NATIONAL WASTE MANAGEMENT STRATEGIES AND ACTION PLANS SOUTH AFRICA

Action Plan Development PHASE

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY *

TABLE OF CONTENT *

1. BACKGROUND *

2. ANALYSIS *

3. LOGICAL FRAMEWORK ANALYSIS *

4. IMPLEMENTATION *

Until recently waste management was not regarded to be a priority issue in South Africa. The waste management that did take place focused mainly on waste disposal and was reactive, in that it generally addressed pressing needs on an ad hoc basis. Holistic, integrated waste management planning was rarely, if ever, undertaken. The low priority accorded waste management resulted in waste impacting detrimentally on the South African environment and human health.

Section 24 of the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa (Act 108 of 1996) states that the people of South Africa have a right to an environment that is not detrimental to human health, and imposes a duty on the state to promulgate legislation and to implement policies to ensure that this right is upheld. To date, a number of steps have been taken, to ensure this environmental right, including the publication of the Environmental Management Policy for South Africa (1998), the publication of the Draft White Paper on Integrated Pollution and Waste Management for South Africa (IP&WM) (1998), the promulgation of the National Water Act (1998) and National Environmental Management Act (1998), and the development of a National Waste Management Strategy.

The project for the development of a National Waste Management Strategy (NWMS) for South Africa was initiated during 1997 by the Department of Environmental Affairs and Tourism (DEAT) and the Department of Water Affairs and Forestry (DWAF), with financial support from the Danish Co-operation for Environment and Development (Danced). The overall objective of the NWMS is to reduce the generation and environmental impact of all forms of waste, to ensure that the health of the people and the quality of the environmental resources are no longer affected by uncontrolled and uncoordinated waste management. In line with the IP&WM approach, the NWMS addresses all elements in the waste management hierarchy.

The NWMS project comprises four phases:

Phase I, the Inception Phase, during which detailed planning for the project was undertaken, in consultation with stakeholders, was completed in December 1997.

Phase II, the Situation/Baseline Analysis Phase, was completed in May 1998. During this phase, waste issues, problems and needs were identified, and the findings synthesised into an integrated situation/baseline analysis, which was workshopped with stakeholders to identify the waste management needs and issues to be addressed in the strategy formulation phase.

Phase III, the Strategy Formulation Phase, commenced immediately after completion of the Situation/Baseline Analysis Phase, with debate of the key issues identified during that phase, and development of a broad range of strategic options and scenarios. The Draft NWMS, Version ‘a’ document was compiled based on these inputs and direction from the Project Steering Committee (PSC), and workshopped with stakeholders in November 1998. At the request of workshop attendees and the PSC, the Draft NWMS, Version ‘b’ document was compiled, and issued for stakeholder comment over the period mid-December 1998 to the end of February 1999. Input received has been compiled in a Stakeholder Analysis Report, and will be incorporated in the final draft NWMS that will be considered and ratified by government.

Phase IV, Action Plan Development Phase. The process of developing Action Plans to implement the priority strategic initiatives identified in the draft NWMS commenced in early 1999. In order to develop a practically implementable strategy the priority initiatives have been categorised into short-term (by the year 2004), medium-term (by the year 2008) and long-term (by the year 2012) priorities. Stakeholders have for the most part accepted a number of initiatives that require urgent attention. Of these implementation of integrated waste management planning, provision of general waste collection services to previously unserviced areas and the development and implementation of the Waste Information System were identified as high priority. Draft Action Plans have therefore been developed for Integrated Waste Management Planning, General Waste Collection, and Waste Information System, as well as a project plan for the implementing instruments. During the development of each draft Action Plan, due cognisance was taken of all stakeholder comments compiled in the Stakeholder Analysis Report.

Action Plans, Set I were developed between February and April 1999 for the implementation of the short-term high priority strategic initiatives for Integrated Waste Management Planning, the Waste Information System, General Waste Collection, and Implementing. Instruments. Action Plans Set II will be developed over the period May to September 1999 for the remaining elements of integrated waste management, namely Waste Minimisation, Recycling, Hazardous Waste Collection, Treatment, Waste Disposal and Capacity Building,

The supply of accurate information within the specified timeframe for the support the other NWMS initiatives is most important for the success of the NWMS. This will facilitate the implementation of the initiatives, as well assist with future strategy development.

The objectives of the Waste Information System (WIS) initiative within the NWMS are to:

• Monitor the progress of all initiatives within the NWMS.
• Supply information to support future developments in the NWMS.
• Disseminate information on the NWMS.

Development of this Action Plan commenced with a review of the status quo of waste information systems in South Africa. The NWMS, and specifically the short-term priority initiatives for the WIS, formed the basis for development of this Action Plan. The Logical Framework Analysis (LFA) approach was used to develop the Action Plan. This approach entailed an analysis of the problems, stakeholders and risks to the successful implementation of the Action Plan. This was followed by a LFA, in which project objectives, outputs, activities required to achieve the outputs, inputs, assumptions (external factors) and means of verification were determined and described. Finally, the functions, roles and responsibilities of implementers and procedures for evaluating, reviewing and reporting on implementation of this Action Plan were described.

This Action Plan represents a first generation plan aimed at addressing the key issues, needs and problems currently experienced with waste information in South Africa. However, this document represents the optimum approach to the implementation of a Waste Information System in terms of resource allocation, time schedule and responsibilities. Resource constraints may limit the full implementation of the Action Plan according to the proposed time schedule. Thus, continual monitoring and adaptation to meet the practical realities will be required. As increased resources become available, additional initiatives can be implemented.

The implementers of this Action Plan should familiarise themselves with the National Waste Management Strategy Documents. Further information for further development and implementation of the Action Plan for the WIS is contained in the following documents:

• Stakeholder Analysis Report, 10 March 1999, draft report PMG 112.
• National Waste Management Strategy, Vol. 1 and 2, 17 December 1998, draft report version B, PMG 98 and 99.
• Strategic Options Discussion Document, Synthesis Report, 3 August 1998, PMG 69, including Annexure D.
• Situation/Baseline Analysis Report, Synthesis Report, 30 March 1998, PMG 26.
• Situation/Baseline Analysis Report, Annexure D, 27 March 1998.

A WIS baseline report (WIS Situation Baseline Analysis, PMG 30, Annexure D) contains a comprehensive discussion of the status quo of waste related information and waste related databases in South Africa. Two significant shortcomings show up in these information sets, namely:

• While a number of relatively comprehensive information sets exist, there is no consistency of scope between the information sets, and often inconsistency. This renders comparison of these information sets tenuous.
• Most of the information sets are a static reflection of waste generated in a specific time period. The information is not up-dated making it difficult to use this information to support strategy development, and to evaluate the efficacy of these strategies.

In addition, a number of specific elements within the WIS were developed to address the following significant concerns that were raised:

• There is the feeling that up to 50% of the hazardous waste stream is never reported or disposed of properly.
• A significant deficiency in the existing information sets is the lack of information on the agricultural sector. Discussions are currently ongoing with the Department of Agriculture to address this deficiency.
• An audit trail should exist between the generator of a waste and its point of disposal, in order to enforce the Responsible Care Principle. A further audit trail (this time relative to information flow) should be implemented between local authorities, provincial government, and the DEAT.

Furthermore, a number of industries did not accept the existing information sets as representative of their waste generation potential. This has two implications; firstly that the existing information sets are potentially inaccurate; and secondly that stakeholders have no confidence in the information and thus they will have no confidence in the decisions based on the information.

Despite the number of environmental laws and regulations that are in existence in South Africa, legislation is fragmented and often overlapping. DEAT has initiated a Law Reform Process that will review existing environmental legislation and the legislation required to implement the NWMS that will highlight:

• Where legislation is duplicated.
• Where legislation is deficient with respect to implementation of the initiatives within the NWMS.

It will only be possible to implement the strategies developed within the NWMS if:

• Political will exists.
• Sufficient funds are available and that these funds are available timeously.
• Sufficient staff with the appropriate skills are available.
• Institutional requirements are met.
• There is stakeholder commitment to the process.
• Comprehensive education is initiated in civil society.

With specific reference to Information Systems, the Draft White Paper on Integrated Pollution and Waste Management for South Africa (Notice 1686, 1998) states as one of its goals; Goal 6: Information management: To develop and maintain databases and information management systems to provide accessible information to interested and affected parties that will support effective integrated pollution and waste management.

It is within this context that the reporting structures and information flow have been developed within the NWMS. The information to be reported by data suppliers is sufficient to support integrated pollution and waste management and the structures will ensure that the information is readily available to all interested and affected parties.

There are a number of points that are to be addressed in the long-term (up to 2012 and beyond) within the NWMS, namely:

• Establish effective and efficient information systems, including the development of appropriate pollution indicators, to ensure informed decision making, measure progress in policy implementation and enable public participation in integrated pollution and waste management governance.
• Strengthen and build the capacity of government to collect, analyse and use relevant information and knowledge for integrated pollution and waste management from all sources, including formal, non-formal and traditional sources.
• Disseminate information in an accessible format through formal and informal channels including communication media.
• Develop a register of pollutant point and diffuse sources for pollutant releases, in preparation for an eventual Pollutant Release and Transfer Register (PRTR).
• Develop a register for all waste handlers.
• Register all waste disposal sites.

In the short-term (1999 to 2004), however, the focus will be placed on gathering:

• Information specifically required by all priority initiatives within the NWMS.
• Information which is readily available in the public and private sector.

While the WIS that is developed will allow for the calculation of suitable indicators, the other initiatives within the NWMS, as well as other stakeholders, will define the indicators considered to be important. The information to be collected by the WIS within the first cycle will be broad-based for use in the evaluation of a variety of indicators and will be sufficient to support short-term (and medium-term) decisions taken by the other NWMS initiatives.

It will be essential to ensure that there is capacity within government to run the WIS and to use the information that it contains in the short-term. Information will be disseminated widely using several forms of communication and media. Registration of waste handlers and waste disposal sites will form part of the short-term goal of the WIS.

This Action Plan contains details of those activities that will have to be implemented to meet the short-term objectives within the WIS initiative. The first data suppliers required to report the prescribed data will include:

• That information essential to the development of the other NWMS priority initiatives.
• Information that is readily available.
• Information specifically required to reach Goal 6 in the draft IP & WM White Paper (as described in Section 1.2).

Data suppliers will report to their local authority and the local authority must ensure that all data suppliers within their area of jurisdiction have supplied the required information. Once a complete data set has been received, the local authority forwards the information to the provincial environmental departments for verification and quality control. The purpose of this procedure is to ensure that the information within the WIS is as accurate as possible. Once a data set has been verified, the provincial environmental departments will issue a certificate. If a reporting entity wilfully supplies inaccurate information, they will be prosecuted and those information suppliers who do not report information on time will be advertised in the local and national press. Once the provincial environmental departments have verified the information, it will be aggregated for the province and forwarded to the DEAT. The DEAT is responsible for information dissemination, as well as the evaluation of the total waste profile for South Africa and the required indicators.. Provision will be made for a backup paper copy for the electronic system.

The following will have to be met before the first round of data collection and information verification can be initiated:

• Local authorities are capacitated to perform their data collection responsibilities.
• Provincial environmental departments are trained to conduct data verification and quality assurance.

Three complete rounds of data collection, verification and aggregation are possible within the short-term (1999 to 2004), through which it is estimated that 70% of the total waste stream in South Africa will be identified and quantified. (See Table 2.1)

Motivation for the tight time schedule presented in this Action Plan include:

• The WIS is a supporting tool for all other Action Plans that are being developed within the NWMS.
• There is broad stakeholder acceptance that the WIS is an integral part of integrated waste management requiring early implementation.
• The WIS is a monitoring and planning tool that can be used to assess the status of all initiatives. The information within the WIS is a starting point for most waste management strategies.
• The WIS is a basic structure upon which most waste management databases can be built.

In the short-term, the main focus of the WIS is to deliver information required for the implementation of the NWMS. Furthermore, a comprehensive and consistent information set, including significant contributions from all entities that contribute to the national waste stream will be developed. In the long-term the information systems will also monitor compliance with a number of international treaties, to which South Africa is a signatory.

The main requirement is to address the problem that exists in the waste generation and management information sets.

An analysis of existing information and reporting structures identified the following:

• Consistent and accurate information is limited.
• There are no integrated reporting systems.
• Legislation is not in place that requires waste generators, transporters and disposers to report information on the waste.
• The collection and processing of waste related information has not been the responsibility of only one government department and the information is therefore fragmented over various government departments.

There are a number of key stakeholders that have been, and need to be, involved in the development of the WIS and need to be involved in its further development:

• DEAT – Lead Agent
• DWAF – NWMS partner with DEAT
• Department of Minerals and Energy: Promulgated the Minerals Act of 1992 and more recently its White Papers on Energy Policy (December 1998) and Minerals and Mining Policy (October 1998), which bot deal with waste management within the minerals and energy industries. Involved in a project with DWAF to address the problem of abandoned mine dumps.
• Department of Health: Responsible for monitoring and control of waste management at hospitals. Involved in a project to evaluate problem medical waste disposal sites.
• Department of Trade and Industry: Maintains the register of companies, which is an important source of information for the initial baseline data to be entered into the WIS; follow-up discussions on the involvement of small and medium sized enterprises will be conducted in the near future.
• Department of Transport: Regulates the transport of hazardous waste.
• Department of Agriculture: Responsible for the correct disposal of agricultural pesticides.
• Department of Finance: Joint investigation into appropriate funding mechanisms and financing for the WIS.
• Provincial representatives of DEAT and regional DWAF representatives.

A government workshop will be convened, which will be attended by representatives of both national and provincial environmental departments, so that their input can be received and their commitment into the development of the WIS can be confirmed. It is proposed that this workshop be held in (or before) early 2000.

Other stakeholder groups include:

• South African Local Governments Association (SALGA): Represents local government, and has been assigned the responsibility of receiving the information from data suppliers. In addition, they are also data suppliers as they manage both transportation and disposal of wastes.
• CBOs and NGOs: These groups have a significant role in capacity building within civil society and in disseminating the information available from the WIS. They are also organised structures and important in ensuring that the requirements of society are included in the implementation and further development of the WIS.
• Labour and the trade unions: These groups represent the opinion of a significant number of people in South Africa, who are directly affected both by the wastes generated and in the handling of wastes.
• Industry: This group includes the waste generators, transporters and disposers. There are two main sections within this sector namely, large industries that are well organised and either have installed, or are starting to implement, formal waste management systems. These industries generate, transport and dispose of a significant proportion of the mass flow of waste in the country. The other category is the small and medium sized enterprises that do not have formal management systems in place. These enterprises pose two challenges to the implementers of the WIS; firstly they could be difficult to trace; and secondly they may be in possession of limited information on their waste stream. Meeting these challenges will require considerable financial and personnel input both on the side of the enterprise and on the side of the local authority to collect and process the information.
• Industry Affiliates: Entities such as the IWM that have significant insight into both the status quo of waste management and future trends in the industry.

Government stakeholders have been described in Section 2.2. The responsibilities of each government department will be delineated to ensure that the information is reported only once.

Sufficient personnel will be allocated to DEAT to ensure that the WIS is implemented. Computer and office space will be required, as well as office support (telephones, photocopiers, etc). Initially, two to four staff members will be allocated to implement the WIS, which will increase as required, as well as when the necessary budget provisions have been made.

Approximately 50 staff members working on implementing the WIS on a part-time basis, and who are appropriately capacitated, will be required at the nine provinces. They will require access to computers, as well as a central information storage facility (it is proposed that there is one aggregated database per province). The personnel in each province will be allocated according to the number of information suppliers within that province.

Local government requires the largest allocation of personnel, as they are required to receive the information supplied by the information suppliers. It should be noted that the local authority is not required to go and collect the information, as this is the responsibility of the reporting entity responsible for submitting the information to the local authority. However, there is a potential capacity shortfall and information suppliers may need to be capacitated to understand the requirements of the WIS, and may also not have access to computer facilities. It is the responsibility of the local authorities to ensure that there are sufficient computer resources available for formatting of data electronically.

Combining the reporting requirements of different entities could possibly reduce the number of staff required. This possibility is discussed in the previous WIS reports and should be evaluated on a province by province basis, as well as within each local authority.

It is a medium-term goal of the WIS to be fully automated. However, it is necessary to make provision, initially at least, for occasions when the information supplier and/or the information receiver, does not have access to computer facilities. These scenarios are described in detail in previous WIS reports (PMG 26 and PMG 69. Outsourcing infrastructural requirements could possibly reduce costs. Each province will be evaluated independently according to their needs and resources with regard to instituting such cost-saving options.

The two immediate requirements for the WIS are:

• That enabling legislation is in place by September 2000.
• That sufficient funds are available for the development of the database (by April 2000) and for the first year of operation (by January 2001).

If these needs are not addressed timeously, all other activities within this Action Plan will be delayed.

There are a number of issues that will be addressed to minimise the impact of risk factors on the implementation of the WIS:

• Confidentiality of information: There is an option within the WIS to keep information confidential if the business interests of the reporting entity is threatened. In this situation, the onus and associated financial cost, will be placed on the entity to petition DEAT to keep the information confidential. The issues regarding confidentiality will be structured and the mechanisms to deal with requests will be developed. A qualified group or committee will evaluate all requests. The legal issues will be considered and where appropriate, investigated further.
• Request for release of unverified information and company specific information: In line with the Constitution, the South African public may request the information within the WIS. However, there is a risk involved in releasing information that has not been verified and any unverified information that is released must be marked as such. Should any company specific information be released from the WIS, the company involved will be given the opportunity to include an explanation of the information (e.g. units of measure, hazard rating and environmental risk of the material). A time limit will be set on the delivery of such explanations.
• Information suppliers not supplying information or supplying incorrect information: Information suppliers that do not supply information on time and as specified, will be prosecuted. However, due to the financial costs and time required for prosecution, the first action to be taken will be to advertise widely and through as many different media as possible that the company has not met the reporting requirements of the WIS.
• Late delivery of information: The other initiatives within the NWMS are dependent on the timeous availability of information from the WIS and significant delays could result if information is not available.
• Information sets not meeting the requirements of the stakeholders: There are certain expectations within a number of stakeholder sectors of the nature and accuracy of information that will be available from the WIS. However, it will not be possible to deliver an information set that is comprehensive and detailed to a degree that meets all declared expectations within the time and budget constraints placed on the NWMS.
• Requesting information that is perceived to be the domain of other government departments: A number of government departments play a significant role in the management of specific wastes. Inter-departmental agreements should be drawn up before information collection begins. This will be addressed to some extent by convening the government workshop described in section 2.2.

Other risk factors include:

• Insufficient funding available: If there is insufficient funding available to install, run and maintain the system, implementation will not be effective.
• Inadequate maintenance of hardware and software: The hardware and software must be maintained in order for the WIS to run as effectively as possible. Comprehensive monitoring and maintenance schemes will be drawn up and adhered to.
• Inadequate back-ups: Computer based systems are prone to failure. Therefore, a hard copy and electronic backup (disc) of the information and sufficient archives to ensure that the software and information can be reinstalled, effectively and efficiently, will be maintained. In addition, all data suppliers will be required to have at least three years of backups archived.
• Insufficient personnel with appropriate skills: There must be sufficient personnel who are capacitated in the aims and requirements of the WIS.
• Institutional requirements not met: There is sequential processing of information and responsibilities by the three tiers of government that must be accepted
• Legislation not sufficiently well defined or not in place on time: The definitions of terms included in the development of the WIS must be written into legislation unambiguously and concisely so that there is no potential for misinterpretation. This legislation will require information suppliers to report information and enable the various tiers of government to perform their functions.

There are four elements in the process of information management. These are described below:

• Data collection: The information suppliers are required to submit information to the local authorities who in their turn must ensure that they have received information from all the data suppliers in their area of jurisdiction. A preliminary assessment will be undertaken by the local authority on the information sets, to determine whether the information sets are realistic. Personnel must be adequately trained to perform these administrative tasks.
• Data verification and quality control: Before issuing certificates of compliance, the provincial environmental departments are required to determine whether the information sets, which they have received, are accurate and a true reflection of the waste stream from the reporting entity. The names of non-reporters will be made public through the communication media. Capacity building on data verification and quality control in the provinces will be included the first round of capacity building at the provincial level.
• Data aggregation and dissemination: Provincial environmental departments will aggregate the information within their province and submit it to DEAT. At DEAT this information is further aggregated to produce national figures that will be published widely by as many communication media as required.
• Overseeing the operation and development of the WIS: This is the task of the DEAT. This committee must be convened by DEAT. It is the responsibility of the DEAT to develop the WIS. It is however the responsibility of the CEC and Mintech Workgroup 3 to ensure that all stakeholders are included in decisions taken by DEAT on the further development of the WIS. This procedure will be followed to ensure that the WIS continues to meet the requirements of all stakeholders in the long-term.

Since the implementation of the NWMS will be a phased-process, reporting to the WIS will be phased in over a number of years. The following phasing in of infomation has been established:

• Information required for the other short-term Action Plans within the NWMS is of high priority.
• Industries that have information available are required to report.
• Reporting entities that can address gaps in the existing information sets are required to report.

The first set of information to be included in the WIS will be the information that is available from the information suppliers in the private sector. The total number of reporting entities falling into this category is relatively small (it is estimated that fewer than 5 000 reporting entities can account for more than 50% of the waste stream). A minimum number of reporting entities of 20 000 and a maximum of 50 000 will be in the first cycle of information collection, which is equivalent to 10% of the total information suppliers in South Africa. Table 2.1 details the proposed percentage of reporting entities by the end of year 2001, 2002, 2003 and 2004.

Information reported will be submitted the year after it is collected, thus reports made in 2001 will be the waste generated, transported or disposed of for the year 1 January, 2000 to 30 December 2000. This procedure could be tailored to the financial year end of the companies, in which case the year for which the information is reported must be the year in which the majority of the financial year falls. For example, a company with an April year end would report 1 May 2000 to 30 April 2001 in the 2000 reporting cycle and thus their information will be required by 31 December 2001. This time schedule will give companies sufficient time to carry out the required aggregation and validation of the information. While 31 December each year will be the dead-line for reporting information, companies will be encouraged to report their information as soon as possible to avoid delays in the quality assurance and information processing elements of the WIS.

Initially the larger industries will be focused upon as these account for the largest percentage of the waste stream (in quantity, not necessarily hazard rating). Thus a higher coverage of the waste stream will be achieved by including these industries first. The list of companies required to report will be compiled from the Register of Companies as held by the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI). The local authorities will be given the list of the companies in their area for whom they must receive information. The departmental implementor is responsible for drawing up the list of companies to include in the first round of information reporting. In drawing up this list, attention must be paid to getting the best coverage for the lease amount of effort. By adopting the "Pareto Principle" approach, and taking the information contained in the DTI map of industries, it should be possible to cover at least 80% of the mass of waste from about 5000 data submissions. An SMME strategy must be developed to ensure that these reporting entities are included in the data submission step. This will be co-ordinated with the requirements of the other NWMS initiatives (particularly Waste Minimisation). While there is a reporting deadline for 31 December each year, information collection is continuous (see the PIP in Appendix B), thus it would be most effective if submission were received throughout the year as opposed to en masse at the end of the year. Ideally the departmental task leaders will also establish a list of companies staggering the input required from the companies over the entire reporting year.

Companies reporting information to the WIS that wish to change the format of the information from that included in the prototype will need to petition DEAT. A system for these petitions will need to be established in order to ensure that they are dealt with timeously and that petitions are not frivolous. There is the potential leeway to change the categories included in the WIS, those included at present are those identified by the other task teams within the NWMS as being the elements which need to be reported. Extending the categories into which waste is classified to include other elements such as tars and oils needs to be addressed in the short-term so that the tender documents can be amended accordingly.

Information on the waste stream will be reported in either tonnes or m³. It may be necessary to include average densities in the database to facilitate interpretation of the information supplied.

Information verification and quality assurance can only start once information has been made available by the local authorities. This element of the information flow will therefore be initiated six months after information collection has begun, that is in December 2001. The first cycle of verification addresses only the information set that is supplied by the local authorities. In the second and third years of reporting, the provincial environmental departments will have the responsibility for ensuring that information gaps are addressed, in order to provide an information set by July 2004 (the third year of phased reporting) that is at least 80% complete.

Information from companies which have an ISO 14000 series certification (or any other auditable environmental management system) in place, is deemed sufficiently accurate. Complete Quality Assurance Guidelines will be developed in June 1999. These guidelines will include an indication of an internal audit trail.

This stage is dependent on the verification stage and will start in June 2002. The first national report will be compiled at the end of 2002 that contains the information from the first year of information collection (2001) and will reflect the waste stream from the previous year (2000). As more information suppliers are included in the data collection exercise, the information contained in the report will become more complete. In December 2004, a detailed report on the South African Waste Stream will be compiled that contains information available at that date (about 80% of the waste stream). It will describe the source of the waste, the nature of the waste (general and hazardous) as well as a further breakdown, e.g., paper, plastic, etc, for general waste. The total mass of the waste stream will be known and an indication of the amount of waste generated, transported and disposed of will be included. The percentage of the waste stream recycled will be available. Various indicators, as required by the other initiatives within the NWMS, as well as other stakeholders, will also be included.

2.5.5 Comments on the Phased Implementation Approach

While the scenario played out above is in keeping with the majority of the participants at the stakeholder workshops, a different opinion was offered at the most recent workshop (held on 28 April, 1999). These comments place an emphasis on the cost and effort involved in implementing the WIS in the format as required by previous workshops. It is clear that there is a need to delay the implementation of the entire system if money is not available for the complete development of the system. However, it will be possible to keep to the dead-lines detailed in the PIP included in Appendix B while only using the prototype as developed already (with the requisite changes reflecting the outcome of prototype testing). In addition, there is no urgent need for legislation requiring companies to report if the reporting entities listed in Table 2.1 report voluntarily. It was the feeling of the workshop that the majority of larger companies would volunteer information, and that legislation would be needed only when SMMEs are to be included. Thus it should be possible to accumulate information only using the prototype data entry template. However, this information would have to meet the requirements of the other initiatives within the NWMS, as well as the requirements of other stakeholders. It will be a task of the DEAT WIS departmental task leader to establish a central database, which can be used to aggregate the information accumulated using the data entry template.

3.  LOGICAL FRAMEWORK ANALYSIS

Following an analysis of the problems, stakeholders and risks, a Logical Framework Analysis (LFA) matrix was prepared. The LFA matrix contains an outline of the logical steps, which, if the assumptions are realised, are necessary to achieve the Action Plan objectives. The LFA matrix therefore constitutes a summary of the objectives, outputs/deliverables, activities necessary to produce the outputs, inputs required, assumptions or external factors and monitoring and verification. The LFA matrix for this Action Plan is attached as Annexure A. The elements of the matrix are described in greater detail below.

The development objective of the NWMS is the reduced generation and environmental impact of all forms of waste, so that the socio-economic development of South Africa, the health of its people and the quality of its environmental resources are no longer adversely affected by uncontrolled and uncoordinated waste management.

The WIS will meet the information requirements of all stakeholders in the NWMS and support sustainable integrated waste management in South Africa. The WIS has been developed to support the extension to include a PRTR. Other requirements are a technology transfer database, a clean technology database and extension to Geographical Information System (GIS) based interfaces. The Mintech Workgroup 3 will decide upon and guide these changes.

The following three short-term objectives have been identified for the WIS for completion by December 2004:

The first short-term objective of the WIS is to have the database in place by June 2001. This objective entails establishing the supporting structures within the institutions, capacitating personnel, and meeting financing requirements and legislative requirements. Although the required legislation will only be promulgated in September 2000, some reporting entities will voluntarily report their information before the legislation is enacted. The structuring of information flow elements and responsibilities within the different spheres of government are detailed in Annexure C.

The second short-term objective is to develop, by December 2001, an information set with sufficient information to support the other initiatives within the NWMS. Although this information set will not have been completely verified (this will only be achieved by June 2002) the information will be of sufficient value to support decisions taken in the other initiatives. This first information set will be for the reporting year 2001 and thus will reflect activities in the country for the year 2000. Further reporting years will augment this set of information, increasing the number of information suppliers annually until all reporting entities have been included in the waste stream (See Table 2.1). Where it is not possible to include all reporting entities, modelling will be used to address information deficiencies. The information set will be sufficient to support decisions taken for further implementation of initiatives within the NWMS

Verified information from the first cycle of information gathering will be made available. The initial information set will describe waste management activities in South Africa for the year ending December 2000 and will be released by Dec 2002. The information available will be sufficient to monitor the progress of all the NWMS initiatives.

There are a number of outputs that will result from the implementation of the WIS Action Plan. These outputs are dependent on the critical assumptions which are: that enabling legislation is in place and that the financial, institutional, personnel and capacity requirements are met.

• WIS operational by June 2001 (Section 3.3.1). An assessment of the training needs, testing of the prototype, capacity building and availability of funds will form the basis of a sustainable WIS operational system. The prototype will be tested on various sites and an assessment report compiled. WIS Guidelines, which will be continually updated, will be available by January 2000. The WIS Guidelines are the main mechanism for conveying information about the WIS for capacitating the data suppliers. The Guidelines will detail reporting requirements and what happens with the information.
• Accurate verified information, required to support all short-term objectives within the NWMS, by January 2003 (Section 3.3.2).
• Publication of a waste report by December 2003 (Section 3.3.3). Depending on the funding availability, a preliminary national WIS report will be published by the end of year 2002.

The activities listed below can be broadly divided into those activities that support specific outputs, and those activities that are required to ensure the operation of the WIS.

Activities in support of the immediate objective described in Section 3.3.1.

• Specification of the WIS for drafting a tender document. A prototype database was developed during the strategy formulation phase of the NWMS. This database was tested at approximately 30 representative test sites. Based on the results of the prototype tests, a technical specification will be compiled, which will incorporate the feedback received from the test sites on the proto-type and the WIS Guidelines. The feedback report will be completed during 1999. The specification will be drawn up in the form of a public tender enquiry document stipulating the following aspects:
  • The software development platform.
  • The database to be used.
  • The database structure.
  • Data Communications format & structures.
  • Security levels.
  • The standard hardware platform.
  • The standard networking software.
  • The standard operating system software.
  • Data structures.
  • Data analysis requirements.
  • User interface requirements.
  • Report formats.
  • Backup and security systems.

Consensus has been reached on the following aspects of the WIS:

• Quality assessment mechanisms.
• Pollution indicators.
• Aggregation and data processing mechanisms.
• Modelling techniques to be employed.
• Methods for dealing with transgressions.

• Tender award. Once the tender has been awarded the development of the WIS database can begin.
• Development of the database: Once the tender enquiry documents have been drawn up, a suitable Information Technology (IT) consultant or contractor will be appointed to complete the development of the WIS database, including a comprehensive interactive testing phase. Providing the required funding is made available, the WIS database will be operational by end of June 2001.
• Collection and entry of baseline information: Certain baseline information is required to initialise the database Data entry will be completed by the end of June 2001, when the database becomes operational.

Activities in support of the immediate objective described in Section 3.3.2.

• Data collection phased in over three years (2001 to 2003): There are two factors which will determine the number of reporting entities and the time periods for reporting the information, namely:
  • The information required to support the initiatives within the NWMS.
  • Funding available.

At the end of the three years, that is in 2003, at least 80% of the waste stream in South Africa will be accounted for from directly reported information. This information will include all three entities within the material flow of waste, i.e., generator, transporter and disposer. The balance of the waste stream will be calculated using modelling techniques. During the time period 2001 to 2004 the reporting schedule presented in Table 2.1 will be met.

• Data verification phased-in in parallel with data collection during the period 2001 to 2003 according to the time schedule:
  • June 2002: Completion of verification of information received up to the end December 2001.
  • June 2003: Completion of verification of information received up to the end December 2002.
  • June 2004: Completion of verification of information received up to the end December 2004.

Activities in support of the immediate objective described in Section 3.3.3.

• Aggregation and publication of information in parallel to data verification (2002 to 2003) according to the following time schedule:
  • December 2002: Aggregated information publicly available from the first round of data collection.
  • December 2003: Aggregated information for second data gathering round publicly available.
  • December 2004: Aggregated information and first comprehensive report on the waste stream in South Africa publicly available.

• Liaison with stakeholders. For the WIS to be successful, it is necessary for all stakeholders to be committed to the process. The existing links between the government and the data supplier must be maintained and further links will be established. One of the initiatives of the WIS is to award data suppliers with a certificate once their data set is complete and verified. The issuing of certificates for verified data will be publicised and a list if information suppliers who have not met the legal requirement for data submission will be published.

• Updating of WIS and Guidelines: The WIS must continue to meet the needs of all stakeholders in the NWMS. The Mintech Workgroup 3 is responsible for reviewing and overseeing the updating the WIS.

• Operating the WIS helpline will be the responsibility of the DEAT. The main aim of the helpline is to asist data suppliers in fulfilling their tasks and to respond the queries of the users of the WIS.
• Data suppliers are required to maintain at least three years of information back-up. Local, and provincial authorities, as well as DEAT will be responsible for ensuring that their information is backed-up regularly and effectively.
• All elements within the system must be secure. This requirement will be included in the tender document.
• Political commitment is essential.

The legislation requiring data suppliers to submit information to the local authorities must be enacted, as well as legislation, which will ensure that information is channelled through local government to the provincial environmental departments and then to DEAT. The legislation must also define the responsibilities of the different levels of government. Provision must also be made in the legislation for appropriate funding mechanisms for the operation, maintenance and future up-grading of the WIS. All requisite by-laws will also be addressed. Care should be taken to ensure that all current legislation on information reporting related to the South African waste stream is crosschecked with this new legislation. The accuracy of this information supplied to he WIS cannot be written into law, as required accuracy levels could change as the perception of the risk associated with a waste stream changes. The Mintech Workgroup 3 as discussed below will determine the accuracy required. It will be possible for an admission of guilt fine to be paid before a reporting entity is prosecuted for non-compliance. However, participation rather than prosecution should be the approach adopted by DEAT.

• The Mintech Workgroup 3 will facilitate via DEAT the initial responsibilities of:
  • Finalisation and maintenance of the WIS Guidelines.
  • Establishing contacts with generators, transporters and disposers of wastes; academia; NGOs; labour; research institutions and other stakeholders.
  • Promoting stakeholder involvement.

• Facilitate the securing funds for WIS activities.
• Monitoring the overall performance of the system.
• Taking decisions about the future development of the WIS, which includes ensuring that the information it delivers continues to meet the requirements of all NMWS initiatives and other stakeholder groupings (this includes an indication of the accuracy of the information being reported to the system).
• Provision of guidance and guidelines for local authority by-laws in order to ensure countrywide uniformity and consistency.
• DEAT will co-ordinate the following activities:
• Data collection that is managed by local authorities.
• Verification of the data collected.
• Contacts regarding activities for the chemical substances database.
• Public access to data.

• The total personnel requirements of the WIS are presented in Table 3.1. As depicted in the table, the number of people involved in the WIS is dependent upon the number of submissions made each year. The total number of possible data submissions has been determined to be 200 000.

• An Action Plan for a Capacity Building programme is currently being developed. This Plan will take into account the identified personnel requirements and skills needed to undertake the activities identified in this Action Plan for the Waste Information System.
• Capacity building within the reporting entities does not constitute part of the NWMS capacity building initiative but will be addressed by the publication of the WIS Guidelines.
• As the Mintech Workgroup 3 identifies changes that must be made in the system to meet the changing requirements of stakeholders, the system will be refined and upgraded. In addition, provision will be made to ensure that the system used does not become outdated and that it remains efficient and easy to use. The system software will be updated in addition to routine maintenance of the software. It is the responsibility of DEAT to ensure that the required system and software changes are made and that routine maintenance is undertaken and backups made.

The following assumptions have been made in developing this Action Plan. If these assumptions are not met then it will not be possible to fully develop the WIS as set out in this Action Plan.

• A pre-requisite for the WIS is that legislation is in place requiring generators, transporters and disposers of waste to furnish the required waste information for the database. Legislation is also required, which will specify the responsibilities of government to operate and maintain the WIS. Legislation must contain a clear definition of waste, as well as define waste categories in an unambiguous manner.

• Essential to the success of the WIS is the availability of adequate financial resources.

• Institutional requirements include:

  • The requisite government bodies established.
  • Adequately trained personnel are in place.
  • Hardware resources in place.
  • Structured training programs will have to be implemented to ensure that sufficient personnel are capacitated to carry out the essential tasks of :
  • Data collection
  • Data Entry
  • Data Analysis
  • Database
  • Maintenance
  • Hardware maintenance
  • Public relations with respect to the WIS.

Although sufficient resources may be available to implement the WIS, the long-term sustainability of the system will depend on the implementation of procedures and programmes to recruit and train personnel on an on-going basis.

• The NWMS will only be successful if there is continued government commitment and support.

• Commitment from all stakeholders, including the suppliers of waste information, to the ongoing operation and maintenance of the WIS, as well as political will.

• The WIS is adequately promoted and that capacity building is completed timeously

Assumptions regarding the outputs are:

• Technological resources available to achieve the outputs. The computer hardware and software must be in place according to schedule to meet the needs of the three levels of government. Software and hardware must be in place at local authority level by June 2001, and at provincial environmental departments by December 2001 and at DEAT by the end of June 2001. The equipment requirements are listed in Annexure D.

• Communication channels are available to and from the remote areas. The hardware specifications will include specifications for the communication of results, as well as methods to solve problems that may arise at these sites.

• The companies supplying the information will maintain hard copy back-ups of all information supplied to the local authorities.

• Government gives the approval to go to tender.

In order to monitor the progress of implementation of the WIS the following activities and resulting outputs will be reviewed by the Mintech Workgroup 3.

• Legislation in place.
• Sufficient resources in place.
• Staff allocations addressed.
• Funding available as required.
• Personnel able to perform their functions
• Tender document available.
• Tender awarded.
• WIS passes the performance test specified in the tender document.
• Baseline information analysed and in place.
• WIS Guidelines available and distributed to all users of the WIS.
• WIS information structures in place as required at all levels of government.
• Minimum number of data suppliers included in the initial information supplier set to be 20 000, maximum 50 0000.
• Initial set of information suppliers agreed to by all stakeholders.
• Help line in place and effectively staffed so that queries are efficiently answered.
• Requisite information supplied from identified data suppliers.
• Data collection completed timeously to ensure time for verification to be completed
• Information sets at local authorities completed and forwarded to the provincial environmental departments.
• Data verification finalised in time for final aggregation to be completed
• Information sets at provincial environmental departments verified and forwarded to DEAT.
• Publication of the waste report.
• Indicators and information sets as required by all short-term Action Plans within the NWMS available and accurate.
• Stakeholder forum established and regular meetings, with adequate attendance, convened.
• WIS updated to meet the requirements of all stakeholders.
• Sufficient archives made and maintained to ensure efficient recovery from computer failure, both hardware and software.
• Security in place at all levels within the data structure to ensure minimal "hacking" into any of the public sites.
• Hardware working adequately.
• Software performing adequately.

The period from January to September 1999 is a transitional phase during which the NWMS project responsibilities move from the Danish and South African consulting teams to the DEAT and DWAF.

The DEAT will be the environmental lead agent for waste and will assume responsibility for the integrated waste management process.

This transfer of responsibilities requires that specific departmental personnel, referred to as departmental task leaders (DTL), are tasked with overseeing the implementation of the various Action Plans. The DTLs and project management group representatives constitute the Action Plan Implementation Group (APIG) that will assist with the implementation of the NWMS and the Action Plans. The APIG will review, guide and advise on the management of the implementation activities, as well as the process, outputs, time frames, budgets and monitoring. The APIG will also assist with the lateral and vertical integration and co-ordination of the Action Plans, not only between participating DEAT and DWAF staff but also within all levels of government. When the functions of those personnel identified as departmental task leaders change, due to reallocation of responsibilities, other appropriate staff will substitute them.

Organisational and financial sustainability is dependent upon the commitment by national government in the allocation of the necessary financial resources as well as the development of capacity and awareness through projects driven by DEAT.

Organisational and financial sustainability in provincial and local government depends on the availability of financial and personnel resources.

The time schedules established in this Action Plan are dependent on the availability of personnel and finance. If there is any delay, specifically in providing finance and personnel, as well as in enacting the required legislation, the implementation of the WIS will be delayed. As all the other initiatives within the NWMS are dependant on information being available within the given time frames, delaying the development of the WIS will also delay the other initiatives. Contingency plans need to be in place if delays are significant and impact negatively on the progress of the other NWMS initiatives.

A team that will be referred to as the WIS Implementation Team or WIS IT will be convened to oversee the implementation of the WIS

The main function of the WIS IT is to facilitate the timeous and effective implementation of the Project Implementation Plan (PIP) (See Annexure B). The group will be familiar with the WIS documents, as well as with the WIS prototype. The WIS IT will convene meetings as required and monitor and oversee the progress made with the implementation of the WIS Action Plan. Any problems encountered in the implementation programme will be timeously addressed.

The development of the waste information system (WIS) is the overall responsibility of DEAT but implementation will take place primarily at provincial and local government levels. These spheres of government must, therefore, be informed of any developments in the WIS and capacitated to ensure that the implementation of the WIS will be successful and sustainable. Responsibilities of the DEAT regarding development of the WIS include:

• Legislation to secure the data collection and processing.
• Provision of appropriate funding mechanisms for the operation and maintenance of the WIS
• Implementation of pilot projects.
• Development of the WIS database system.
• Dissemination of information on the WIS to all spheres of government.
• Education and training of operating staff.

In addition, in order to encourage support for the WIS on the part of information suppliers, it will be necessary for the department to pay attention to the following points:

• Implement a PR Campaign to highlight the need for, and the potential benefits of, the WIS, and to allay any potential fears caused by ignorance of the WIS.
• Costs must be kept to a minimum especially for SMMEs, and thus care should be taken in determining the cost of the system for its users. It is believed that the costs included in this document are not excessive.
• No tax disincentives should be set for information suppliers
• Initially, the authorities will help and guide the respondents, and will only prosecute offenders as a last resort. Though Prosecutions are not seen as to be central to the manner in which information should be collected, the emphasis should be placed on voluntary information disclosure and advertising transgressions rather than prosecuting transgressors

The responsibilities and duties regarding operation of the WIS for the main components of data collection and handling are shown in Figure 4.1.

Reports from waste generators, waste transporters and waste disposers are collected on a computer-based medium, e.g. on a disc or via the Internet, if possible. Reports submitted on paper are entered into a computer. The data collectors will only be required to be on the site of the data supplier if an audit of the information supplier has been requested.

Quality Assurance is carried out at different levels. The information from individual data suppliers will be evaluated for completeness and credibility. The information will be verified through a number of spot checks involving auditing of the data suppliers together with calculation of mass balances on information from the generators, transporters and disposers respectively. As shown in Figure 4.1, certificates of approved reporting performance are issued to the data suppliers following the quality assurance process.

During the data processing the information that has been collected is processed to a number of aggregation levels, e.g. provincial and national level. Furthermore, a number of performance indicators will be calculated at this stage of data processing.

The distribution of information from the WIS includes the preparation of reports and publication of aggregated information. Publication is envisaged to take a number of forms and will be via media, including the press and the Internet.

The Mintech Workgroup 3 was identified as a key component to ensure that the implementation and further development of the WIS will be successful and sustainable. They will also facilitate the funding of the WIS.

The distribution of responsibility for each of these components at the three levels of government is shown in Annexure C.

Note: The Local Authorities will collect the bulk of the data, however some information may flow from other levels of Government.

The Project Implementation Plan (PIP) establishes a number of critical elements that need to be in place for the implementation to be effective and the dates by which these activities must be achieved. The WIS Implementing Team (WIS IT) will be responsible for co-ordinating and monitoring the progress of the tasks undertaken by the government, as well as by outside contractors.

The tender document will be based on the WIS prototype, the WIS Guidelines and the prototype report. Once these documents are completed (during 1999), a tender document will be compiled. Monitoring of this activity will be the responsibility of the existing WIS task team.

To facilitate the tendering process it may be necessary to make use of the skills of other sections within DEAT/DWAF or to obtain advice from IT consultants.

The database will be developed by the entity (private, public, or private-public) that wins the bid. Development should take between 2 and 4 months. Regular meetings with the developer will be arranged to ensure that the product will be delivered on time.

A list of data suppliers will indicate the total number of reporting entities to be included in the first round of data collection. The number will not exceed 50 000 with a minimum 20 000 entities incorporated in the first reporting year. Cross-referencing of this list with the local authority’s asset register will determine the computer facilities required by each local authority. The WIS IT will ensure that this list is established before the database is complete, to ensure sufficient time for installation of system hardware and software. It will be the responsibility of the WIS IT, together with stakeholders, to ensure consensus is reached on the list of reporting entities. Stakeholders will be updated on the developments. The final list will be the output from this phase.

While the WIS initiative does not require the buying of hardware (other than at national level), sufficient hardware resources must be in place to facilitate data collection and verification. Hardware requirements can be evaluated on the basis of the number of reporting entities in the local authority’s area of jurisdiction. An aggregation of these reporting entities will give the hardware requirements at the provincial environmental departments. The WIS IT will monitor this process and will ensure that the hardware is efficient, effective and that there are no communication problems. The WIS IT will also monitor the installation of software. The contractor will give reports on the progress of the implementation of the system to the WIS IT at least once a month.

The addition of the baseline information in the WIS may be the responsibility of the successful WIS tenderer. Alternatively the WIS IT will ensure that all the available information is entered into the system. Monthly reporting on the status will be instituted.

Sufficient personnel will be in place with adequate computer facilities. Personnel requirements within the government can only be evaluated once the initial list of data suppliers and the local authorities have been identified. Personnel deficiencies will be addressed and vacant positions filled, where required. Strict reporting of time schedules will be established. Organising the capacity building programme is not the responsibility of the WIS IT, but it will oversee the process and ensure that the training courses the personnel attend are adequate and appropriate. The courses should enable that participants develop and practice the relevant skills ands empower participants to become competent WIS operators and managers. Monthly reporting of the status of the personnel (number trained, number achieving passing marks) will be required.

If the required legislation for the implementation of the WIS is not promulgated on time, a contingency plan will have to be developed to overcome this. This situation may require the PIP to be modified or to promote data collection on a voluntary basis.

It will be necessary to ensure that all the elements within the WIS, i.e. data collection, verification, issuing certificates of compliance, aggregation, reporting, are operating effectively. In addition to reports that indicate the extent to which the local and provincial environmental departments have fulfilled their responsibilities, meetings will also be convened bi-annually to discuss any problems or difficulties. The WIS IT will be responsible for convening these meetings and will have to ensure that all problems are addressed. Minutes of the meetings and reports on any actions decided will be circulated to all stakeholders.

The NWMS will be fully implemented by December 2010. A phased approach has been adopted with short-term goals to be achieved by end December 2004, medium-term goals to have been accomplished by the end of 2008 and long-term goals during 2009 and beyond. A project implementation plan (PIP) for the time period July 1999 to December 2004 has been developed for the WIS. The implementation plan can be found in Annexure B.

This Annexure does not contain a specification of the equipment required by the various elements within the WIS, but rather it indicates the computer capacity which will be required by the WIS.

At DEAT the WIS team will each require a computer. These machines must run at least Windows 95 and have sufficient software to enable the team to perform their tasks effectively and efficiently. A single software suite would be preferable. Software and hardware must be compatible with the platform that is running the central database.

The central database will be housed on one computer (possibly a desktop computer which sufficient memory and hard-drive space to run the database and store the information). A back up machine must be available.

Each person working at provincial level must have a computer available to him or her. However, as these personnel will be working part-time, the machines need not be dedicated to the WIS. These machines must be able to run at least Windows 95 (or equivalent) and have a single software suite installed on them.

In addition, one machine per province must be made available to store the information for the province. Provision of an adequate backup computer must be made.

While it will be necessary for data collectors within local government to have access to computers it is not necessary for each person to be supplied with a machine. A number of scenarios which relate to ensuring that local authorities have adequate computer facilities available to them have been detailed in the NWMS Strategy Implementation Phase 1 – Annexure D document. These scenarios range from provinces making the computers available to the local authorities to a metropolitan area establishing a central computer facility. Again this facility would not be dedicated to WIS-related work. These computers must run, as a minimum, Windows 3.1. They need to have a stiffy drive. At least one central computer for information storage must be available to the local authorities.

There are a number of pieces of peripheral equipment, which must be available to all elements within the WIS. Most notable of these are:

• Printers
• Backup devices
• Internet and network connections.

While Internet connections are not a pre-requisite, one of the decisions of the stakeholders is that, in the long-term, the WIS will move to being completely computer based. If this is to be achieved, all elements within the WIS must have e-mail as a minimum.

While provision is made for submission of information in paper form (in this instance it is the responsibility of the local authority to capture the information), the intention if the WIS in the long-term is to move to a completely computer-based system. Again a number of scenarios whereby computer access can be provided to the information suppliers have been developed in the NWMS Strategy Implementation Phase 1 – Annexure D document.

For information suppliers with computer systems, the minimum equipment requirement is a machine that is able to run Windows 3.1 and has a stiffy drive.

In the initial stages of the implementation of the WIS paper backups of all information will be retained. This procedure may be phased out when the database is proved to be effective and efficient.

All information suppliers will be required to retain backup copies of at least three years worth of information, preferably in electronic format but paper format is also acceptable.