Minister of Forestry, Fisheries and The Environment, Ms Barbara Creecy during the Youth in Waste Summit at the Nelson Mandela Bay Metropolitan Municipality, Eastern Cape Province
We would like to acknowledge the following people whose presence and collaboration in this Summit is important and valuable:
- Firstly, all the young people who are with us today and in particular our youth finalists who will be pitching their projects later today.
- Our esteemed judges who have a mammoth task to preside and select the best youth in waste project
- Our Summit Partners:
Mr. Hlubi Shivanda from Samsung SA
Mr. Stuart Bartlett IDC SEF Programme Manager
Ms. Dorah Modise from the PRO Alliance
The Green Youth Network
Distinguished ladies and gentlemen, recent research tells us that across the world every minute, 3,825 tons of waste are produced. The largest share of this huge volume ends up in landfills or on open dump sites, putting enormous pressure on the environment and wildlife habitats.
Across the length and breadth of our country, littering and illegal dumping is a common problem. 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.
Globally the average amount of waste that is recycled is about twenty percent. Our country has a better rate of recycling at 34 percent, with the remaining becoming part of landfill sites or leaching into our environment.
A recent study by the International Labour Organisation estimated that a total of seven to eight million new jobs could be created in the global South by the circular economy, where all forms of waste, such as clothes, scrap metal and obsolete electronics are reused, recycled and refurbished.
The Circular Economy (CE) is a concept that aims for business models that reduce the material footprint of goods and services by promoting measures such as the reduction of raw material input, the reuse of goods, and the recycling of materials. This approach helps protect the environment, contributes to the better use of natural resources and supports the development of local economies.
Circular economy strategies therefore score highest on environmental benefits and create the most jobs of any waste management approach:
- Reuse creates over 200 times as many jobs as landfills and incinerators.
- Recycling creates around 70 times as many jobs as landfills and incinerators.
- Remanufacturing creates almost 30 times as many jobs as landfills and incinerators
In the aftermath of the Covid 19 Pandemic the South African Government adopted the Economic Recovery and Reconstruction Programme which had the promotion of green industries as one of its central strategies.
We believe that the waste economy has the potential to create thousands of jobs in our country. Our department wants to ensure young people, who bear the brunt of unemployment in our country, are aware of the opportunities in the waste economy.
Over the past three years there have been significant new policies which promote new opportunities in the waste sector. We have set up Extended Producer Schemes in the packaging, lighting and electronic sector which require all producers to promote recycling of their products and invest in new enterprises to make this a reality. New product streams for further extended producer responsibility are under consideration by our department.
Since the establishment of our Extended Producer Schemes in packaging, lighting, and electronic waste, this sector has created over 7 500 formal and up to 60 000 informal jobs.
Currently the Section 29 Waste Tyre Plan is out for public comment. Extensive work is being done by the retail sector to look at how to prevent food waste and promote new industries that can generate energy from food waste.
In short, my message to you today is we are really happy you have chosen to attend this important conference and we believe there are lots of opportunities here for you to exploit.
So, this Youth in Waste Summit is a flagship stakeholder engagement programme organised by the DFFE in partnership with Nelson Mandela Bay Metropolitan Municipality, prioritising youth in the waste sector who are either working in the sector or pioneering concepts or technology that will assist Government to better manage waste.
The Green Youth Network (GYN) and waste sector Producer Responsibility Organisations have mobilised resources, some of which you are seeing today in the exhibition hall, aimed at addressing critical issues related to waste management and environmental sustainability.
It is our intention that this summit will serve as a prominent platform for thought leaders, innovators, stakeholders, and communities to come together and collectively tackle the challenges faced by the waste management sector.
The Summit hosted today, is one of 14 which will be held in the country and a platform where the corporate sector gets an opportunity to engage with small businesses in the waste management space, in particular the youth and commit to building working relations and supporting them through funding, empowerment programmes and unlocking markets.
Ladies and gentlemen, I am told this Summit is meticulously designed to be a multifaceted experience, encompassing thought leadership dialogues, waste innovators' pitches, conferences, workshops, site visits, and networking opportunities.
Today thought leaders and industry experts will share insights with the aim of inspiring participants to develop innovative waste management initiatives. Later today our three young finalists will conduct a pitching session to demonstrate ways in which innovative start-ups can present new solutions to age old problems.
The Summit also gives young people the opportunity to influence government policy and practice necessary to support sustainable waste management and the communities it serves.
Ladies and gentlemen,
The Presidential Coordinating Committee (PCC) meeting held on 2 June 2023 resolved that Nelson Mandela Bay Metropolitan Municipality will be prioritised and assisted with waste management service delivery, by employing two thousand (2000) Expanded Public Works Programme (EPWP) participants.
This will help to improve the cleanliness of the City during 2023/24 financial year and beyond for sustainability purposes. Ladies and gentlemen, let me reiterate, the DFFE is implementing this programme in partnership with the Eastern Cape Provincial Government. The Presidency will be monitoring the implementation of the programme and the related cleanliness outcomes of the project. This project will also include a component of tree planting with a target of trees planned to be planted in each municipality.
Furthermore, His Excellency, President Cyril Ramaphosa has made a call to all citizens to start taking pride of their neighbourhood and clean their communities, as well as announced plans by government to catalyse economic growth under the stimulus package. The Cleaning and Greening programme is the waste management sector’s response and contribution to the call for citizens to lend a hand in responsible waste management. 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.
It is in this broader context that today we say to the youth of Nelson Mandela Bay Metro “if you today can become part of the solution, you will no longer be part of the problem!”
I wish you every success with this Summit and thank you for inviting me to the opening!
For media requests contact:
Peter Mbelengwa
Cell: 082 611 8197
