Human activities generate many byproducts which are seen as useless and are discarded as waste. Increasing population growth accompanied by urbanisation and industrialisation has resulted in dramatic increases in the volume of waste generated by modern societies. Waste creates problems in a number of ways:

• It is aesthetically unattractive and impacts on tourism by creating a blight on South Africa's beautiful landscape.
• It pollutes air, soil, rivers and precious groundwater.
• It creates major health hazards to humans, particularly in areas where large amounts of waste are dumped and not cleaned up, e.g. in informal settlements.
• It fills up landfill sites which are becoming more difficult and costly to establish and maintain.

It is estimated that the total amount of urban waste (domestic waste) in South Africa is 15 million tons a year. Industries contribute about 25 million tons a year to the waste stream. It is imperative that this waste be managed properly if it is to be prevented from having negative environmental and health consequences.

Waste collection

Local authorities are primarily responsible for waste collection. It is much more costly to clean up litter left on streets and in public spaces than it is to collect waste from formal household waste collection systems. The public, therefore, has to accept co-responsibility for the cleanliness of their towns and cities and ensure that they dispose of litter and waste in allocated bins.

It has been recognised that traditional waste collection systems are inappropriate, inefficient and costly when applied to informal settlements. New innovative ways of managing waste in disadvantaged communities are required and so the trend is to move towards community-based waste collection by

• paying people to bring litter or waste to a central collection depot, and
• involving the community in programmes to keep their neighbourhoods clean.

Managing waste

The emphasis is more on preventing pollution and minimising waste at source since it is much more costly to clean up afterwards. This approach is based on the following:

• Reduction of waste through re-use of waste products, e.g. using plastic packets and containers in which products are sold to store things; using the blank side of printed paper before sending it to be recycled
• Recycling to remove mass from the waste stream
• Recovery of chemicals, gases and metals from waste

Recycling

Recycling is an important option for managing and reducing waste. Products which can be recycled are:

• Glass (bottles, broken window-panes)
• Paper (magazines, newspapers, office paper)
• Plastics (bags, bottles, containers)
• Metals (beverage cans)

Landfills

Approximately 95% of all urban waste is disposed of on land, either in open trenches or in sanitary landfills. There are about 1200 landfill sites in South Africa, most of them operated by local authorities. Each landfill site should have a permit issued by the Department of Water Affairs and Forestry in consultation with the Department of Environmental Affairs and Tourism. It is becoming more and more difficult to create new landfill sites as old ones become filled up. Communities are becoming proactive in exercising their right not to have their environment degraded and no-one wants to have an unsightly, smelly landfill nearby - "Not in my back yard!". It is imperative, therefore, that we reduce waste in order not to fill our landfills too quickly.

The National Waste Management Campaign

The Department of Environmental Affairs and Tourism has initiated a National Waste Management Campaign, launched in October 1998 in Sebokeng, Gauteng Province. The NWMC aims at promoting a culture of responsibility with regard to the management of waste and pollution. The Campaign will try to achieve this through

• creating improved access to environmental resources for all sectors of society.
• improving the level of public awareness with regard to waste and pollution management.
• making the public aware of their role and the need for community action in the development and maintenance of public facilities such as parks and open spaces.
• allowing people living in informal settlements to regain their dignity by providing sustainable, affordable and appropriate sanitation.

So far the campaign has achieved the following:

• Launching the Sebokeng Recycling Programme
• Initiating a community-based waste removal system and a community recreational park in the Stinkwater community.
• Launching the Greater Johannesburg Environment 2000 inner city programme with a Sustainable Integrated Waste Management Campaign in Yeoville.

The campaign will soon spread to other provinces.

Where to get more information:
The Dept. of Environmental Affairs and Tourism
Private Bag X447
PRETORIA
0001
Mr Lucas Mahlangu Tel: (012)3103536