Keynote address delivered by the Honourable Minister of Environmental Affairs, Ms Bee Molewa during the National Waste Management Summit at the Ingwenyama Conference Centre, White River, Mpumalanga province
Programme director
MECs present
Executive Mayors
Members of the Portfolio Committee on Environmental Affairs, Honourable Mabilo and Honourable Kekana
Public entities
Members of Mayoral Committees (MMCs)
Distinguished guests
Officials from national, provincial departments and local government
Waste Management Officers
Academia
Civil society
Industry representatives
Members of the media
Ladies and gentlemen
I am privileged and honoured to be part of this auspicious occasion, the National Waste Management Summit, especially hosted in this very warm province, the Mpumalanga province.
We all acknowledge that waste is one aspect of our society which is often neglected and not prioritised by many, whereas being an integral part of our daily lives. Waste is the outcome of human development. As society advances, and new technology is introduced, the waste generated becomes more diverse and complex with the South African population growing consistently, means that the volumes of waste generated is following a similar trend.
The world is changing, society is changing, technology is changing, and waste is also changing. As waste management practitioners, academics, industry, civil society and the general public, we have to come to the realisation that business as usual in waste management is inadequate. We need to rise to the challenge and develop innovative ideas on how we can improve waste management systems in our country in order to drive the recycling economy.
Our country is facing the ‘triple’ challenge of unemployment, poverty and inequality as eloquently outlined by our President Jacob Zuma. Ours, as the waste management sector, is to find space and ways to ensure that the sector contributes to the endeavours of tackling this challenges. The Waste Information baseline study that my Department conducted in 2011, revealed that approximately 108 million tons of waste was generated, of which 97 million tons were disposed to landfill. Only 10% of the generated waste in South Africa was recycled in 2011. This, ladies and gentleman, distinguished guests, tells us that we have a problem. South Africa needs to change! We are a “throwaway” society, and there is a need for a paradigm shift.
There is a potential for this country to implement our policies and waste management strategy and divert more waste towards other waste management options such as reuse, recycling, recovery as our strategy directs and only dispose waste at landfills as a last resort. In that way, we can ensure that we benefit from the economic spinoffs which come from waste management.
I have called this Summit today, to ensure that for the next two days the collective gathered here deliberate on the theme “war on waste: driving the recycling economy in South Africa”. We must answer the following questions; What is it that as government, industry, academia, private sector and general public, we can do to accelerate the recycling economy. What are the bottlenecks and what is the vision for waste management in South Africa? These are the questions which government cannot respond to alone, but requires a collective effort.
The legal tools for waste management are in place and government is continually improving on them to ensure that regulatory base is intact. The National Environmental Management: Waste Act, 2008 came into effect on 1 July 2009, and cabinet approved the National Waste Management Strategy in 2012 for the effective implementation of the Act.
The Waste Act regulates waste management in order to protect health and the environment by providing reasonable measures for the prevention of pollution and ecological degradation and securing ecologically sustainable development.
The Act acknowledges that waste management practices in many areas of our country are not conducive to a healthy environment and that under certain circumstances, waste is a resource and offers economic opportunities. My department, working with provinces, municipalities and industry acknowledges this and therefore continue to identify areas, legally and otherwise, which can be explored to ensure that the economic benefits emanating from waste are explored and that we move away from dumping the recyclable waste at landfill sites.
Our President, Mr Jacob Zuma l, during 2014, enacted the National Environmental Waste Amendment Act which is aimed at providing certainly, increasing institutional capacity for managing waste streams as well as putting mechanisms in place for proper pricing of waste. The Amendment Act provides for the establishment of the Waste Management Bureau within the department. The Bureau’s functions; will be mainly centred on the implementation, monitoring and evaluation of industry waste management plans. This will include the disbursement of funds which will be channelled towards recycling and waste minimisation.
There will also be an element of support to municipalities in waste management planning and the provision of waste services. Although there are no warm bodies in the Bureau yet, I am proud to announce that the department is forging ahead with the work of the Bureau and is currently putting systems in place for its operationalisation. These include the establishment of the Department Industry Waste Management Forum to look at the work on the Industry Waste Management Plans currently.
You may be aware that we have prioritised some waste streams which will be managed through Industry Waste Management Plans and this include the waste tyres (of which there is the REDISA Plan under implementation), paper and packaging, lighting and e-waste There has been some proactive work done towards the development of Industry Waste Management Plans in these sectors and some of the proposals will be discussed as part of this summit. I will however, still formally call upon these and other sectors, by Notice in the gazette, to prepare and submit Plans.
As a department, we see the Plans as one of the co-regulatory mechanisms for accelerating the diversion of waste from landfill, but also awarding industry the opportunity to implement extended producer responsibility. Noting that this regulatory tool may not be suitable for all waste streams, there is still space for other tools such as the waste management licences, norms and standards, declaration of priority waste and others, as outlined in the National Waste Management Strategy.
I mentioned earlier in my speech that it is no longer going to be business as usual. I have published the National Pricing Strategy for Waste management on 2 February 2015 for public comment. This strategy outlines the methodology for pricing of waste streams to ensure that there are funds collected to promote the recycling economy. We all agree that diverting waste from landfill sites requires infrastructure and such must be funded. Government had to intervene to put mechanisms in place for the provision and coordination of this infrastructure and ensure that we begin to capitalise on the tangible benefits out of waste management.
We are looking at developing Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs), creating job opportunities, and implement the radical socio-economic transformation. Our waste management efforts must respond to the challenges of unemployment and poverty that our people are facing. We must use this waste management strategy to transform our economy. We must reach our targets of creation of new SMMEs and industrialists. I look forward to seeing previously disadvantaged groups of our society, women, youth and people with disabilities, taking an active role in waste management. The integration of the informal sector is also key, and I am glad that it is one of the topics to be discussed as part of this Summit. I look forward to recommendations in this regard.
Furthermore; the department has made progress towards engaging many role players in a coordinated approach with regard to the implementation of the Waste Act. There had been concerns from members of the industry that the department’s engagement with industry has not been very effective. The department has since realised that there is a need to formalise the relationship and engagement with industry and create a platform where ideas could be shared and information exchanged with regard to the implementation of the Waste Act. To this effect, the DEA-Industry Waste Management Forum has been established. The overall aim for the Forum is to create a platform where industry and government can work together towards the implementation of the Waste Act. I am pleased to announce that the forum is functioning effectively and had since held a total of four meetings. The forum will convene on a quarterly basis. I would like to extend the invitation to other members of industry who would like to participate to make this forum all inclusive.
Today ladies and gentlemen I am also pleased to be launching the Intergovernmental Committee on Waste Management (IGCWM), comprising of waste management officials from all National Government Departments. This is a government vehicle to look at chemicals and waste policies, systems and programmes for implementation and providing policy direction in terms of waste management in the country. The Intergovernmental Committee on Waste Management is basically a forum where as provided for in the Waste Act, National Waste Management Officers coordinate activities at National Government for alignment, decision making and benchmarking with what is happening in other countries. As part of this launch, I have already tasked them with looking at the issue of separation at source. I believe through the Intergovernmental Committee on Waste Management we can start doing something about waste in government buildings. “This is not to say they are dirtier than other buildings, but it is government providing leadership”
Ladies and gentleman, distinguished guests, as government we are committed to create a conducive environment for the recycling economy to thrive, however, we seek equal commitment from the private sector and from everyone. Let us all make an effort to educate our communities about recycling. Let us remove the monopolies which exist in the pricing of recyclable materials. We have to make recycling a worthwhile venture.
I believe there are developed countries who are landfilling less than 10% of their waste, what happens to the other waste? What is it that we, as a country, can learn, adapt and implement in South Africa? Why is the country not recycling as much as it should? Why are we still having dirty neighbourhoods in this country? Why is this country not maximising on the job creation potential embedded in waste? Ladies and gentleman, these are the kind of questions that this summit must address, collectively we need to find common ground and craft the way forward.
We work tirelessly to provide support to our Municipalities; my officials had an opportunity to deliberate on some of the initiatives yesterday. They include:
- the training of municipal officials
- support in data collection and reporting
- developing tools such as the tariff model for setting waste management tariffs at local government level
- the web portal for integrated waste management plans
- model by law for waste management
- licensing of unlicensed waste disposal sites amongst others.
It is very important to acknowledge our partners who tirelessly work with us in implementing these programmes, in particular Department of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (COGTA), SALGA, provincial departments of environment and the municipalities who continuously support us. The support from the National Treasury is of immense importance and we appreciate that they are always there when we need them “Niyazi ukuthi izinto zenziwa ngemali”. Let us continue to work together in improving the quality of life and turnaround the plight of waste management in this country. We acknowledge the industry initiatives on waste management. We now have voluntary extended producer responsibility programmes, fully funded and run by industry. Your contribution in waste management does not go unnoticed. We hope to see many such initiatives in future.
We live in an era where climate change is no longer a pie in the sky, but a reality that is facing us on a day to day basis. The waste sector can also contribute in mitigating climate change. My department, through the Chemicals and Waste Management Branch, is leading the Waste Management Flagship Programme envisaged in the Climate Change Response policy. In this regard, a framework document has been developed and I believe waste to energy is central to some of the initiatives. This will respond to the well-known energy crisis that South Africa in facing. There is a need to support more programmes which link climate change and waste management, because the two are not mutually exclusive.
We have started to implement the secondary asbestos remediation plan and will host a national conference this year on land remediation.
In 2013 we signed the Minamata Convention on Mercury. The department is undertaking an impact study that will determine the impact of ratifying the Convention. As a country we need to start prioritising chemicals management as many of these chemicals end up as hazardous waste, In view of this we will host a Chemicals Management Summit later this year.
Ladies and gentlemen, let me take this opportunity to thank you all for honouring my invitation and I wish you very fruitful engagements in the plenary discussions and breakaway commissions for the next two days and we look forward to your recommendations as experts in this field.
I thank you.
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