COMPANY PROFILE
2013
BUHLE WASTE
Revolutionising waste management
COMPANY REPORT
Revolutionising waste management Editorial – Roland Douglas Production – James Clark
Buhle Waste is currently developing innovative new technology that will change the way we look at medical waste disposal. The company is also looking to bring its successful brand of waste management to other markets in the SADC. and Contracts and Communications Manager, Thabang Sekete, tells IndustrySA that expansion is currently one of the key targets.
Have you ever thought about where your company’s waste goes after it leaves your site? Securely sealed in bags or boxes in the back of a waste truck, but where does this waste actually go and what exactly happens to it? This is a key question, especially for organisations that produce hazardous waste, in particular medical waste, and a question that IndustrySA put to Thabang Sekete, Contracts and Communications Manager for Buhle Waste. He explains that medical waste is a problem for society and burning it in incinerators is not the sustainable, long-term solution. “The thing about waste” says Sekete “is that we all create it and everything, every process has a by-product or waste.” Sekete gives us an example of how the Buhle Waste
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services are utilised by the third largest hospital in the world. “At the Chris Hani Baragwanath Hospital in Soweto, we have a daily collection as the hospital generates a large amount of medical waste; around four to five tons on a daily basis. We have a truck which goes to the hospital every day. “One of our staff members, overseen by one of the Chris Hani representatives, will collect the waste and from there, take the waste to a treatment facility, either WasteMan in Klerksdorp or Enviro Serve in Roodepoort, and there the waste will be treated. These are both incinerators and burn waste in temperatures up to around 700 degrees. “The by-product of the waste from the treatment facility is ash and that is transported to a landfill site. By turning the waste to ash, you have a reduction of the actual waste by 95-98%.
Buhle Waste
“We have part ownership of a treatment facility, BioMed Disposal Services, near our head office in Benoni and they have an incinerator service.”
NEW TECHNOLOGY The safe, hygienic, environmentally friendly disposal of waste is one of the longest standing issues facing society and in a developing nation such as South Africa, where infrastructure sees continued investment, dealing with waste has significant difficulties. Alluding back to the question above, where does all the waste go? Buhle Waste recognises that incinerating medical waste is effective but not eco-friendly and so has started to roll out new technology which has the potential to transform the way we deal with medical waste and the by-products of its disposal.
“After a long process of removing red tape with the Department of Environmental Affairs (DEA), we have managed to get a waste management license to open our own treatment facility and we are going to be installing that in the next six months,” says Sekete. “When that is up and running, we will be bringing in new technology, the likes of which this country has never seen. It is Italian technology, a machine called the Convertor, which converts all medical waste to a by-product which is like a foam. “It is difficult to describe but is like a foam that would go into a mattress. We are hoping that it might revolutionise the way in which medical waste is treated in the country as incinerators are still pretty harmful to the environment. Non-burn technology is definitely the future.” As well as reducing the company’s impact on the environment, this new technology could help in other
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“Non-burn technology is definitely the future”
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Buhle Waste areas, most notably as it has the potential to be used as an energy source. Although this is still in the development phases, Sekete is excited about the prospect and hoping to partner with the DEA to drive the idea upwards. “One of the things which is soon to become part of our research and development is the utilisation of that by-product as an energy source” he says. “This is still in the research phase but when all the testing is done we hope to work closely with the DEA to move forward with technology.” Buhle Waste further proves its status as a technology pioneer during its day-to-day operations where an efficient ‘scan and track’ technology, from Technetium,is used to monitor processes and cut out unnecessary, timeconsuming paperwork but maintaining important legal records. “Scan and Track technology is still relatively new for the company” says Sekete. “It is only ourselves and one other company that operates with this technology. What it does is digitise our waste information systems. “Before, when collecting waste from a hospital or clinic, our staff would have to fill out a physical delivery note and this would have to be signed and stored and we would
have to deal with reams of paperwork regarding collection and delivery. This new system minimises paperwork and provides digital certificates where needed. It is an excellent technological advancement in our industry, not just operationally but legislatively as well.”
DEEP HISTORY Buhle Waste has a long history in South Africa and Sekete explains that the company will draw on its vast experience to try and grow across the nation and beyond the borders. “Buhle Waste was started in 1997 so has been going now for 17 years” he says. “The company was started by Dr Phetole David Sekete and he had seen a gap in the market, realising that waste management was something that had to be dealt with and a problem that was not going away. This was a booming business, something that was just picking up in South Africa, particularly in the Johannesburg area with the increasing population. “In the beginning, the company had a focus on general waste; collecting waste from municipal dumps and residential areas in the Ekurhuleni municipality in Johannesburg. Medical waste became the focus in 2001.”
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“Africa is definitely the next frontier”
The company currently operates in five of the country’s nine provinces (Gauteng, Limpopo, North West, KZN and Mpumalanga) and some of the significant contracts come from the Provincial Departments of Health. “In the last two to three years things have been very good” says Sekete; “business is continuing to grow. “We are looking to expand our operations and move into all the provinces. Hopefully, across the next two to three years, we’ll be operating across the whole country with all the provincial departments.” When it comes to major expansion, beyond the South African borders, Sekete explains that business is already underway with preliminary discussions taking place right now. “At the moment we’ve got some interested parties in Botswana who are looking to collaborate with us, hopefully
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within the next six to 12 months. We are also looking at moving into the other SADC countries; Namibia and Zambia for example. Africa is definitely the next frontier.” Obviously, waste management is the core activity for Buhle Waste but in the early days of the company’s life, there were also sub-divisions which offered related services such as cleaning and hygiene facilities. While this has since fallen out of favour and the core activities have taken prime consideration, Sekete explains that Buhle Waste is looking to kick start its business in these areas, especially when the company realises its goal of expansion into continental markets. “When the waste management business started, we had a sub-structure that offered cleaning services but that fell by the wayside with operations being focussed on waste management. We are looking to pick that up again and get
Buhle Waste back into the hygiene space. We are looking to work closely with the mines and deal with their hazardous waste and also offer sanitation services,” says Sekete. “When we move into Africa, sanitation will be a big area for us” he says. “We take sanitation for granted here in SA but in other areas of Africa, even in the Southern African region, sanitation is still being implemented and infrastructure is still being developed but that is definitely an area with potential for us.” Buhle boasts big names as clients, setting itself in good stead for its growth into African markets. The client portfolio has a diverse make-up and does not only consist of Johannesburg hospitals. “Within Gauteng we currently service the NHC (National Health Care) branches at Bryanston, Honeydew and Midrand. We also serve Daxina which is a private clinic and we serve doctors surgeries throughout Gauteng, Limpopo, North West and Mpumalanga,” says Sekete.
INDUSTRY BODIES In the past, there have been instances in which the waste management industry in South Africa has been brought into disrepute. Poor practice by companies has left a lot to be desired and the main governing bodies in the industry now have strict operational policies and guidelines in
Dr Phetole David Sekete
Buhle Waste CEO
COMPANY REPORT
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Buhle Waste place to ensure that high standards are always met. The Institute of Waste Management of Southern Africa (IWMSA) is the most widely recognised association in the industry with over 300 organisational members. They provide assistance to companies looking to improve their practices and also communicate with the DEA to ensure that policies are up-to-date and realistic. Buhle Waste is a member of IWMSA and Sekete suggests that the company has respect for the organisation, closely following its guidelines. “We are a member of the IWMSA,” he says. “They ensure services are at a good level and that we are practicing the best methods of waste management service and delivery. We also take notes from the DEA who put together the policies and legislation that we follow to the letter. These are the two main bodies that we follow. “The Green Scorpions, who fall under the DEA, come down heavily on any infringement of the law. We would not condone any bad practice but there are situations and circumstances when this does occur. Sometimes there is an explanation and other times it’s just poor management but the Green Scorpions sink into anything that goes wrong. Unfortunately, all the institute can do is speak or lobby with the DEA but we do keep up with their guidelines and suggestions.”
It is this sort of strict compliance that allows Buhle Waste to be recognised as an industry leader in what can be a challenging market place. The company attracts highly skilled personnel and Sekete explains that the staff play an integral role in navigating the potential minefield of issues that could occur at any time. “We currently have around 300 employees. Most of the staff is operational. We have large fleets and each truck will require three employees, a driver and two assistants. We have health and safety operatives, administration operatives, environmental operatives and logistics managers. “The logistics managers have the very complicated task of coordinating collections from over 1000 facilities and this can become a mission.” It is clear that Buhle Waste has made huge strides in the waste management industry since its inception in 1997. The decision to make the move into medical waste has proved fruitful and with expansion plans and innovative new technology on the horizon, the company could now begin to raise the bar and set new standards for the industry in South Africa and potentially across the whole Southern African region. Buhle are making this once difficult and complex industry cleaner and easier to manage and for that alone they should be applauded.
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+27 11 866 2316 www.buhlewaste.co.za
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