriately the funding mechanism for South Africa’s prototype CDM project ie The eThekwini Municipality’s Mariannhill Landfill Gas to Electricity CDM Project. This project was conceptualised in early 2002 and was rapidly brought into a position of pre-CDM registration following completion of a baseline methodology, project design document (PDD), project monitoring plan and receipt of conditional host country approval. In fact, a proudly South African result was the development of the Approved baseline methodology AM0010 that can be viewed on the UNFCCC’s website (UNFCCC; 2005) , entitled: “Landfill gas capture and electricity generation projects where landfill gas capture is not mandated by law. Source: This methodology is based on the Durban Landfill Gas to Electricity Project in South Africa …” The Durban landfill gas to electricity CDM projects have an ultimate combined design capacity of 10MW of green power. The Bisasar Road Landfill will generate 6-8MW of sustained power for some 10 to 12 years while the Mariannhill landfill could ultimately offer up to some 2MW of renewable energy power. The Durban project adopts proven technology of feeding the landfill gas into purpose-built spark-ignition engines each with a 500 KW to 1MW electricity generation capacity. The electricity is fed directly into Durban’s grid. Colloquially speaking, the eThekwini Municipality has not ‘reinvented the wheel’ but has implemented the current best environmental and economic practice of treating landfill gas, ensuring that modern tried-and-tested technology was procured. The project procurement sought equipment that offered the most effective environmental as well as economical package to the life of the project deal of some 12 to 14 years. Landfill gas generators can vary greatly from brand to brand in terms of performance, durability and running costs. Moreover, the extent of emissions from the engines is crucial. The assessment research of Gillett, Gregory and Blowes (2002) reflects that certain generators may have high ‘gas-leaks’ in their systems and offer unreliable regulation of exhaust emissions. It was essential that eThekwini procured the right equipment for the green power job! Also, flares were specified as closed high temperature type flares. Currently, overall power generation capacity of the project is at 7,5MW (1MW at Mariannhill and 6,5MW at Bisasar Road) and offers SA a leading example of an operational project of its type.
Figure 18.1: The Mariannhill 1MW (left) and Bisasar Road 6,5MW (right) landfill gas to electricity CDM projects which were CDMregistered and commissioned in 2006 and 2009, respectively.
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GROWING CDM PROJECTS “The coming into force of the Kyoto Protocol is a major stride forwards in the fight against global climate change and global warming,” said Mr Marthinus van Schalkwyk, the Minister of Environmental Affrairs and Tourism (Press, Feb, 2005). This may indeed be true but the strides being taken to realise emission reductions soon, through Kyoto’s flexible mechanism of the CDM are being taken by other countries and not necessarily by South Africa nor any other African country. However, a future prospective was elucidated at the COP 12 and COP/MOP 2 (Conference/Meeting of Parties) in Kenya. Attending country representative ministers highlighted their awareness of the potentially devastating impacts of climate change on livelihoods in Africa, the continent’s adaptation challenges, and the lack of capacity to share in CDM projects. Ministers looked forward to active participation during the African COP that was held in Nairobi in November, 2006. While there was a surge of ‘project developers’ entering into Africa from 2006/7 seeking viable CDM projects, the 2008 credit crunch saw very few projects materialising. In a reviving economy it is apparent that from 2010 a CDM revival will hopefully occur and project development funding will be realised for Africa. To date (as at September, 2010) of the 2 363 registered CDM projects internationally, there are only 46 registered CDM projects from the African continent and 17 in South Africa. Of all registered CDM projects internationally, 476 (some 20%) are of the ‘Waste Handling and Disposal’ sector. Figure 18.2 shows the project distribution, illustrating the low volume of projects in Africa. To offer project development comparisons, in 2005 Malaysia had no registered CDM projects and were seeking advice from South Africa. Today, Malaysia has 81 CDM projects with an annual Certified Emission Reductions generation of some 5,1 million CERs compared to South Africa’s 2,96 million CERs per annum.
Region
Number of registered CDM projects
NAI-Africa (AFR)
46
NAI-Asia and the Pacific (ASP)
1826
NAI-Eastern Europe (Other)
13
NAI-Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC)
478
Figure 18.2: Project Type Share of Registered CDM Projects Worldwide (as at September 2010)
THE ESTABLISHED SCIENCE OF LANDFILL GAS TO ENERGY Landfill gas extraction engineering isn’t an exact science and ‘suck-it-and-see’ methods are widely applied, exposing risks to a landfill-gas-to-energy type CDM project. The science of landfill gas and its recovery from landfill sites is widely known and established internationally. The Sardinia Landfill Symposia since 1987, for example, have documented much work (Cristensen, Cossu and Stegman; Biogas, 1996) on the subject through to present day. The mass transfer process of waste in landfills, which undergoes biological, chemical and physical transformation, gives rise to the formation of landfill gas. The presence, formation and composition of landfill gas have been the subject of widespread detailed study in the past four decades. Early literature on landfill gas was derived arguably from the milestone works of Farquhar and Rovers (1973), Ham and Bookter (1982) and Stegmann (1982). Ham and Bookter (1982) studied landfill gas back in 1966 by initiating a project to study landfill gas and the waste revolution HANDBOOK
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liquid emissions from landfill test cells over a monitoring period of 6-7 years. It is by now widely known that the main components of landfill gas are methane (CH4) and carbon dioxide (CO2). Further to this, it is widely accepted that the high concentration of methane occurring in landfill gas, typically up to 60% by volume (Christensen et al, 1996), presents an explosion risk, yet a viable source of power. Landfill gas control started in the USA in the late 1960s and early 1970s, where large landfills had been developed (Christensen, Cossu and Stegmann, 1996). The first plant to extract and utilise landfill gas was commissioned in Europe in Germany in the mid 1970s, incorporating a great deal of experience gained in the USA. The first utilisation of landfill gas in South Africa was arguably the Robinson Deep landfill gas scheme in the 1980’s where a goldmine gold ore extraction process utilised the landfill gas. The next landfill gas extraction projects in South Africa were then spear-headed in the early 1990s by DSW (Durban Solid Waste, City of Durban – now the Department of Cleansing and Solid Waste of the eThekwini Municipality) and have been sustained till present day. Methane presents a carbon gas emission that is 21 times more potent than carbon dioxide in terms of its global warming potential as a recognised greenhouse gas (GHG) (UNFCCC; 2005). This factor of 21 (to be amended to 23) is often referred to as the financial ‘Methane Kick’ of a Landfill Gas based project as it is multiplied by the tons of methane emissions to provide equivalent carbon dioxide emissions (CO2eq). This project ‘kick’ provides CDM project viability with landfill sites and is a prime reason why landfill gas utilisation projects have been referred to as the ‘Low Hanging Fruit’ CDM projects.
CONCLUSIONS Climate change is real and is caused by the increase in the atmospheric concentration of so-called greenhouse gases (GHG’s). The human contribution to climate change, or anthropogenic climate change, by the disposal of wastes in landfill sites is significant, eg in Durban (South Africa), some 25% of the City’s greenhouse gas emissions may be attributed to landfill sites. However, the high methane volume component of landfill gas offers a current resource of green power to South Africa. It is planned that the country’s renewable energy target will be supplemented by some 6% of landfill gas. Typically, the utilisation of landfill gas is not economically viable as the cost of electrical power is still comparatively ‘cheap’ (albeit that the authors avoid the argument of ‘how cheap’ is the ‘environmental cost’). The injection of the carbon finance, derived from a CDM project undertaking, is required to allow landfill gas utilisation projects in South Africa to be viable. However, it is essential to realise, particularly by the general public, that CDM landfill gas CDM projects where energy recovery is demanded, is not highly profitable. The South African presidency ratified the Kyoto Protocol that was adopted on 11t December, 1997, and was subsequently established as a legitimate host country for the commissioning of CDM projects with the launching of SA’s Designated National Authority (DNA) on 1 December, 2004. Russia’s signing of the Protocol on 16 February, 2005, finally brought the commitments of the signing parties of Kyoto into full effect. The lack of CDM projects in South Africa and on the African continent under the UNFCCC’s ‘Waste Handling and Disposal’ portfolio is alarming and certainly the waste management industry should make better effect of the opportunities presented by the development of CDM projects. The Municipal Finance Management Act (MFMA No. 56, 2003) and its associated Supply Change Management Policy that is adopted by a municipality, presents significantly tight legal constraints on the development of CDM projects, and in particular, the sale of carbon credits. While the local 134
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government sector holds arguably the highest potential for leading the way with the development of CDM projects, the authors of this paper believe that public awareness on renewable energy, climate change combating and CDM projects should not be left solely to the project proponent. It would be advantageous to the development of CDM projects for there to be an increase in demand pressure from a national level where renewable energy and alternative energy (alternative to coal fired energy) initiatives are strongly supported. Undoubtedly, the authors also feel, that the developmental success of any CDM project is largely attributed to the passion and drive of the allocated project management – or colloquially termed the ‘project champion’.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS The authors thank the City Manager of the eThekwini Municipality, Dr Michael Sutcliffe who pushed the Durban CDM projects forward. Many thanks to John Parkin and Roy Wienand who offer their continued support to the project. The highest plaudit to Marc Wright who continues to manage the projects day-to-day with engineering assistance from Logan Moodley. Also, the authors commend Richard Winn and his team for their ‘greening hands’ making eThekwini’s Mariannhill Landfill a tourist destination!
REFERENCES
Christensen T.H., Cossu R. and Stegmann R. (1996). Landfilling of Waste: Biogas, ed. by T.H.Christensen, R.Cossu & R.Stegmann, Elsevier Science. DSW (Department of Cleansing and Solid Waste) and Enviros (UK). Durban landfills-gas-electricity project validation report. Enviros Consulting Ltd, Ref. DU0340004A, Report Ver. 4, May 2003. Farquhar G J and Rovers F A. (1973). Gas Production During Refuse Decomposition. Water, Air and Soil Pollution, 2, 1973. Reprinted in Sardinia ’97 Proceedings, CISA, Italy, Vol I, pp 3-12. Ham R K and Bookter T J. (1982). Decomposition of Solid Waste in Test Lysimeters. Journal of the Environmental Division, Proceedings of the American Society of Civil Engineers, © ASCE, Vol. 108, No. EE6, December 1982. Reprinted in Sardinia ’97 Proceedings, CISA, Italy, Vol I, pp 13-36. Point Carbon (2005-2010). PointCarbon website read 2005 through 2010. www.pointcarbon.com . Stegmann R. (1982). Description of a Laboratory Scale Method to Investigate Anaerobic Degradation Processes Taking Place in Solid Waste. Müll und Abfall, 2, Translated into English and reprinted in Proc. for Sardinia ‘97 Sixth Int. Landfill Symposium, CISA, Vol I, pp. 37-44. Strachan L J, Rampersad R, Wienand R, Moroka S, Couth R, Beg N and Chronowski R. (2003). Viable Landfill Gas to Electricity Generation Projects Through a CDM – A First For Africa. Proceedings Sardinia 2003, Ninth International Landfill Symposium, CISA, Cagliari, Italy UNFCCC (United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change) (2005). UNFCCC’s website as read 2005 through 2010. www.unfccc.com.
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Table 19.1: Summary of Composition of Waste from households as delivered to landfills
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What’s the compostion of your domestic waste stream? IS THERE VALUE IN RECYCLING? Peter Silbemagl Director PD Naidoo and Associates Consulting Engineers (Pty) Ltd
INTRODUCTION
In order to answer the question “Is there value in recycling?” or “Is recycling worth it?” or “Can recycling be viable?” (presumably financially viable), you need to know what is in your waste stream. Gone are the bad old days where only very few waste managers cared about the composition of the waste stream, when the paradigm was ‘collect it all, transport it as efficiently as possible and dispose it all as cheaply as possible’. Today, in order to plan our recycling, treatment and recovery options (and our eventual disposal of the ever-shrinking remainder), we need to know the composition of our waste streams. If we look at the general domestic waste generated by households, this waste can broadly be classified (in terms of material types processing options) as: Recyclables: (Typically, but not only): Paper/cardboard Plastic Metal Glass Compostable: Garden greens Putrescible: food leftovers Inerts Remaining High Calorific: (items that have high energy value) fibreglass rubber combination plastics (not recyclable) Other remainder: Sand Broken crockery Alternatively, the domestic waste stream can be classified in terms of granolumetric sizes (ie percentage of waste stream falling through certain sieve sizes).
WASTE CHARACTERISATION
Experience in South Africa
It should be noted that in South Africa there is some experience in waste characterisation studies which have determined the composition of the waste based on material classification, eg paper, plastic, glass, metals, etc. It is not known whether any surveys (other than some unpublished data from Bloemfontein) have included a size categorisation to categorise the waste into sizes, eg below 60mm, 60 – 160mm and above 160mm, and then to determine the materials in each of the size categories. Adler et al reported at the 3rd International Symposium on MBT and MRF held in May 2009 the waste revolution HANDBOOK
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in Hannover on the size distribution of the residual waste found in French households. This survey showed that approximately 20% of their household waste is less than 20mm in diameter and that 80% of this fraction is of an organic nature. Likewise, about 80% of the fraction between 100 and 350mm are recyclable materials – paper, plastic, etc. Recent experience by the author in Bloemfontein shows a very different situation in South Africa. This information is important for the planning of recycling or recovery projects or MBT technology options.
Background to waste characterisation in South Africa The background to waste characterisation in South Africa is described in the Waste Characterisation Discussion Document draft report of 31 May, 2005, forming part of the series of documents published as part of the National Waste Management Strategy Implementation (DEAT Report No. 12/9/6). The discussion document also proposes categories for general and hazardous waste to be used for capturing of information to the waste information system (see Table 3 of Waste Characterisation Discussion Document). It is recommended that the waste categories as described in the Waste Characterisation Discussion Document draft report of 31 May, 2005, published by DEAT as part of the National Waste Management Strategy Implementation (DEAT Report No. 12/9/6), be used. It does seem that surprisingly little information is available on any recent waste characterisation surveys that may have been undertaken in South Africa, other than for two studies in Johannesburg, two studies conducted in the Western Cape (one by the Provincial Department of Environmental Affairs & Development Planning and the second by the City of Cape Town) and some work in Rustenburg and Bloemfontein. However, a useful description of a recommended methodology is found in Appendix 6 of the Guidelines for the Development of First Generation IWMPs published by the Gauteng Department of Agriculture, Conservation, Environment and Land Affairs. In this document the methodology for the characterisation of household round collected waste and also some notes on business waste characterisation are provided. Much of the methodology is based on experience described in a report Waste Stream Analysis of the General Waste Stream prepared for DANCED and the City of Johannesburg by Jarrod Ball & Associates, 2001. The results of that survey are summarised below.
Table 19.2: Summary of “Waste Stream Analysis of the General Waste Stream” (Jarrod Ball & Assocs, 2001)
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Of interest is to note that the analysis and characterisation of the waste was undertaken at the relatively large landfill sites of Johannesburg and was undertaken on waste delivered to the landfill sites by the municipal waste collection system, typically rear-end loaders. A slightly different approach was taken by Kwezi V3 and DMS Environmental Services, as described in their Material Reclamation Study undertaken for Pikitup Johannesburg in 2004. In this study waste was sampled along the collection routes, ie before disposal to landfill, in order to understand the origin of the waste better. The results of this study are summarised in the table below:
Category (by mass)
Household income level High Middle
Low
Very Low
Total Plastic
4.7%
5.4%
3.4%
4.2%
Total Paper
11.4%
9.4%
7.1%
4.6%
Total Containers
8.6%
9.1%
6.9%
2.1%
Total Recyclables
24.7%
23.9%
17.4%
10.9%
All other waste
75.3%
76.1%
82.6%
88.9%
Total:
100%
100%
100%
100%
Table 19.3: Summary of Residential Waste Composition Data shown by percentage (KV3/DMS 2005)
Both surveys were conducted a few years ago in Johannesburg. Consumer products and spending patterns may have changed since that time. Likewise, products used and consumer behaviour may be different in another municipal area. It should also be noted that the sample size used by Kwezi V3/ DMS Environmental Services was very small. The results from the 2007 survey conducted throughout the Western Cape by the Department of Environmental Affairs & Development Planning categorised approximately 20 tons of waste in the towns of the Western Cape outside Cape Town and another almost 20 tons at two landfill sites within the metropolitan area of Cape Town. The results of these surveys are summarised in the table overleaf. These latter surveys undertook the waste classification into the recommended waste categories as described earlier in the DEAT report. A more comprehensive survey consisting of approximately 168 tons of waste was conducted by the City of Cape Town in 2007/2008. Unfortunately this survey did not follow the recommended waste categories and therefore some of the deeper information is not available, eg volumes of PET, PVC, etc. The results of a sample of that survey are shown in table 19.1 on page 136.
Potential recyclables versus probable recyclables
The waste characterisation studies provide information on the potential recyclables. The quantity of recyclables that can actually be recovered is, however, much lower. For instance, schemes where separation at source is used (separate bag with recyclables is put out by households) reduce the volume of the domestic waste stream by 30% to 50%, but only achieve a reduction of 10% to 12% by mass, even in areas with high participation rates, say 60% to 70% [WMRIG Seminar, July 2008]. (Many recyclables have a very low density – plastic cooldrink bottles take up much space, but weigh little.) Many of the potential recyclables are mis-sorted, but even more are too dirty or have no or too low market values to make the separation process and subsequent transport viable. Even with a semiautomated mechanical materials recovery facility treating a waste stream after separation at source, the additional reduction of the waste stream by recovery of the recyclables is less than 15% to 20% by mass [Jan Palm, perscom 2009]. the waste revolution HANDBOOK
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Table 19.4
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All the surveys described above characterised waste according to material types. No categorisation concerned the size distribution of the waste stream.
CONCLUSION
So what have we learned? • T he composition of the domestic waste varies much from area to area, over time (both seasonally and over the years), from community to community, and is influenced by events eg. Fifa World Cup, Argus Cycle Tour, Christmas period, etc. • The potential recyclables make up a considerable portion of the domestic waste stream, although the percentage of recyclables that can realistically be separated and that have enough economic value constitutes a much smaller percentage. • The amount of biodegradable waste, eg garden and food waste, sometimes constitutes a larger proportion than the recyclables – especially if you include the ‘dirty’ paper and cardboard in the biodegradable fraction. • There are emerging best practices for waste categorisation and reporting, based on local experience. • There remains a need to determine the composition of the waste stream by size. • Even less information is available on the composition of the industrial and commercial waste streams and of builders’ rubble.
REFERENCES
Tygerberg Refuse Transfer Station and Materials Recovery Facility: Comprehensive Report on Waste Generation Model and Waste Streams, Alternative Technologies and Options for Materials Recovery and Transfer. Report by PD Naidoo & Associates for the City of Cape Town. October 2009. A Practical Guide to Municipal Solid Waste Management: Some Lessons Learned from Feasibility Studies for Public-Private Partnerships by the Municipal Infrastructure Investment Unit (MIIU). Funded by USAID. 2005. Waste Characterisation: Mapping the Economic Potential of Waste, paper presented at Wastecon 2008, Institute of Waste Management of Southern Africa. (Coauthored by Peter Silbernagl with K.Chetty, R.Britten, G.M.Arendse, E.Hanekom and J.Palm.) October 2008.
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a short overview of CURRENT WASTE MANAGEMENT LEGISLATION IN SOUTH AFRICA Mark Dittke (BA LLB LLM Environmental Law (UCT)) Attorney of the High Court of South Africa Cape Town
WHERE WE ARE AT TODAY The waste industry today is under major review and change. With environmental legislation forcing cleaner waste management over a decade ago, to new air pollution laws and other “pollution prevention� laws being introduced, waste management practice is now considerably different to where it was even a year ago, and further changes are currently being debated. Legal requirements, control and enforcement will therefore become even stricter. This, coupled with greater awareness by industry and individuals, will result in further changes. Below is a snapshot of where we are now on a national, provincial and local legislation level and comments on where we are heading.
INTRODUCTION Even though the promulgation of the Waste Act, 58 of 2008, has brought structure and guidance into South African waste management legislation, it still leaves many gaps. This is because the Act was drafted in wide terms and essentially provides more a framework than specific waste management obligations. Thus certain waste types (eg health care risk waste, e-waste) will not be satisfactorily covered by the Act. It is, therefore, partly still necessary to fall back on to other legislation. For instance, if waste causes water or air pollution, the legislation dealing with these areas will become applicable as well during an investigation of the offence. These anomalies will hopefully be sorted out at some stage through more focussed and dedicated legislation. In addition, waste collection and disposal is a functional area assigned to municipalities in terms of the Constitution. As such they are empowered to draft their own waste by-laws; these govern the actual management aspects, and to a degree, prevention, separation, recycling etc. This chapter will, therefore, examine waste legislation on all three levels of government, although only a brief overview will be provided due to space constraints.
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NATIONAL LEGISLATION The following is a brief overview of South African national environmental, health and safety, as well as general legislation dealing with waste management.
Waste Act, 59 of 2008 The Act is very detailed, and for summary purposes only the most important provisions are set out below. In terms of section 14(1) the Minister may declare a waste to be a priority waste if there are reasonable grounds that it poses a threat to health, well-being or the environment because of its quantity or composition and (a) That specific waste management measures are required; or (b) That the imposition of specific measures may improve reduction, reuse, recycling and recovery rates or reduce health and environmental impacts. The consequence of such declaration is that no person may import, manufacture, process, sell or export a priority waste or a product that is likely to result in the generation of a priority waste unless it complies with: (a) The waste management measures contemplated in the Act; (b) An industrial waste management plan; or (c) Any other requirement in terms of the Act. While no priority waste has been identified to date, it is clear what the practical repercussions will be for the affected group of persons. This may mean that they could, for instance, be required to introduce special collection and disposal systems for the priority waste (eg e-waste). A general duty in respect of waste management is set out in section 16 which states that: (1) A holder of waste must, within the holder’s power, take all reasonable measures to: (a) avoid the generation of waste and where such generation cannot be avoided, to minimise the toxicity and amounts of waste that are generated; (b) reduce, re-use, recycle and recover waste; (c) where waste must be disposed of, ensure that the waste is treated and disposed of in an environmentally sound manner; (d) manage the waste in such a manner that it does not endanger health or the environment or cause a nuisance through noise, odour or visual impacts; (e) prevent any employee or any person under his or her supervision from contravening this Act; and (f ) prevent the waste from being used for an unauthorised purpose. Any person selling a product that is likely to result in the generation of hazardous waste must take reasonable steps to inform the public of the impact of that waste on health and the environment. The reduction, reuse, recycling or recovery of waste is only permissible if it uses less natural resources than its disposal, and is less harmful to the environment than disposal (section 17). The Minister may also require any person or category of persons to: (a) Provide for the reduction, reuse, recycling and recovery of products or components of a product manufactured or imported; or
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(b) Include a determined percentage of recycled material in a produced, imported or manufactured product. Section 18 deals with extended producer responsibility (EPR) and allows the Minister, after consultation with the Minister of Trade and Industry, to: (a) identify a product or class of products in respect of which EPR applies; (b) specify the EPR measures to be taken; and (c) identify the person or category of persons who must implement EPR measures. The EPR measures which must be implemented are set out in section 18(2), and may include: • The financial and institutional arrangements of a waste minimisation programme; • The percentage of products that must be recovered; • Waste labelling requirements; • The design, composition or production of a product or packaging (including the use of clean production measures; restricting the composition, volume or weight of packaging; design of packaging so that it can be reduced, reused, recycled or recovered); • The carrying out a product life cycle assessment; and • Informing the public of the impacts of waste emanating from the product on health and the environment. Just as with priority waste those identified producers will be required to implement either specific production changes (eg changing the design or making use of some recycled material), or to introduce a take back system for their end of life products or waste. Waste may only be collected by a person who is: (a) A municipality or municipal service provider; (b) Authorised by law to collect that waste, where authorisation is required; or (c) Not prohibited from collecting that waste. This means that waste contractors or collectors must be authorised (or exempted) to do so. In practice this would be dealt with in terms of municipal by-laws. Where hazardous waste is transported for purposes other than disposal, a person transporting the waste must, before offloading the waste from the vehicle, ensure that the facility or place to which the waste is transported, is authorised to accept such waste and must obtain written confirmation that the waste has been accepted (section 25(4)). This is potentially problematic as it seems to prohibit the collection and transportation of such waste to parties that can either reuse, recycle or use the waste as material for their processes. Part 7 of Chapter 4 discusses industry waste management plans (IWMP). This would be in respect of industries or waste generation activities affecting more than one province. A category of persons or an industry could then be required to draw up and submit such plan for approval by the Minister or MEC (if an activity is carried out in that particular province). Section 30 lists numerous factors which must be considered in the plan. To date no industries were identified. The tyre industry has, however, already published a draft IWMP some time back, although to the best of our knowledge this is not formally approved by the authorities. These plans will have to take cognisance of the Waste Act principles, and will therefore need to address issues like, eg collection or recycling targets, cleaner production, waste prevention and minimisation. the waste revolution HANDBOOK
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Chapter 5 governs the licensing of waste management activities and largely deals with issues like the application procedure, contents of licences, renewal, revoking, surrender etc. The actual activities which will (or may) require a licence are set out in a separate Notice (see 2.2 below). Lastly, in terms of section 69 the Minister may make a host of Regulations; to date none have been promulgated. List of Waste Management Activities which have, or are likely to have a Detrimental Effect on the Environment, GN 718 of 2009 According to this Notice no person may commence, undertake or conduct a waste management activity listed in the schedule unless being in possession of a licence. As part of the licence application an environmental impact assessment (EIA) must be undertaken. The Notice is divided into Categories A and B. Category A requires only a Basic Assessment (ie not a ‘full’ EIA) as per GN R 386 of 2006 (the second of three EIA Regulations) for the following: • Storage of waste; • Reuse, recycling and recovery; • Treatment of waste; • Disposal of waste; • Storage, treatment and processing of animal waste; and • Construction, expansion or decommissioning of facilities and associated structures and infrastructure. Category B requires scoping followed by a ‘full’ EIA as per GN R 387 (the third of three EIA Regulations) for the following: • Storage of hazardous waste; • Reuse, recycling and recovery; • Treatment of waste; • Disposal of waste on land; and • Construction of facilities and associated structures and infrastructure. Various quantities and volumes are set out with the individual activities; these should be consulted to determine if a licence is required. A ‘facility for a waste management activity’ is defined as a place, infrastructure, structure or containment of any kind, wherein, upon or at, a waste management activity takes place and includes a waste transfer station, container yard, landfill site, incinerators, lagoons, recycling and composting facilities. Persons who lawfully conduct any of the above waste management activities on the date of the coming into effect of this Notice (ie 3 July 2009) may continue with those activities until such time that the Minister calls upon them to apply for a licence. Thus, if a permit in terms of section 20 of the Environment Conservation Act was issued, or if some other law authorised the activity, the carrying on of such activity is regarded as lawful. Should no such permit or other authorisation be in place, an application, either under Category A or B, must be submitted.
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National Environmental Management Act, 107 of 1998 This Act (NEMA) is the framework legislation governing environmental matters and all other related legislation must be read subject to its provisions. While NEMA does not deal much with waste management per se, it nonetheless sets out some important provisions. Thus, it requires that waste is avoided, or where it cannot altogether be avoided, that it is minimised and reused or recycled where possible and otherwise disposed of in a responsible manner (section 2(4)(a)(iv)). There is a duty on persons to take reasonable measures to prevent pollution or degradation of the environment from occurring, continuing or recurring, or in so far as such harm is authorised by law or cannot reasonably be avoided or stopped, to minimise and rectify such pollution or degradation of the environment (section 28(1)). This duty rests on, among others, the land owner, person in control or user thereof (section 28(2)).
National Water Act, 36 of 1998 The Act defines ‘waste’ as any solid material or material that is suspended, dissolved or transported in water (including sediment) and which is spilled or deposited on land or into a water resource in such volume, composition or manner as to cause, or to be reasonably likely to cause, the water resource to be polluted (section 1). The land owner, person in control, user or occupier must take all reasonable measures to prevent water pollution from occurring, continuing or recurring (section 19(1)).
DWAF Minimum Requirements In 1998 the former Department of Water Affairs and Forestry (‘DWAF’) published detailed Minimum Requirements dealing with • Waste Disposal by Landfill; • Handling, Classification and Disposal of Hazardous Waste; and • Water Monitoring at Waste Management Facilities. Waste is categorised into various groups (domestic, industrial, commercial), while hazardous waste falls into nine different classes. Landfill sites themselves are classified differently; this defines which waste types they may receive. The Minimum Requirements for the Handling, Classification and Disposal of Hazardous Waste (MRHCDHW) are the most relevant for waste management purposes. Disposal of hazardous waste may take place only at an authorised landfill (ordinarily rated as H:H or H:h), although current practice certainly is different due to lack of awareness, and possibly unwillingness, by authorities and the public, as well as little or no controls at landfill sites. Storage of hazardous waste is dealt with extensively in Section 10 of the MRHCDHW, and certain precautionary measures and steps are outlined. Storage times (section 10.2) and volumes (depending on the hazard rating) are regulated as well, although these will now have to be read subject to the Listing Notice in terms of the Waste Act (see 2.2 above). It is understood that the Minimum Requirements Series will be replaced by a Waste Classification Management System (currently being drafted). See also below at 2.10 for more details.
Air Quality Act, 39 of 2004 and related legislation This Act entered fully into force on 1 April 2010. While it does not deal explicitly with waste incineration the waste revolution HANDBOOK
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it does impose various duties on persons to prevent air pollution. The registration certificates issued under the now repealed Atmospheric Pollution Prevention Act (APPA) will be replaced over time by atmospheric emission licences under the Air Quality Act. The burning of waste required a certificate under APPA, and a licence will similarly have to be applied for; this is in terms of GN R 248 of 31 March 2010 which identified so-called listed activities for which a licence is needed, and which also sets out various emission standards. Furthermore, there is a National Policy on Thermal Treatment of General and Hazardous Waste, GN 777 of 24 July 2009. Fortunately, to date the incineration of waste (for disposal or so-called energy recovery purposes) is largely still not practised (with the exception of health care risk and explosive waste, as well as waste in very remote areas). Besides the above a National Framework for Air Quality Management (2007) and National Ambient Air Quality Standards, GN 1210 of 24 December 2009, were published.
SANS 10228 (The Identification and Classification of Dangerous Substances and Goods) This detailed standard is incorporated by reference into various Regulations and Notices, and as such was elevated to legislation status. It groups dangerous substances into various groups. Chapter VIII (Transportation of Dangerous Goods and Substances by Road) of the Regulations in terms of the National Road Traffic Act, GN R 225 of 17 March 2000 These Regulations incorporate various SANS standards (including SANS 10228) dealing with, for instance, the identification of hazardous substances, emergencies and design requirements for vehicles, thus also giving them legal force. They further set out requirements for operator fitness/ training, documents to be carried, the appointment of a competent person etc.
Health legislation Health legislation (on all three levels of government) contains some waste management provisions as well, which broadly speaking, require that waste may not pose a nuisance or health threat, nor may it pollute water.
Policies, Strategies etc The following are of relevance: • Framework for the National Waste Management Strategy (2009); • Draft National Waste Management Strategy (2010); • White Paper on Integrated Pollution and Waste Management (2000); and • National Waste Management Strategy and Action Plans (1999). • Five specialist studies were written as part of the Draft Strategy. They, as well as the Draft Strategy, can be downloaded from the Department of Environmental Affair’s homepage (www.wastepolicy. co.za/nwms/). The Draft Strategy may be commented on until the end of July 2010. In essence the Draft Strategy examines the following waste categories: • General and commercial; • Hazardous and industrial; 148
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• • • •
ealthcare risk waste; H Agricultural; Power station waste; and Mining (excluding residue deposits and stockpiles). Furthermore, the following are currently excluded from the Draft Strategy’s scope: • Nuclear waste; • Animal carcasses; • Air quality management; • Waste water; • Industrial effluent; • Mining residue; and • Stockpiles. As previously mentioned (at 2.5) a Waste Classification Management System is being drafted which will replace the current DWAF ‘Minimum Requirements’ series. The System is intended to cover instances where no waste management licence is required in terms of GN R 718 of 2009 (see above at 2.2 for details), but where certain control measures are still necessary. The thrust of the various above policies and strategies is a shift towards waste prevention and minimisation. The Framework also identifies some waste types as requiring further investigation and implementation for extended producer responsibility.
Occupational Health and Safety Act, 85 of 1993, and Regulations This Act has relevance for environmental matters as it governs and regulates the health and safety of employees and the public in general. Employers, self-employed persons and employees are broadly speaking under a duty not to endanger or risk the health of others and to maintain a safe (working) environment (see eg sections 8, 9 and 15). Moreover, employers are obliged to carry out risk and hazard assessments on a regular basis to determine any dangers posed by the work or materials used. In certain instances periodic medical surveillance must also be done of workers exposed to harmful substances. In addition, several Regulations promulgated in terms of the Act contain provisions dealing with the handling, use, exposure control, use of personal protective equipment, storage or disposal of hazardous substances/chemicals or waste in general. Examples are the: • Lead Regulations, GN R 236 of 28 February 2003; • Hazardous Chemical Substances Regulations, GN R 1179 of 25 August 1995; • Environmental Regulations for Workplaces, GN R 2281 of 16 October 1987; and • General Safety Regulations, GN R 1031 of 30 May 1986. The Lead Regulations as well as Hazardous Chemical Substances (‘HCS’) Regulations both deal in Regulations 17 and 15, respectively, with disposal, and require that an employer, as far as is reasonably practicable, should recycle lead or HCS waste, alternatively dispose of it in a safe and lawful manner.
PROVINCIAL LEGISLATION Currently there is very little environmental or waste legislation on the provincial level. This generally deals only with issues like conservation, land use and planning and development etc. KwaZulu-Natal started writing its own Draft Prevention and Management of Waste Bill, but this was never finalised the waste revolution HANDBOOK
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due to the parallel drafting of the national Waste Act. The Western Cape has formulated a hazardous waste policy, but it is unsure if this was put into force. A policy dealing with household hazardous waste was completed, although it is unsure to what extent it is applied. Gauteng Draft Standards for General Waste Management Facilities (GWMF) (March 2009) Gauteng is currently the only province which has such Standards, even though they are still a draft. These proposed Standards are very detailed and cover various types of facilities. With the entering into force of the Waste Act, the resultant repeal of the Environment Conservation Act and parts of the EIA Regulations, as well as the publication of Listed Waste Management Activities requiring a licence, the Standards will, in our opinion, have to be revised in part to bring them in line with the recent legal developments. For review purposes the following proposed sections are relevant: Hazardous waste, other than insignificant amounts of domestic hazardous waste forming part of the general waste stream, should not be accepted at GWMF’s (7.1.3); A GWMF shall not intentionally accept or store hazardous wastes, including batteries, oil, paint, florescent tubes and health care risk waste, unless it has been approved by GDACE to handle the particular waste. Such approvals shall form part of the operating permit. Hazardous waste must be collected and stored in an appropriate manner before being transported and disposed of at a hazardous waste disposal site to prevent pollution of the environment (7.1.3); and E-waste containing ozone-depleting substances may not be accepted or treated at GWMF’s (7.1.3). As part of the application process, irrespective of which type of GWMF, detailed site assessments must be conducted, and the EIA Regulations would come into play. Various layout and building requirements are also proposed in the draft Standards.
LOCAL LEGISLATION (BY-LAWS) A full discussion of by-laws would be far beyond the scope of this publication. The extent and focus of by-laws differs greatly from one municipality to another. Many still apply those passed by now defunct municipalities, while others (mainly the larger ones) have passed more modern by-laws. But even here there are differences. Thus, some impose waste prevention and minimisation, while others still only control the storage and disposal of waste. The majority only require waste separation in terms of hazardous, industrial and medical waste, but not for integrated waste management purposes. Furthermore, while by-laws bind their own municipality, the latter very often do not apply it to themselves. As such there is frequently little evidence of municipalities implementing integrated waste management programs for their own waste. The Cape Town Integrated Waste Management By-law, 2009, is the only one so far which introduces industry waste management plans for various industrial/business sectors. Thus any person or company falling into the listed categories has to compile an integrated waste management plan which must be submitted to the Council for approval (section 10).
COURT CASES There are few reported court cases dealing with environmental law in South Africa. This does not mean that no action is taken by the various authorities against offenders. In practice, however, the 150
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authorities generally provide an opportunity to offenders to rectify any contraventions. Typically, infringement notices are first served on offenders, and only when no or insufficient measures are implemented, will further legal steps be taken. Quite often cases are also settled before going to trial. The low number of court cases and prosecutions is partly attributable to understaffed government agencies, thus resulting in insufficient enforcement at times. In addition, the awareness of officials not dealing with environmental matters is often quite low. Thus the police is frequently not equipped to handle environmental transgressions, as insufficient training was provided. The same comment applies to courts and prosecutors, particularly in the lower courts which mostly only hear criminal and civil matters. Lastly, socio-economic issues are sometimes viewed as mitigatory factors by authorities and law enforcement. In other words, some degree of leniency is then granted for contraventions as the offence is sometimes regarded as having been caused out of financial necessity.
GREEN SCORPIONS/ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT INSPECTORATE This unit, properly called the Environmental Management Inspectorate, falls under the Department of Environmental Affairs and is tasked with enforcing environmental legislation and investigating complaints. It has also targeted certain industries (eg steel, cement) in country-wide operations to enforce compliance. Unfortunately there is fairly limited information available about them, but a detailed Environmental Compliance and Enforcement Report 2008-9 (available at www.environment.gov.za/ HotIssues/2009/NEC-EnforcReport0809/NEC-EnforcReport0809.pdf ) provides interesting statistics about the Department’s enforcement, prosecution etc during the above period. According to this report more than two-thirds of the total number of environmental management inspectors are employed by SANParks. During this period only 24 reported cases dealt with environmental quality and protection, while 1 057 were handled by Marine and Coastal Management and 459 by SANParks. Only 10 criminal dockets were opened in 2008-9 for breaches of environmental quality and protection (down from 19 the year before that). There were no acquitals, convictions, plea bargains or admission of guilt fines for cases dealing with that topic between 2007-9. Only 14, 16 and 13 compliance notice were issued for this topic in 2006-7, 2007-8 and 2008-9, respectively. By far the greatest number of departmental convictions, fines and notices can be attributed to Marine and Coastal Management. This does not mean that the Green Scorpions were inactive. It probably only shows how understaffed that unit is. The report outlines which industries were targeted and visited, and what was achieved. The Environmental Management Inspectorate does not form part of one ‘unit’, based in a single institution; instead, it comprises a network of environmental enforcement officials based in different institutions across the spheres of government. The Inspectorate does not only focus on criminal offences under environmental legislation, but also has administrative tools at its disposal (eg issuing compliance notices). It is not as structured as the former Justice Department Scorpions which had both investigators and prosecutors within a team, and thus has to rely to an extent on the police, prosecutors and other government officials to assist it.
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profile
KZN AGRICULTURE, ENVIRONMENT AND RURAL DEVELOPMENT
The sub-directorate of the KwaZulu-Natal Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Development is called “Environmental Empowerment and Sustainable Livelihoods”. DESCRIPTION The objective of environmental empowerment services is to empower the citizens of KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) to participate in environmental governance and or decision making. As the awareness of the environmental legislation grows in the province, there is a demand for advice on the requirements and responsibilities from government, business and industry, civil society in order to comply with the current environmental legislature. Moreover, for the people of KZN to make and take decision, a certain level of capacity has to be built and strengthened particularly on the pertinent environmental issues that are affecting this province. It is in this regard that this sub-directorate continuously strengthens its partnerships with various organizations, as well as, institutions of higher education for educational awareness raising and information. VISION The Department is a champion for environmental capacity building and sustainable environmental management practices in KZN. In pursuit of service excellence, the Department desires to take a holistic approach to sustainable environmental management practices and environmental stability for sustainable livelihoods. MISSION In recognition of its clients and stakeholders this sub-directorate shall: • Provide and promote environmental literacy; • Educate and empower citizens of KZN on environmental practices; • Increase awareness and concerns for environmental issues; and • Increase, enhance environmental knowledge, skills, values, commitment and attitudes. The Department shall develop and maintain an environmental empowerment strategy which supports sustainable livelihoods. In doing so it is committed to continual improvement of its expertise, professionalism and ethical standards. It shall render efficient and effective service to its clients, be accountable and promote equity in the context of local, national, regional and international obligations. The strategic objectives of this component are aligned with the legislative mandate and strategic outcome of the department. The aim of this sub-directorate is to ensure the sustainable use and protection of the environment of KZN through appropriate capacity building and empowerment mechanisms. The following are its main objectives: • Promotion of environmental rights and awareness. • Promotion and facilitation of integrated environmental management. • Integrate environmental education into all relevant structures in the province.
profile • Develop and implement environmental action projects. • Promoting natural and community based sustainable resource use and management to promote job creation. SERVICES PROVIDED: AIR QUALITY AND CLIMATE CHANGE Purpose Air Quality To promote air quality monitoring and air emissions regulation, developing and enforcing norms and standards and adoption of international best practices. Climate Change To facilitate the management of the impact of climate change and promotion of clean development mechanism (carbon trading) in the KZN Province. Objective To develop an integrated plan for sustainable air quality management for KZN; To process applications for permits and emission licenses related to air quality management. Legisation This sub-programme draws its mandate from the following policies and legislation: • The White Paper on Environmental Management Policy (1998); • National Environmental Management Act; • Atmospheric Pollution Prevention Act, 1965; • National Environmental Management Air Quality Act, 2004; and • The Constitution COASTAL MANAGEMENT The Coastal and Biodiversity Management Services Unit is one of the interventions of the KwaZulu-Natal Department of Agriculture and Environmental Affairs to meet its international, national and legal obligations as lead provincial agent in both integrated coastal and environmental management. The Unit’s activities and programmes support the Department’s focus on sustainable growth and development – utilising environmental stability, integration and coordination as key vehicles in building a prosperous and sustainable community. Furthermore, it is aligned
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with Nepad’s African Process for the development and protection of the marine and coastal environment, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa; National Government’s 10- year Mintec Strategy; and the KZN Provincial Growth and Development Strategy (PGDS) respectively. The Unit’s key outputs are, amongst others: • To provide for policy, legislation and guideline development and review and co-ordination of integrated coastal management implementation and co-operative governance in KZN, as well as providing specialist support and advice on coastal management mitigation measures and coastal environmental impact assessments; • Managing the Provincial Coastal Committee (PCC) for KwaZulu- Natal and supporting District Coastal Working Groups; • Co-ordinating and managing the effective implementation of the National Environmental Management Act’s ‘Control of Vehicles in the Coastal Zone Regulations’ in KZN; • Ensuring coastal management principles (as contained in both national processes and the KZN Coastal Management Policy and Programme) are incorporated into municipal Integrated Development Plans (IDPs) and land use management processes; • To provide management, strategic and specialist support and direction for coastal management programmes in KZN: KZN State of the Coast reporting; KZN Coastal Assets Programme; KZN Sustainable Coastal Livelihoods Programme (SCLP) and KZN Awareness and Education programmes, including the publication of Ulwandle (South Africa’s only provincial newsletter dedicated to integrated coastal management); • To provide management, strategic and specialist support in respect to the implementation of integrated coastal pollution programmes, including coastal disaster management planning; and • To provide strategic support to biodiversity and special area management programmes in KZN managed by other sectors of the Department, as well as by Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife. COMPLIANCE MONITORING AND ENFORCEMENT Purpose The purpose of Compliance and Enforcement is to achieve effective, integrated and co-
profile ordinated compliance monitoring and enforcement of environmental legislation in the Province. Objectives: Compliance Monitoring Ensure responsible and accountable development, adherence to environmental legislative requirements, site and audit visits, prepare inspection plans and reports, review abatement technology, review of conditions contained in the ROD, review of EMPs and make recommendations for life cycle monitoring of the facilities. Compliance Enforcement Enforce corrective action by undertaking appropriate response measures for violations which includes formal and informal responses such as notices and directives, attend to reactive inspections, respond to complaints on illegal developments, liaison with stakeholders, NGOs and civil society, incident investigation and resolution, review of information and data, spills management. Compliance Promotion Encourage compliance, stakeholder accountability; promote environmental rights and justice, through participation in environmental fora. Legislation This sub-programme draws its mandate from the following policies and legislation: • The White Paper on Environmental Management Policy (1998); • National Environmental Management Act (NEMA); • The Constitution; • Environment Conservation Act (ECA); • Provincial Ordinances; • Ratified International, Protocols, Conventions, International Law; • The Promotion of Access to Information Act (PAIA); and • Promotion of Administrative Justice Act (PAJA) EMPOWERMENT AND SUSTAINABLE LIVELIHOODS/ ADVISORY SERVICE COMMITMENT CHARTER The Empowerment/Advisory component within the Chief Directorate of Environmental Management Services in the KwaZulu-Natal Department of Agriculture, Environmental Affairs and Rural Development. Vision A champion for environmental capacity building and sustainable environmental management practices in KZN Mission In recognition of its clients and stakeholders it shall: • provide and promote environmental literacy; • educate and empower citizens of KZN on environmental practices; • increase awareness and concerns for environmental issues; • increase/ enhance environmental knowledge, skills, values, commitment and attitudes
profile Services • Environmental Advisory /Empowerment Services • environmental support and advisory services to all its clients • ensuring effective implementation of sustainable environmental projects • support for the development of infrastructure for sustainable development • ensuring sustainable land use • prevention and control of environmental erosion and soil degradation • Ensure skill development and training through accredited environmental education programmes. • ensure the empowerment of communities on sustainable environmental resource utilization • Promote and implement environmental awareness programmes and campaigns. The provision of its services will be based on the principles of Batho Pele as enshrined in the KZN Citizens’ Charter, and it undertakes to honor these principles ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT MANAGEMENT Purpose To facilitate environmental impact mitigation and promote sustainable development and a safe, healthy Environment. Objective To facilitate environmental impact mitigation and promote sustainable environmental management development. Legislation This sub-programme draws its mandate from the following policies and legislation: • The White Paper on Environmental Management Policy (1998); • National Environmental Management Act (NEMA); • Specific Environmental Management Act (SEMA) • The Constitution; • Environment Conservation Act (ECA); • EIA Regulations; and • The Promotion of Access to Information Act (PAIA). • Environmental Planning, Governance & Information Management Purpose • To promote environmental sustainability through the development of tools, instruments, mechanisms and institutions to ensure sustainable development and sound cooperative environmental governance The Sub-Programme is divided into 4 components: 1. Sustainable Development planning, Monitoring and Reporting 2. Local Government Support 3. Cooperative Environmental Governance and Policy 4. Environmental Information Management
profile Objective • Manage the cooperative environmental governance programme which aims to ensure intergovernmental and sectoral participation in environmental management • Ensure integration of environmental sustainability requirements in local and provincial government development planning frameworks • Ensure the development of the provincial sustainable development framework through the development and implementation of relevant tools and frameworks • Manage and disseminate environmental information for sustainable development • Promote alignment of sustainable development and environmental governance frameworks with Integrated Environmental Management strategies • Promote sustainability monitoring and reporting on environmental management and sustainable development progress in KZN • Transversal Planning, legislative development and Policy Coordination Legislation • Constitution • National Environmental Management Act • White Paper on Environmental Management Policy (1998) • Intergovernmental Relations Framework Act, 2005 • Agenda 21 • Johannesburg Plan of Implementation • Spatial Data Infrastructure Act (2003) • Promotion of Access to Information Act • Promotion of Administrative Justice Act • Millennium Development Goals (Goal No7: Environmental Sustainability) POLLUTION & WASTE MANAGEMENT Purpose To implement and co-ordinate effective pollution and waste management by focusing on prevention. Objective To promote the waste management hierarchy (waste minimisation, cleaner production, reuse/ recycling, treatment and disposal). To provide management, strategic and specialist support and direction for pollution and waste management programmes in KZN. Legislation This sub-programme draws its mandate from the following policies and legislation: • The White Paper on Environmental Management Policy (1998); • National Environmental Management Act (NEMA); • National Environmental Management Waste Act (NEMWA); • National Environmental Management Air Quality Act (NEMAQA); • The Promotion of Access to Information Act (PAIA); • Promotion of Administrative Justice Act (PAJA); and • The Constitution
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SPHERES OF SA GOVERNMENT – RESPONSIBILITIES AND DELIVERY Dr Suzan HH Oelofse Research Group Leader: Waste and Society CSIR: Natural Resources and the Environment
INTRODUCTION
The institutional framework for government in South Africa was established in 1996 with the adoption of the first democratic Constitution (DPLG, 2007). National, provincial and local government was established as three elected spheres of government, each with distinctive but interdependent and interrelated functional responsibilities (Du Plessis, 2005). The new local sphere of government was created by amalgamating over 800 municipalities into 283 municipalities (DPLG, 2007). Local government is subdivided into three categories of municipalities (RSA, 1996). These are Metropolitan municipalities (Category A), Local municipalities (Category B) and District municipalities (Category C). Metropolitan municipalities have exclusive executive and legislative authority in their area while Local and District municipalities share the authority (RSA, 1996). The three spheres of government are required to function as a single system of cooperative government for the country as a whole, while responsibility for refuse removal, refuse dumps and solid waste disposal are assigned to local government (Metropolitan, District and Local municipalities). (RSA,1996). The Constitution does not provide guidance on the division of functions between district and local municipalities. An underlying principle in allocating governance functions is the devolution to the most appropriate sphere of government.
RESPONSIBILITIES
The Department of Environmental Affairs (DEA) is the national Department responsible for waste management. As such, DEA provides leadership and guidance to enable other national departments, provincial environmental departments and municipalities to meet their executive obligations in respect of waste management. Specific functions assigned to DEA in the White Paper on Integrated Pollution and Waste Management include the development of policy, strategy and legislation; coordination; and enforcement. Furthermore, DEA should establish guidelines, mechanisms and structures to ensure that activities undertaken by other media and sector managers are coordinated, uniform and effective. The Department of Water Affairs (DWA) is responsible for the protection of the water resources and is therefore concerned about possible impacts from waste management practices. Disposal of waste is listed as a water use in Section 21(g) of the National Water Act, 1998 (RSA, 1998). As such DWA has the mandate (Section 26(h) and 26 (i)) to make regulations on waste disposal and treatment to protect the water resource (RSA, 1998). Other National Departments with waste-related responsibilities are the • Department of Mineral Resources being responsible for mining waste; • Department of Health being responsible for medical waste; and the • Department of Agriculture being responsible for agricultural waste. the waste revolution HANDBOOK
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The Department of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs was established to oversee intergovernmental relationships in the implementation of cooperative governance. The Constitution (RSA, 1996) created provincial government, but did not specify distinct objectives for this sphere of government within the overall system. The White Paper on integrated pollution and waste management (DEAT, 2000) assigns the following waste-related functions to provinces: • Reviewing the first –generation integrated waste management plans of the municipalities; • Development of provincial guidelines and standards; • Development and enforcement of provincial regulations for general waste collections and supporting local government in the implementation of the waste collection services; • Ensuring that all industries have access to appropriate waste disposal facilities; • Quality assurance of the Waste Information System; • Implementing and enforcing waste minimisation and recycling initiatives and in particular, promoting the development of voluntary partnerships with industry; • Registration and certification of hazardous waste transporters, the waste manifest system and the establishment and control of hazardous waste collection facilities; and • Supporting DEA in planning for a system of medical waste treatment facilities and investigating the feasibility of centralised (regional) waste treatment facilities. Local governments are given functions and powers either by assignment and delegation. Assignment refers to the complete authority being handed over when the function is transferred to the local government. This can happen as a ‘general assignment’, where a function is given to all local governments in the country or as a ‘specific assignment’, where a function is given only to specific municipalities. Delegation refers to the responsibility to provide a particular function being transferred to local governments, but authority over that function is still held by a different level of government. Certain responsibilities such as policy making, legislation and the regulation and distribution of funds always remain within the authority of the national and provincial governments, despite the functions given to local governments. Local authorities are responsible for providing waste management services and management of waste disposal facilities. Specific functions include the compilation and implementation of general waste management plans; implementation of public awareness campaigns; collection of data for the Waste Information System; provision of waste collection services and the management of waste disposal facilities within their area of jurisdiction; implementation and enforcement of appropriate waste minimisation and recycling initiatives, ie voluntary partnerships with industry and waste minimisation clubs; planning for the establishment and management of regional waste disposal facilities i.e. regional general waste landfills (DEAT, 2000). The Municipal Structures Act, 1998 (Act No 117 of 1998) as amended assigns powers and functions relating to integrated development planning, sustainable and equitable social and economic development to District municipalities. Section 84 (1)(e) Solid waste disposal sites, in so far as it relates to the determination of a waste disposal strategy; the regulation of waste disposal; the establishment, operation and control of waste disposal sites, bulk waste transfer facilities and waste disposal facilities for more than one local municipality in the district (RSA, 1998a). Where the allocated sphere of government does not have the resources or capability, the next sphere of government must execute the function. Furthermore, DEA and the provincial environmental departments must assist where resources and capabilities are lacking and promote capacity building. The lessons of Project Consolidate show that providing hands-on support to municipalities has had a direct benefit to local service delivery in a very short period of time. However, the long term capacity requirements of this sphere of government, mirroring the scarcity of skills in the country, will require an institutional response (DPLG, 2007). 160
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DELIVERY
Tensions, challenges and shortcomings in waste service delivery and legislative compliance is common to most municipalities in South Africa. Problems faced by the waste sector in South Africa are universal and relates to global population growth, funding, resource and land scarcity factors (DEAT, 2007; Godfrey and Oelofse, 2008; Oelofse and Godfrey, 2008; Nhamo et al, 2009) that directly influence the level of and need for waste minimisation as part of waste management. At an integrated level, these challenges also increase the need for improved environmental management and resource protection. Collectively, this requires constant innovation in terms of waste management technology, waste minimisation approaches and resource management to keep costs to society, to service providers and the impacts on the environment in balance with the need for sustainable development (Coetzee, 2006). One key aspect to the success of waste service delivery at municipal level is community involvement and participation in the planning and design of the waste service. This approach will contribute towards waste management services to the community by the community including creating much needed job opportunities, raising awareness and meeting the demands of the community (Oelofse et al, 2008).
IMPLICATIONS FOR FUTURE WASTE MANAGEMENT IN SA
The implementation of the National Environmental Management: Waste Act, 2008, requires of waste managers to push waste higher up the waste hierarchy, ie towards waste minimisation, reuse and recycling. While municipalities struggle with basic waste management and addressing backlogs in service delivery, they are unlikely to achieve the objectives of the Waste Act. General public perceptions that waste ‘disappear’ once collected needs to change as well as the associated human behaviour. Waste service provision is the responsibility of local government, but waste management should be every citizen’s responsibility irrespective of who you are and where you stay. The role of industry and communities in waste management must therefore be strengthened. Understanding the drivers of human behaviour will assist municipalities to provide communities with the necessary incentives to act more responsibly, generate less waste, and reuse and recycle unavoidable waste.
REFERENCES
Coetzee, B. (2006). Bridging the gap between traditional vs integrated waste management – A South African Perspective. Proceedings of WasteCon 2006. International Waste Management Biannual Congress and Exhibition. Somerset West, Cape Town, 5-8 September 2006. Department of Environmental Affairs and Tourism (DEAT) (2000) White Paper on Integrated Pollution and Waste Management for South Africa: A policy on pollution prevention, waste minimisation, impact management and remediation. Department of Environmental Affairs and Tourism, Pretoria. ISBN 0-621-3002-8. Department of Environmental Affairs and Tourism (DEAT) (2007). Assessment of the Status of waste service delivery and capacity at local government level. Department of Environmental Affairs and Tourism, Pretoria. Department of Provincial and Local Government (DPLG), 2007. Policy process on the System of Provincial and Local Government: Background: Policy Questions, Process and Participation. Government Notice 936 Government Gazette No 30137 of 1 August 2007. Du Plessis, W. (2005) Legal mechanisms for cooperative governance in South Africa: Successes and failures. African Journal of Environmental Law and Policy. 2005. Godfrey, L. and Oelofse, S. (2008). A Systems approach to waste governance – unpacking the challenges facing local government. Proceedings Waste 2008: Waste and Resource Management – a Shared Responsibility, Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire, England, 16-17 September 2008 Mpumalanga Department of Agriculture and Land Administration (MDALA) (2008) Development of a Municipal IPC Model for Mpumalanga: Status Quo Report. CSIR report number CSIR/NRE/PW/ER/2007/0145/C Nhamo, G. Oelofse, SHH, Godfrey, L and Mvuma, G. (2009). WasteCon ’08 Workshop Report: Unpacking Governance Opportunities and Challenges for Integrated Municipal Waste Management in South Africa. CSIR document No CSIR/NRE/PW/IR/2009/0034/B. Oelofse, S.H.H. and Godfrey, L (2008). Towards improved waste management services by local government – A waste governance perspective. Proceedings of Science: Real and Relevant conference. 17-18 November 2008, Pretoria. Oelofse, S.H.H., Godfrey, L, Rascher, J and Sherwood, L. (2008) Minimising the effects of waste on society – A waste governance perspective. Proceedings of WasteCon 2008. International Waste Management Biannual Congress and Exhibition. Durban 6-10 October 2008 Republic of South Africa (RSA) (1996) The Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, 1996 (Act No 108 of 1996). Republic of South Africa (RSA) (1998) National Water Act, 1998 (Act No 36 of 1998). Republic of South Africa (RSA) (1998a) Municipal Systems Act, 1998 (Act No 117 of 1998). the waste revolution HANDBOOK
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A REVOLUTIONARY APPROACH AND CRITICAL NEED: WASTE INFORMATION ON THE INTERNET Kamaseelan Chetty Control Environmental Officer Grade B: Air Quality Management Directorate: Pollution Management Department of Environmental Affairs and Development Planning
INTRODUCTION The value of accurate information to assist decision-making in waste management cannot be over emphasised. It is the desire for readily accessible and accurate information when ‘on the go’ that has placed a huge demand on World Wide Web based information systems that could be made available to a wide range of users both from a regulatory and public perspective. In South Africa the need for a waste information system has been advocated by the National Waste Management Strategy (DEAT, 1999) and this need is further supported by the Draft National Environmental Management: Waste Information Regulations (DEAT, 2009) (WIR). The desired need for information and the current use of waste information in South Africa has been prioritised through research (Godfrey, 2008) and is reflected in Table 22.1. Priority
Desired need for information
Current use of information
1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. 13. 14. 15. 16.
Planning Compliance and enforcement Public access to information Decision-making Policy development Monitoring Budgeting, billing and financial management Capacity building Strategy development Business development Reporting Job creation Research
planning Budgeting, billing and financial management Reporting Landfill site management Human resource and operations management Monitoring Compliance and enforcement New development initiatives Decision-making Identifying and solving problems Recycling initiatives Environmental assessments Public access to information Capacity development Research Missing (non-respondents)
Table 22.1: Depicting the prioritised current uses of information and the desired need for information by various government departments (after Godfrey, 2008).
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PURPOSE AND SYSTEMS Waste information is a priority for planning purposes; to inform compliance and enforcement activities; and as a source of information both current and in the future. The need to collect information from generators vs ‘end of pipe’ disposers (eg landfill facilities and an approach to focus on waste disposal) was advocated based on the short and medium term needs of government (Godfrey, 2008). The source of the various waste types and quantities of waste generated, recovered and reused, recycled, treated etc, are unaccounted for and the development of integrated solutions for waste management is complicated due to a lack of information with regard to the various stages in the lifecycle of waste. The appropriateness of this approach raises concern as to the timeline required to adequately satisfy the information needs of both the regulator, regulated community and the ordinary citizen. Various government departments have embarked on initiatives to develop waste information systems in response to their varying legislative mandates and information needs. Some of these efforts have materialised into tangible and operational information systems eg The Department of Environmental Affairs (DEA) - South African Waste Information Centre (SAWIC); The Gauteng Department of Agriculture, Conservation and Environment (GDACE) - Health Care Waste Information System (HCWIS); the KwaZulu-Natal Department of Agriculture and Environmental Affairs (DAEA) Wastemap and The Western Cape Department of Environmental Affairs and Development Planning (D:EA&DP) - Integrated Pollutant and Waste Information System (IPWIS). SAWIC (http://www.sawic.org.za/) provides the public, business, industry and government with access to information on the management of waste in South Africa. The South African Waste Information System (SAWIS) can also be accessed through SAWIC. SAWIS provides a platform for the registration of various waste generators and the functionality for registered users to report on their waste management activities to DEA. Wastemap (http://www.agtrack.net/wastemap/default.htm) has the honour of being the first internet-based waste information system in South Africa that provided a platform for the collection and dissemination of spatial and non-spatial data pertaining to waste management facilities (Engineering News, 2002). IPWIS (http://ipwis.wcape.gov.za) has been developed with a large focus on integrating business processes with information requirements. It has been designed to provide accurate and complete information on potentially harmful pollutant releases or transfers to the environment from a variety of sources, waste generators, waste management service providers, and waste management facilities within the Western Cape (Chetty, 2006). The obstacles encountered during the development of IPWIS within D:EA&DP, a government entity, are detailed in Table 22.2. Despite such systems being at various stages of deployment, they are a product of several years of business analysis and system development. Concern, however, exists with regard to the sustainability ie continued maintenance and operation of such systems in a very dynamic environment that is also susceptible to technological advances in information technology, proprietary software licensing obligations, organisational development, and policy developments. These systems will be tested by their ability to respond to changes in information needs, business procedures and policy, as well as their ability to integrate and communicate with other related environmental and administrative systems and associated infrastructure at affordable costs.
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No
Obstacle
1
Delays due to tender procedures and processes.
2
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
Western Cape Provincial Policy requires that all Information Technology (IT) infrastructure and system development to be conducted in collaboration with the State Information Technology Agency (SITA).
Determining User Requirement and communicating user requirement to developers
Use of technical terms and jargon by developers
Limited budget
Understanding of system objectives Poor communication between developers, the quality assurance team and users
Scope creep
Impact of restructuring and staff turn over
Lack of skilled resources
Recommended Approach to Overcome Identified Obstacle Ensure that all procedures are known and followed religiously without compromising objectivity and transparency of the process. Ensure all contracts clearly state the deliverables and the penalties associated with non-delivery according to budget The existing policy should be revised. SITA should submit tender proposals to undertake a specific project and these should be evaluated according to tender procedures. Understand the business context and the various interrelationships that exist before consulting users with regard to system requirements. Ensure User Requirements are accurately documented and clearly understood by users and developers. Ensure that user Requirement addresses requirements with regard to system integration, navigation and interoperability. Ensure that joint application development (JAD) sessions / meetings are conducted with users before developers undertake any programming. The use of an independent facilitator to conduct workshops with users to articulate user requirements is advocated. Ensure that the client has an understanding of system development processes ie lifecycle and various factors that affect development. Ensure that a list of terms and other jargon which users will be exposed to, together with definitions are provided to users. Ensure that the nature of information system development with regard to the complication that exists of accurately determining the related costs are understood by management on the user’s side. All contracts / tenders must be negotiated so as to eliminate or reduce the need for an increase in budget. Ensure maximum productivity of system development team and avoid scope creep. Before engaging in any process to determine user requirements all users should ensure that they understand and appreciate the need for the required system and its objectives. Develop tools e.g. electronic notice boards etc. to facilitate communication. Conduct regular meetings with developers and users e.g. progress meetings, steering committee meetings etc. Ensure minutes of all project meetings are circulated to all project and development team members timeously. Continuous evaluate / assess communication between users and developers so as to eliminate the costs associated with miss communication or no communication. Ensure system requirements and project deliverables are fully understood, documented and agreed upon. A formal engineering change proposal procedure should be implemented were requirements differ from that which has been agreed upon. This should also indicate the costs associated with the proposed change. Ensure thorough / comprehensive user requirement workshops and JAD sessions. Ensure the preservation of institutional memory. Determine and confirm the availability of the required staff and technical skills before undertaking system development. Ensure that the possibility of restructuring within an organisation and its implication on users is communicated to the system development team. Make provision for possible skills replacement in project plan and budgets. Train existing staff. Recruit staff with the required skills.
Table 22.2: Obstacles encountered as a result of IPWIS development within D:EA&DP (Chetty, 2006).
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From a regulatory perspective, systems operated by government departments seek to capture information on various activities or facilities ranging from generic to process specific information that would be considered when issuing authorisations eg waste management licences (WMLs). In South Africa the request for such information is supported by the National Environmental Management: Waste Act (NEM:WA) and the WIR. The availability of waste information reports that are pertinent for public consumption needs to evolve to a level where the public (the common man) or industry could view user-friendly, graphically-illustrated and accurate waste statistics on eg waste types generated, recycled, treated and disposed according to geographical area, political jurisdiction or facility. Perhaps the most revolutionary accomplishment with regard to waste information available to the public and industry is the City of Cape Town’s Integrated Waste Exchange System (IWEX) (http:// www.capetown.gov.za/en/iwex/Pages/default.aspx.) IWEX allows waste generators and users to upload details of their waste or waste materials that are required ie type and quantity for exchange. This system facilitates the reuse and recycling of waste, thus avoiding disposal which ultimately helps save landfill space. IWEX is freely available to anyone who generates or uses waste, including companies, individuals, institutions, schools, NGOs and community groups. Listing waste materials for exchange also makes business sense as it would contribute towards reducing waste disposal costs which ultimately reduces operating costs while improving a company’s environmental and social responsibility image. Various municipalities have also developed websites that inform the public of waste management related services provided by the municipality eg the Overstrand Municipality located in the Western Cape has a dedicated web page (http://wasteman.overstrand.gov.za) where the public can access information on eg the location of various drop-off points and their operating hours, details of composting activities, contact information of waste management personnel etc. This facility has proven to be very effective in taking waste management services to the public which ultimately has resulted in residents effectively supporting various recycling and recovery initiatives. The availability of readily available and user-friendly waste management information has been instrumental in Overstrand’s victory as the National Cleanest Town for 2003/4 and once again the best performing municipality in the Western Cape in 2009/10 with regard to waste management services. Municipalities should investigate and establish websites similar to that of Overstrand that present waste information in a user friendly and digestible manner to its citizens. The Amatole District Municipality in the Eastern Cape Province has also developed a waste information system to service its various information needs with regard to its waste management facilities. Based on the latest Geographic Information Systems (GIS) and Technology, the benefits of this system range from determination of buffer zones to evaluating the landfill capacity available for waste disposal. Access to information contained in this system is, however, restricted to municipal officials. The Western Cape’s Capegateway (http://www.capegateway.gov.za) has been designed to give effect to E-Governance ie the transformation of government to provide efficient, effective, convenient and transparent services to citizens and businesses through information and communication technologies (ICE, 2009). Information pertaining to various regulatory processes and procedural guidelines related to environmental authorisations and waste management licensing eg WML application forms are currently available on this gateway.
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CONCLUSION AND CRITICAL ISSUES The value of the information systems discussed and any systems intended to be developed in the future is dependent on the effectiveness of deployment and change management strategies which ultimately will govern system use and support. The uncoordinated approach of various government departments in developing their individual waste information systems has resulted in fragmentation and duplication of effort. The establishment of a single web-based system that services the need of the regulator, the regulated community and the private citizen/communities is advocated. Such a system will allow for consistency in data collection, verification and reporting procedures. It will also allow for the maximum benefit from limited resources while providing open access via the management of user profiles and access rights. The future of waste information on the web in a South African context presents opportunities for development of web based waste information systems that would facilitate integrated and sustainable environmental management and reporting.
REFERENCES
Department of Environmental Affairs and Tourism. National Waste Management Strategy. National Waste Management Strategies and Action Plans, South Africa. Strategy Formulation Phase. Version D, October 1999. Chetty, K.,(2006): The Western Cape: Integrated Pollutant and Waste Information System. The Institute of Waste Management South Africa, WasteCon, 2006. Engineering News, Internet site pinpoints KZN waste 窶電isposal sites, 30 August 2002. Godfrey, L., (2008): Facilitating the improved management of waste in South Africa through a national waste information system. Waste Management, Vol 28, November 2008, pages 1660-1671. 13th Meeting of the Intergovernmental Committee of Experts (ICE). Tracking progress on implementing ICTs for development in Eastern Africa, 2009. Republic of South Africa, Act 59 of 2008. National Environmental Management: Waste Act. Republic of South Africa, Draft Waste Information Regulations, Notice 430 of 2009. In terms of the National Environmental Management: Waste Act. Act 59 of 2008.
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EDUCATION IN THE WASTE SECTOR: waste is not waste anymore Lesley Jones WastePlan Skills Development Manager
INTRODUCTION Waste is not waste anymore! Based on this statement which has been adopted by Waste Plan as the guiding principle, waste has to be seen differently by all those involved in all aspects of waste management. In order to create this new focus, a comprehensive and dynamic teaching methodology needs to be introduced and adopted alongside all other initiatives that are designed to bring about radical improvement to every aspect of waste management.
INTERNAL TRAINING AND AWARENESS IN BUSINESS At Waste Plan, the focus is on skills development and training of our staff to be able to provide superior quality of service. The aim should be to empower staff to take ownership of the waste area by developing Initiative and encouraging promotion through service excellence. Working with the SETA aligned to the waste industry provides funding opportunities that enables training and skills development within a company.
BACKGROUND TO SETA Sector Education and Training Authorities (SETAs), established in terms of the Skills Development Act and as from 1 April, 2000, are responsible for disbursement of the training levies payable by all employers. These levies will be collected by the South African Revenue Service (SARS) via the Department of Labour, and are to be disbursed through a management system motivated by skills requirement assessment and monitoring. Thus SETAs will ensure that the skill requirements of the sector are identified and that the adequate and appropriate skills are readily available. The SETA would contribute to the improvement of sector skills through achieving a more favourable balance between demand and supply, and would ensure that education and training: • Is provided subject to validation and quality assurance; • Meets agreed standards within a national framework; • Ensures that new entrants to the labour market are adequately trained; and • Acknowledges and enhances the skills of the current work force. The Department of Labour evaluated the applications for SETAs and the Minister of Labour established 25 SETAs on 20 March 2000.(SETA, 2007) the waste revolution HANDBOOK
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Training modules are designed to cover different categories and these categories would differ for each company. 1. As an example, Waste Plan currently works with five modules which are divided into: 2. Introduction, organogram, aims and objectives, job description; 3. Managing waste, waste streams, life cycle of waste; 4. Responsibilities, communication, initiative, opportunity; 5. Health and safety requirements, standard operating procedures, emergency procedures, legal implications; and 6. Employment manual, occupational health and safety. The modules are designed to be flexible regarding updating of material, changing presentations according to the audience (for example sorters, supervisors) accommodating guest speakers etc. The classes are designed to stimulate maximum interaction between teacher and student to avoid boredom and complacency. Site visits pertaining to the lessons being taught are conducted as this gives the student a broader vision of waste management. Some of the outings Waste Plan coordinates are to the landfill site, Consol Glass, Bev Can, Sappi Mill and a plastic recycling factory to give an in-depth view of the full life-cycle of all waste streams.
CLIENT TRAINING & AWARENESS Client education is just as essential to achieving optimum waste and environmental awareness to fuel green initiatives. A company needs to have a holistic approach by conducting on site awareness education to all levels of staff on a regular basis using visuals and products as examples of the changing face of waste. This includes the bigger picture of environmental management, enabling clients to consider their workplaces and lives from a green perspective. Areas covered would be all inputs (such as energy, water and materials); processes (such as how water might be modified on site by potential pollutants); and outputs (such as carbon dioxide emissions associated with energy usage as well as solid and liquid wastes).
COMMUNITY EDUCATION AND AWARENESS This is an area where companies can add significant value to disadvantaged communities. By introducing or becoming involved with dynamic and sustainable initiatives focusing on the younger generation (who are more receptive to positive changes in thought and behaviour), environmental education and awareness can grow from the classroom to be adopted as the preferred choice when it comes to doing the right thing by recycling, saving our precious natural resources and adopting a respect for nature in all its facets.
A TYPICAL OPPORTUNITY A wonderful example of this is the creation, growth and ongoing success of the ‘swop shop’ initiative that began in Hermanus, spread to Kleinmond, Gansbaai and Hout Bay and continues to develop in other needy communities.
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chapter 23: EDUCATION IN THE WASTE SECTOR: waste is not waste anymore
The concept: The original ‘Recycle Swop Shop’ project was an empowerment initiative created for disadvantaged children. The aim of the program was really three-fold: • To help provide basic needs of children; • To clean up the community; and • To teach environmental awareness, value and trading skills, responsibility and ownership of the process. The outworking of the concept is open-ended and simply provides a framework.The basic concept is simple: to use recyclable material as a means of exchange for the basic needs to those persons the project serves. The ways in which it can serve the community is limited only to the creativity of those with vision for it. In essence, the project places a value on recyclable material. Any material which can be reworked, preventing it from entering a landfill site is good news for every municipality.This is of benefit to every individual, home, community, country and environment of the world at large. The growing number of buy back centres trying to earn a living through redirecting recyclable material to companies who rework the material for industry, are faced with the high cost of collecting. The Recycle Swop Shop fills this gap, empowers, educates and benefits children and their families at the same time. Giving the recyclable material value, (giving it points that can be redeemed for valuable items) turns it into a tool of exchange in the hands of the disadvantaged. The empowerment this brings to those who are marginalised due to their age and social constraints, their parents due to poverty, illness, or the social ills of addiction, crime, irresponsibility ... the list continues. The potential of such projects is limitless: Enter the world of the Recycle Swop Shop - it is “always possible with prayer, purpose, passion, people and perseverance.” (Swop Shop, 2010)
CONCLUSION Training and education in integrated waste management and environmental awareness is critical to changing perceptions and behaviour from a ‘don’t care’ society to one that embraces all aspects of green living to the benefit of future generations. Once we have been alerted to the urgency of the changes needed to sustain life on earth, we have no reason or excuse not to live according to the green alternatives that are rapidly developing in all aspects of our society, to make it easier to do the right thing for the environment and the future wellbeing of the planet Earth.
REFERENCES
SETA, 2007. Overview of Sector Education and Training Authorities. www.servicesseta.org.za (accessed on 13 September, 2010). 2010 Swop Shop. Helping underprivileged kids help themselves www.swop-shop.za.net (accessed on 13 September, 2010)
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Index of Advertisers COMPANY
PAGE
Abongi Bemvelo Environmental Management Services 110 Actebis 268 Collect a Tube 10 Ai-Tec Group Inside Front Cover, 92 BCD Safety Services 84 Bitou Municipality 99 Center for Environmental Management (Northwest University) 81 City of Johannesburg 60 Environmental Management and Geographic Information Systems Training 128 Golder and Associates 26 Green Edge 6 Humelani Trading and Projects 86 Impact Instruments 126 Intaka Tech 32 Iwesco 74 Jahmy Cleaning and Recycling 108 Jan Palm Consulting Engineers 105 Jeffares and Green Back Cover KZN Dept of Agriculture, Environmental Affairs & Rural 152 Lekwa Consulting Engineers 12 Limpopo Dept of Economic Development, Environment & Tourism 48 McVigar Construction and Trading 38 Mercedes Benz 14 Mondi Shanduka 4 Polyoak Packaging 2 Probiokashi 25 Safety and Allied Products 118 South African Waste Management Corporation 55 The Sustainability Series Handbook 22 The Waste Revolution Seminar Series Inside Back Cover Waste Giant 40 172
the waste revolution HANDBOOK
Continuing Education Opportunity Alive2green offers continuing education products in Waste and other key areas of sustainability, such as: - The Waste Revolution Seminar Series - The Sustainability Handbook Series - Online Learning Modules for Sustainability
Upcoming Waste Revolution Seminars: Mining sector: Waste Minimisation and Management
Corporate/Commercial Sector: Waste Policies Within the New Act
Venue: Protea Hotel - Highveld , Date : 4th November 2010 Limited to 80 Delegates and 11 Exhibitors
Location: Cape Town, Date: February 2011 Limited to 120 delegates and 20 Exhibitors
Join South Africa’s sector stakeholders and managers as they listen to and learn from thought leaders in these sectors. Network with key decision makers, learn about new products and services and develop knowledge for competitive advantage. For further information please visit www.wasterevolution.co.za or call +27.21.447 4733
The Sustainability Handbook Series: Order your copies online at www.alive2green.com or email info@alive2green.com
Online Leaning Modules in Sustainability
Log onto www.alive2green.com/education and register to study for just R350 per module (including study material). Current courses include modules and certificates in Eco-Building with new courses available soon in Waste, Transport, Water and Energy
For further information on any of the above education products please contact info@alive2green.com