Speech delivered by the Minister of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment, Ms Barbara Creecy during the launch of the Municipal Cleaning and Greening Programme in the Nelson Mandela Bay Metropolitan Municipality, Eastern Cape Province
Illegal dumping and littering is a common problem that affects citizens across our country. Today we launch the Municipal Cleaning and Greening initiative which aims to clear 7251 illegal dumping hotspots in communities across our country.
Illegal dumping poses a health hazard to communities and undermines community morale and good governance. From an environmental perspective, illegal dumping poses serious risks to livestock, wetlands, rivers and marine and coastal areas.
This weekend South Africa sends a delegation to Kenya to participate in the United Nations Environment Assembly’s negotiations on a legally binding instrument to prevent plastic pollution. Our participation in this significant event means we have a duty to effectively tackle the leaching of plastic waste in our own environment here at home.
As the world moves to find more effective ways to combat plastic pollution, our government is taking more significant steps to improve municipal waste collection, ensure landfill compliance and promote waste recycling.
Across the country we are targeting to clean up illegal dump sites in provincial capitals including, City of Cape Town, Sol Plaatjie, Mafikeng, Msunduzi, Polokwane, City of Joburg, City of Ekurhuleni, City of Tshwane, Mogale City, Sedibeng, Mbombela and City of Mangaung. As of 30 September, this year, we have cleared 1299 or nineteen percent of the sites. I am confident that with the acceleration of the cleaning programme 100% of the identified hotspots will be cleared by the end of this programme.
The Municipal Cleaning and Greening programme is a partnership with provinces and municipalities who assist in recruiting our public works participants and also provide protective clothing, and cleaning materials while we provide the stipend to all participants. To assist us in clearing these 7251 dump sites, our government has created more than 37 000 work opportunities under our public works programme.
The impact of the 37 049 EPWP participants is visible across the country since their work includes daily cleaning streets, clearing illegal dumping sites, cleaning coastal areas and the revitalization of parks. In some instances, the cleaning and greening projects have rehabilitated wetlands which are important not only for spiritual or economic reasons but for their ecosystem services as well.
Here in Nelson Mandela Bay, we have identified 512 sites that require cleaning and today we show you some of the 41 sites where we have already begun our work. In preparation for this programme, our department had multiple engagements with the municipality. We assisted the municipality to find the budget to purchase a specialised fleet for waste collection; ensured additional refuse collection into the un-serviced poor areas; supported improvements to waste disposal facilities and worked with the municipality to clear 41 illegal dumping hot spots.
The greater clean-up programme across the Eastern Cape is creating a total of 8000 work opportunities. Municipalities where we are implementing this programme includes these Buffalo City Metro, Alfred Nzo, OR Tambo, Amathole, Chris Hani, Sarah Baartman and Joe Gqabi District Municipalities.
To ensure sustainability of the programme, of the Cleaning and Greening initiative includes planting trees in the rehabilitated dumping sites. We are planting both indigenous trees, in line with the water scarcity of the country, and the fruit trees to contribute towards food security.
Communities are responsible for maintaining the trees within their households. This initiative is supported by assisting communities to understand the environmental and food security role of trees. A total of 225 000 trees will be planted by government throughout the country during this financial year, with 3000 committed for the Nelson Mandel Bay. As we launch today, 2000 of the trees have been planted and the remaining 1000 will be planted over the next few months.
The Department fully acknowledges that part of the solution to the problem is to change societal attitudes and behaviour and to mobilise the public to begin taking charge and responsibility for keeping their neighbourhoods clean. However, we must also acknowledge that where municipalities have inadequate household waste collection the problem of dumping increases.
The National Waste Management Strategy, 2020 guides the approach of all levels of government in improving waste management. Through the Top 40 programme, government has priorities 40 municipal landfills for improved compliance through a public/private partnership model currently championed by Infrastructure South Africa. Together with COGTA and National Treasury we have revised the Municipal Infrastructure Grant Policy so municipalities can purchase yellow fleet to improve household collection and improve landfill management.
Since the initiation of this programme, our department has processed applications for the specialised waste management vehicles from over 100 municipalities across the country. In the last two years we have spent over R 164 million to buy 44 waste collection vehicles and 21 landfill management waste vehicles for 58 municipalities.
We are also working hard on promoting recycling and the development of a circular economy, so we reach our target of diverting 45 percent of waste from landfills over five years. This programme requires us to collaboratively with the private sector on Extended Producer Responsibility and other initiatives. The producers, through their Producer Responsibility Organisations that are represented today, now have a statutory obligation to recycle the waste that arise from their products upon reaching end-of-life.
Our EPR Regulations aim to influence product design to take environmental considerations into account and are currently being implemented for paper, packaging and some single use products, lighting, electrical and electronic products.
The Department also takes a prioritised approach where necessary, as is the case with plastic waste. A number of plastic products (Plastic packaging - both printed and unprinted) are now regulated under the Extended Producer Responsibility Regulations that are meant to ensure the responsible consumption and production. These include polyolefin, PETs, PVC, Vinyl, products manufactured through injection moulding, straws and plastic sheeting, as well as resins and plastic wrappings.
Programme Director, by way of conclusion I would like to thank everyone who has participated in this event today: the Eastern Cape Provincial Government, the Mayor and the administration of Nelson Mandela Bay Metropolitan Council, all the officials from national, provincial and local government; our extended producer responsibility schemes and our recycling enterprises and of course our hard working Public works participants who are doing a lot of the heavy lifting. Because “Nature knows no Waste”, let us reduce, re-use and recycle.
I thank you.
