2.1 Socio-economic and Demographic Context

Socio-economic and demographic factors such as urbanisation, unemployment and population growth impact on future waste trends and service provision, and provide a backdrop against which the NWMS should be developed. While 65% of South African households had access to domestic waste collection services in 2007, access to waste services remains highly skewed in favour of more affluent and urban communities.

In South Africa, growth in waste volumes is projected to rise to nearly 67 million cubic metres by the year 2010. Household waste generation varies considerably by settlement type and income, with wealthier consumers in urban areas generating much higher volumes of waste. Urban residents typically also generate more non-organic waste, which is less conducive to on-site disposal.

While the growth in the volume of general waste produced underlines the importance of waste minimisation strategies, it also highlights the economic potential of the waste management sector, which has an estimated total expenditure of approximately R10 billion per annum. Both waste collection and the recycling industry make a large contribution to job creation and GDP, and there is considerable potential to expand this further.

The 1999 National Waste Management Strategy defines the development objective of the waste sector as 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”.

Research has clearly indicated that well-considered, effective solid waste systems can make critical contributions to public health, environmental sustainability, economic development and poverty alleviation by:

1. improving public health outcomes (through reduced opportunities for disease)
2. enhancing environmental quality (through protecting watercourses and preventing degradation of public open spaces)
3. reducing waste quantity that can clog up public storm water and sanitation networks (thereby reducing flooding, service failures and the need for maintenance)
4. supporting higher levels of economic activity (through stimulating growth in GDP)
5. contributing directly to poverty alleviation (through offering opportunities for employment, SMME development, and empowerment).

Effective waste strategies can clearly make a profound contribution to the achievement of the South Africa’s broader economic and social objectives. The NWMS will therefore aim to integrate the objectives of environmental sustainability and achievement of the waste hierarchy with the broader transformation and development objectives of improved public health outcomes, economic development, poverty alleviation and improved access for all.

2.2 Constitutional and Legal Framework

The Constitution of South Africa, 1996 (Act 108 of 1996) (the Constitution) provides the foundation for environmental regulation and policy in South Africa. The right to environmental protection and to live in an environment that is not harmful to health is set out in the Bill of Rights (Section 24 of Chapter 2). This is the fundamental principle that underpins environmental policy (such as the White Papers on Environmental Management and Integrated Pollution and Waste Management) and law (principally the National Water Act; and National Environmental Management Act (NEMA)). The Waste Act forms an integral part of this overarching legal and policy framework, providing specifically for the management of the waste sector and regulation of waste management activities.

The Waste Act is required to adhere to the Constitutional assignment of legislative and executive powers between spheres of government. The Constitution assigns concurrent legislative competence to national and provincial government in respect of the environment and pollution control (Section 146 of the Constitution) and exclusive provincial legislative competence to the local government matters of cleansing and refuse removal, refuse dumps and solid waste disposal. The Constitution allows national legislation to provide for national norms and standards relating to these matters where national uniformity is required to deal effectively with an issue. Accordingly, the development of norms and standards is the foundation of the regulatory system established in terms of the Waste Act.

National government is obliged to develop norms and standards on certain matters, while provinces and municipalities are permitted to develop standards provided they are not in conflict with national standards. National and provincial government departments are also Constitutionally obliged to support municipalities in the execution of their functions. The Waste Act accordingly establishes cooperative governance mechanisms for dealing with matters such as waste planning, appointment of waste management officers and performance reporting.

White Paper on Environmental Management introduced the concept of the waste hierarchy, and the concept was subsequently given legal expression in NEMA. The waste hierarchy approach establishes waste avoidance or minimization as the key policy objective of waste management. NEMA introduced a number of additional guiding principles into South African environmental legislation, including the life-cycle approach to waste management, producer responsibility, the precautionary principle and the polluter pays principle. NEMA also placed a duty of care on any person who causes significant pollution or degradation of the environment, requiring them to institute measures to prevent pollution from occurring, or to minimise and rectify the pollution or degradation where it cannot reasonably be avoided. The Waste Act echoes the duty of care provision by obliging holders of waste to take reasonable measures to implement the waste hierarchy whilst protecting the environment and public health.

Subsequent amendments to and regulations issued in terms of NEMA have provided a detailed regulatory framework for the performance of Environmental Impact Assessments, which need to be closely aligned with the provisions for licensing of waste management activities. Environmental Management Inspectors (EMIs) are also designated and appointed in terms of NEMA, and these provisions form the backbone of the compliance and enforcement system that is required to support implementation of the Waste Act.

The Waste Act necessarily introduced a definition of waste, which has major implications for those activities that have traditionally not been treated or regarded as waste. Importantly for industry, the waste products and activities that fall outside the definition of waste are able to avoid the provisions of the Act. In order to clarify some of the definitional issues, a technical guideline will be developed by DEA as a basis for interpreting and applying the definition by both government and industry.

2.3 International Obligations

The Waste Act specifies that the NWMS should give effect to South Africa’s international obligations in terms of waste management. The evolving system of international declarations, agreements and treaties has provided an important context for the evolution of South African environmental policy in general, and waste management policy in particular.

The modern system of global environmental governance is to a large degree a consequence of the Rio Earth Summit and Agenda 21, which amongst others, advocated four major waste-related programmes: minimizing wastes; maximizing environmentally sound waste reuse and recycling; promoting environmentally sound waste disposal and treatment; and extending waste service coverage. The Summit set in motion a series of multilateral environmental agreements (MEAs) dealing with land-based sources of marine pollution, water quality, regional trans-boundary movement of hazardous waste, the management of toxic chemicals, and the trans-boundary movement of radioactive waste, amongst others.

In relation to hazardous products and waste, there are four principal conventions that apply. The Rotterdam Convention’s procedure for Prior Informed Consent became legally binding in 2004, and it promotes and enforces transparency in the importation of hazardous chemicals; the Basel Convention, adopted in 1989, addresses the need to control the transboundary movement of hazardous wastes and their disposal, setting out the categorisation of hazardous waste and the policies between member countries; the Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs), which entered into force in 2004, requires that member countries phase these out and prevent their import or export. The International Convention on Chemicals Management is the most recent of these related conventions (February 2006) and adopted the Strategic Approach to International Chemicals Management.

In relation to pollution of water, South Africa has acceded to a number of conventions which address dumping at sea and prescribe measures to prevent waste on land contaminating the seas and waterways. These wastes include oil, solid waste, nuclear waste and debris from landfill sites.

Several obligations exist around measures to protect the ozone layer and mitigate climate change. One of the roles that waste management can play in achieving these obligations is the reduction and efficient management of gases released from waste at landfill sites.

The South African government is required to put measures in place to give effect to the provisions of the MEAs to which the country has acceded. The Waste Act contains a number of measures that are necessary for implementing these international obligations. The NWMS must seek to integrate requirements emanating from international instruments into domestic responses to waste management.

2.4 Waste Flows and Strategic Challenges

Reliable data quantifying the different waste streams is not readily available, which severely limits government and industry’s ability to devise responsive measures to waste management challenges. This highlights the importance of establishing a functioning waste information system to which all stakeholders have access.

The NWMS research has compiled available waste information for the main producer categories of waste, and Table 1.1 below summarises the estimated quantities generated per annum for the key categories and types of waste, as well as highlights some of the strategic challenges for each category.

 The NWMS needs to put forward an integrated strategy and set of mechanisms for responding to these challenges. At the same time the NWMS must respond to the broader socio-economic and demographic factors highlighted above, while meeting international and domestic legislative requirements shaping the current policy process. Environmental measures devised through the NWMS process must provide appropriate and responsive solutions to the issues raised.

3.1 Overall goals, approach and regulatory model

The primary goal of the NWMS is the achievement of the objects of the Waste Act, which are in summary:

• minimizing pollution, environmental degradation and the consumption of natural resources,
• implementing the waste hierarchy,
• balancing the need for ecologically sustainable development with economic and social development, and
• promoting universal and affordable waste services

In developing an overall strategy for the NWMS, this regulatory model will be applied to each phase of the waste hierarchy.
 

3.2 Waste Avoidance and Reduction

Waste avoidance and reduction is the foundation of the waste hierarchy and the most emphasized step in the waste minimisation process. While waste reduction is hard to quantify, current available figures indicate that waste quantities (as a proxy for waste avoidance) are on the increase.

Waste reduction occurs largely through producer responsibility initiatives implemented by industry on a voluntary basis. At municipal level there has been very limited progress in implementing measures for waste reduction at household level. This is largely as a result of competing priorities for municipal services, and the broader capacity challenges faced by municipalities.

The NWMS will elaborate a programme of measures to accelerate waste reduction, which will be consolidated into a national waste minimisation programme. These measures will include, but will not be limited to:

• Setting norms and standards for waste minimisation. The Waste Act includes a discretionary provision for national norms and standards relating to waste minimisation. Government needs to consider the feasibility of norms and standards for waste minimisation as well as the precise products, activities or services to which these should apply.
• Including targets and measures for waste avoidance and reduction in industry waste management plans. Targets for waste minimisation for all the main industrial sectors will be developed progressively over five years, in line with the roll-out of provisions for industry waste management plans.
• Incorporating waste reduction principles into the design and packaging of products at the point of manufacture. This is considered to be more efficient than focussing on post-consumption responses, where the majority of current initiatives are focused. A balance must be found between encouraging design and packaging changes at the point of manufacture, whilst maintaining the momentum of current post-consumer initiatives.
• Encouraging and incentivising municipalities to implement waste reduction measures and campaigns. Performance targets for waste reduction need to be developed for municipalities in terms of their integrated waste management plans, based on the specific capacity of each municipality. It order to incentivise municipalities, it is proposed that government expand the “Cleanest Towns” Campaign to further encourage waste reduction at a municipal level.
• Reconsidering the current pricing of waste disposal so as to build in incentives for waste minimisation by consumers. Current tariff structures of municipalities fail to incentivize waste reduction.
• Implementing public awareness campaigns around waste minimisation including education and awareness campaigns for households and consumers.

Each of the measures will be further elaborated upon in the following chapter.

3.3 Recovery, Re-use and Recycling

Recovery, re-use and recycling is the second step in the waste hierarchy. Section 17 of the Waste Act provides a framework for recovery, reuse and recycling and describes a range of discretionary measures available to the Minister in this respect. The Waste Act also specifies that the NMWS must include objectives, plans guidelines, systems and procedures relating to amongst others, reuse, recycling and recovery. The NWMS must accordingly set out a programme of measures for waste recovery, re-use and recycling, which will be consolidated into a national recycling programme. These measures will include, but will not be limited to:

• Setting norms and standards for recovery, reuse and recycling of waste. The Waste Act includes a discretionary provision for national norms and standards relating to recovery, reuse and recycling of waste. In addition to the provisions set out in the Waste Act itself, it is recommended Government develop such norms and standards and identifies the activities to which these should apply.
• Including targets and measures for recovery, reuse and recycling of waste in industry waste management plans. Targets for recovery, reuse and recycling of waste for all the main industrial sectors will be developed progressively over five years, in line with the roll-out of provisions for industry waste management plans.
• Voluntary industry led initiatives for recovery, reuse and recycling of waste must be promoted. Most initiatives related to recovery, re-use and recycling are voluntary and industry-led. In some sectors, such as oil (ROSA) and cans (Collect-a-Can), non-profit section 21 companies have been created to promote and co-ordinate recycling. These industry-led and coordinated voluntary initiatives have largely proved successful. However there is considerable scope for expansion of the recycling industry and the improvement of recovery, re-use and recycling.
• The Waste Act requires that all activities relating to waste recovery, reuse and recycling use less natural resources and are less harmful to the environment that disposal of the waste. The extent to which existing activities comply with this provision needs to be assessed.
• The Waste Act allows the Minister, after consultation with the Minister of Trade and Industry, to require the recovery, reuse and recycling of products or components, and to determine a percentage of recycled material in products. These provisions will be used to reinforce industry waste management plans, and to address market failures. Guidelines for the application of these provisions need to be developed.
• Job creation in relation to recovery, reuse and recycling of waste must be promoted. The recycling industry, albeit largely informal, is currently making a significant contribution to job creation and the NWMS must harness and build on the job creation potential of the industry. Employment opportunities (including informal recycling activity such as ‘waste-picking’ on landfills) are concentrated within the collection and sorting phases of recycling.
• At the same time health and safety standards within the sector need attention. While it is acknowledged that waste-picking on landfills contributes significantly to the livelihoods of those involved, the health and safety hazards related to informal waste-picking on landfills is of grave concern to both government and industry. The NWMS will devise measures to accommodate the informal sector within the recycling industry.
• Separation at source has been promoted as a means to both improve the quantity of recyclates, and reduce waste sent to landfill. The NWMS needs to weigh the practicalities and benefits of separation at-source against the potential negative impact it might have on employment within the informal recycling sector.
• Education and awareness on the benefits associated with recovery, re-use and recycling are important to ensure public participation in re-use and recycling initiatives, and in facilitating mutually beneficial initiatives between government and industry. The NWMS will consider the practicalities associated with education and awareness and will devise measures which will best achieve this.
• Inclusion of ‘green requirements’ in procurement policies are considered to have the potential for a positive economic impact on the recycling sector. The feasibility and practicality of this will be considered in the NWMS.

It is proposed that these measures are consolidated into a recovery, reuse and recycling programme. Each of the proposed measures will be further elaborated upon in the following chapter.

3.4 Storage, Collection and Transportation

Waste services delivery, including the storage, collection and transportation of waste, is the main point of interface between the public and waste service providers. The how and what of waste services delivery also impacts directly on all stages of the waste hierarchy. The Waste Act requires municipalities to ensure access to and sustainability of waste services, to provide waste services at affordable prices, and to keep separate financial statements for waste services provided, amongst other. Key considerations for the development of an overall strategy for waste services delivery include varying notions for universal provision of waste services, the negative impact of current tariff policies on waste minimization, the limited use of external mechanisms of service provision and its low job creation impact and the impact of regionalisation of waste management services.

• Setting norms and standards for the planning and provision of waste management services. The Waste Act obliges DEA to set norms and standards for waste management services, and DEA has already initiated the process to prepare these. The Waste Act also provides for provincial norms and standards to be set in relation to waste management services, although differing provincial standards will raise issues in terms of the administrative capacity to monitor and enforce them.
• Municipalities may further set waste services standards for the separation, compacting and storage of solid waste, the management and directing of solid waste, and in respect of the control of litter. The Waste Act obliges waste service standards to be aligned to provincial and national norms and standards and further allows for the regionalisation of waste management services.   
• Targets for waste services delivery need to be set in municipal and provincial integrated waste management plans, with the objective of ensuring universal coverage of waste services within a realistic timeframe. While a general consensus on the objective of universal access to services exists, the understandings of ‘universal access’ and specifically the application of this term in urban vs rural contexts vary greatly. Within the NWMS, waste services delivery will gain its impetus from a refined definition of ‘service’/ ‘universal access’/ ‘universal provision’ of waste services, particularly as this has direct implications for the sequenced introduction of different targets and the development of guidelines for this purpose. In setting waste service delivery targets, government will take cognisance of the right of access to basic services and will ensure appropriate differentiation of targets.
• Waste service tariffs need to be reviewed, and guidelines issued in this regard. Current tariff policies create no incentive for waste minimization, and under-pricing of waste services over the years has led to an average 15% operating deficit in municipalities. Lessons should be learnt from the use of the current property-based and service-based tariff structures in the assessment of volumetric charging as a viable tariff charging policy which has the potential to stimulate waste minimisation. 
• Full cost accounting, which includes taking account of the full capital replacement, operating and environmental costs of delivering services is further considered to be the best mechanism to ensure proper pricing of waste services. A fundamental step here will be to understand the true costs of the waste service. The NWMS will provide guidance to municipalities to address the need for full cost accounting and will steer away from artificially influencing pricing to support recycling objectives only.
• Labour intensive and community based mechanisms for waste service delivery should be promoted. Despite the potential for external mechanisms for waste services delivery to contribute to job creation; only 13% of authorised municipalities have outsourced or commercialised service provision activities in 2007. The use of community-based service delivery mechanisms has also been limited. In evaluating models for waste services delivery, a key criterion should be job creation potential. Labour intensive approaches are currently being piloted by national government and initial estimates suggest a potential to create over 3 000 permanent, non-public sector jobs in waste collection. The NWMS will examine how best employment creation pilot projects such as these can be brought to scale. Models for waste services delivery will be underpinned by industrial policy objectives of SMME development, employment creation and added value for beneficiaries. 
• Provisions for the registration of transporters of waste with the relevant municipality need to be elaborated, with appropriate thresholds set for transporters, so that the regulatory burden on government and industry is minimised.
•  The regionalisation of waste services needs to be carefully evaluated. While regionalisation holds the prospect of reducing unit overhead costs (e.g. through shared disposal facilities, and reduced management costs), this is however offset by the significant rise in transport costs associated with regional disposal. The potential for reduced local accountability for service delivery due to the greater scale at which decisions are taken is also a concern. Given the cost implications of increased transport distances associated with regional disposal, the NWMS will need to give careful consideration to the costs and benefits of regionalisation.

Each of the measures will be further elaborated upon in the following chapter.

3.5 Treatment, Processing and Disposal

• Challenges associated with the effective management and regulation of landfills
• Challenges associated with the appropriate handling of hazardous waste
• Opening up new disposal technologies to facilitate waste to energy conversion.

• Establishing norms and standards for the storage, treatment and disposal of waste, including the planning and operation of waste treatment and waste disposal facilities. Such norms and standards are obligatory in terms of the Waste Act, and are vital to lay a common platform for the operation of both public and private disposal facilities.
• The lack of reliable data on the quantities and types of hazardous waste that are generated pose a challenge for effective treatment, processing and disposal of hazardous waste. The implementation of SAWIS will go a long way to address the challenge of data. 
• The large number of unlicensed and non-compliant landfills across the country needs to be regularised. Key challenges associated with landfills are ensuring that all landfills in use are licensed and ensuring that landfills are being operated in accordance with sound waste management principles. A programme of supportive measures, including access to MIG funding, should be combined with penalties and enforcement actions against operators of illegal sites.
• In addition, the NWMS will devise measures to reduce the disposal burden on landfills such as clean production and appropriate product design.
• Guidelines are required to determine how waste is classified as well as measures to be taken to treat, process or dispose waste. Such guidelines are currently being developed by DEA. 
• A shortage of hazardous waste disposal facilities is a serious problem for disposal of hazardous waste. The underlying causes resulting in the shortage of hazardous waste disposal facilities needs to be explored to inform the formulation of measures in this regard.
• Industry Waste Management Plans have an important role to play in facilitating sound waste management practices in relation to waste disposal, including hazardous waste. This should address hazardous waste generated during production and manufacture and should be extended to proper disposal of products containing hazardous waste components.
• The Waste Act makes provision for the use of special measures to regulate hazardous waste as a priority waste, which can be invoked in instances where industry fails to develop or adequately implement appropriate plans.
• Proven “Energy from Waste” technologies exist for both methane captured from landfills and waste incineration. However the capital costs, particularly of clean incineration technologies, as well as the transaction costs and capacity requirements for CDM are constraints that need to be further considered and addressed in the NWMS. The NWMS should set out a conducive regulatory environment for waste to energy initiatives.

The measures set out above will be further elaborated upon in the following chapter.

3.6 Remediation

Remediation of the effects of waste and pollution is the last resort in implementing the waste hierarchy. There is a large number of contaminated sites spread across the country, making this is an extremely important but highly under-regulated area. 

• The register of contaminated lands needs to be established and linked to the deeds register before investigation of suspected contaminated lands can take place. Standards for due diligence with respect to land transfers need to take these provisions into account.
• Definitions, technical requirements and standards for both the identification and remediation of contaminated lands need to be developed – remediation standards are schedule to be finalized by April 2010. In the absence of local standards, international standards should be used as a reference point.
• Potential issues of jurisdictional conflict will need to be resolved (both NEMA and the National Water Act contain provisions to address contaminated land).
• An evaluation of the available airspace for the disposal of contaminated land needs to be conducted, noting that this is limited.
• The NWMS must address the need to develop the specialist capacities in government required to manage complex decisions and monitor all the steps in the remediation process.

A risk-based approach to implementation of the provisions that is sufficiently flexible to accommodate a wide range of scenarios is required. Remediation requirements must be guided by the intended land use after remediation. It is recommended that exemptions from liability for remediation be considered for:

• government bodies involuntarily acquiring ownership
• persons who “innocently” acquired the land
• sites contaminated only by migration from another site
• consultants assisting developers in remediation of sites, provided there is no negligence
• contractors and transporters who cause no additional contamination
• secured creditors who act only to protect their financial interest

4.1 Norms and Standards

National norms and standards provide the foundation of the regulatory system. The Waste Act allows for an integrated system of norms and standards across the three spheres of government. Certain norms and standards at a national level are mandatory, while others are discretionary. In addition provinces may set norms and standards that are not in conflict with national norms and standards. Municipalities may also set local waste service standards. .It is envisaged that the system of norms and standards will be developed in a sequenced manner, with the immediate focus being on the development of mandatory standards, which include:

• the classification of waste;
• planning and delivery of waste management services; and
• the storage, treatment and disposal of waste (including the planning and operation of waste treatment and waste disposal facilities). 

• the contribution to achievement of the waste hierarchy;
• the extent of the environmental impact;
• the impact on availability of landfill space;
• the relationship to other priority sectors (such as waste-to-energy and its contribution as a climate change mitigation strategy);
• the existence of proactive industries such as those that have prepared IWMPs;
• elements of the waste transportation sector that have not been properly regulated. 

4.2 Categorisation and Classification

In order to integrate and align waste information, it is essential that a consistent and coherent system for classifying and categorising waste is developed. The current hazardous waste classification system, based on the DWAF Minimum Requirements for the Handling, Treatment, and Disposal of Waste, is in the process of being revised by the Directorate: Waste Stream Management within DEA. The outcomes of this process need to be integrated into the NWMS, since its outcomes are vital to the implementation of the strategy.

• Waste Classification: assigning hazardous waste to hazard class and category based on properties, characteristics, and components
• Waste Characterisation: description of the non-hazardous physical and chemical properties of waste
• Waste Categorisation: defining groups of waste for the purposes of monitoring and reporting.

• General and Hazardous waste
• Inert and Non-Inert waste
• The origin of particular waste streams i.e. domestic, health care, commercial, industrial, construction and demolition, power stations, mining, and eWaste.

The categorisation system needs to be aligned with proposals emerging from the DEA project on the classification of hazardous waste, and a final proposal will be included in the NWMS. All waste information and management systems will be required to use a common categorisation system, which will be described more fully in the NWMS.

4.3 Waste Information System

The lack of reliable data on the waste sector highlights the importance of the South African Waste Information System (SAWIS) as a key instrument for implementing the Waste Act and NWMS. SAWIS is intended to provide a mechanism for obtaining accurate waste balance information through on line submission of data by waste facilities and companies, as well as vertical integration of information systems between national and provincial Waste Information Systems (WISs), and horizontal integration with other waste regulation and information systems.

The SAWIS is currently in the first phase of rollout, and is grappling with the challenges of integration with provincial WISs, such as the Western Cape WIS. The goal is for data to update automatically and seamlessly from provincial WISs to the SAWIS. On a practical level, the NWMS will develop a comprehensive set of fields required for national planning for inclusion in the provincial WISs.

Horizontal integration of SAWIS with other waste regulation and information systems is required for licensing procedures (which are captured on the National Environmental Authorisation System (NEAS)). An integrated procedure for licensing and registration on NEAS is desirable, but this does not exempt licensees from registration with SAWIS. Facilities that fail to meet licensing requirements, or are granted exemption from licensing requirements, will still be required to register with SAWIS.

As a key element of such integration, a standard categorisation system is required for waste information submitted to SAWIS, NEAS and other systems. The categorisation system currently used by SAWIS is rudimentary, and an interim measure. It is envisaged that the categorisation system for SAWIS will be informed by the national classification system, which is scheduled to be finalised by the end of 2010.

The development and maintenance of the required categorisation system is seen as an integral part of the NWMS. As categorisation systems change, data needs to be updated on the SAWIS database in order to clear the old categorisation system

The initial focus of SAWIS is on end-of-pipe waste data i.e. data from facilities associated with waste disposal, recycling, recovery, and import and export of waste. In relation to thresholds for requiring recycling activity to be recorded, it is recommended that the thresholds gazetted for listed activities be used. Data on waste generators is only anticipated to be included in SAWIS in phase 4. To fully implement all the requirements of the Waste Act, SAWIS is envisaged to ultimately perform waste tracking and compliance reporting functionalities.

It is recommended that the National Waste Management Officer play the role of the Waste Information Authority as required by the Waste Act. In terms of the integrity of information on the SAWIS, it is proposed that SANAS accredited bodies certify WIS submissions by industry. Access by the public and industry to information stored on SAWIS is considered vital and is the quid pro quo for industry submitting information onto the database. It is also a statutory requirement in terms of the Waste Act. The NWMS will therefore need to spell out conditions and procedures for access to information.

4.4 Industry Waste Management Plans

• Voluntary submission of an industry waste management plan is preferable for both industry and the DEA, and aligns with the concept of general duty of care.
• Where industries have not developed plans, the Minister may require certain industries to produce industry waste management plans. Before doing so, the Minister must consider various matters, including the environmental impact of the waste streams, and the ability of the envisaged plan to address such impact.
• Under certain circumstances the Minister may appoint certain persons to develop industry waste management plans on behalf of industry.
• As a last resort, the Minister can appoint an organ of state to develop industry waste management plans on behalf of industry.

• Tyres;
• paper and packaging;
• light fittings with mercury such as CFLs; and
• pesticides (agriculture and veterinary).

• Finalise the guidelines for industry waste management plans;
• Industry waste management plans produced by the four listed industries will be submitted, as a pilot, in agreement with DEA; and
• Voluntary preparation and submission from other industries, in agreement with DEA.

There are overlaps between the regulatory provisions for industry waste management plans, extended producer responsibility and priority wastes. The NWMS needs to clarify how these overlapping relationships and interfaces will be addressed. The NWMS also needs to examine and make recommendations on how compliance with an industry waste management plan can be interpreted as compliance with requirements for other environmental management plans (or vice versa).
 

4.5 Listing and Licensing of Waste Management Activities

• the NEAS (due to the requirements for the basic and full EIA assessments in respect to licensing applications);
• the SAWIS; and
• the National Compliance Monitoring System (in relation to compliance monitoring). 

Information is replicated across these systems and it creates an unnecessary burden for both applicants and the department; especially because there is a tendency to work in hard copy. There is confusion between the process of registering with SAWIS and the license application process, with some applicants mistaking the SAWIS registration certificate for a license. The NWMS will reinforce the principle and approach of efficient administration of the licensing process as a basis for ensuring effective regulation of listed waste management activities.

4.6 Special Measures

The Waste Act provides for specific regulatory measures to be taken with respect to wastes that are declared to be “priority wastes”. Considerations that need to be taken into account when identifying a priority waste include the nature and extent of risks to health and the environment, relevant international obligations, and the economic impact of the measures.

Potential consequences of a waste being declared a priority waste include the requirement for compilation of industry waste management plans for the waste, and regulatory controls on the minimization, handling, treatment, and disposal of the waste. Industry representatives have voiced a clear preference for self regulation, indicating that the threat of regulation would be sufficient to encourage the development of industry waste management plans in most cases.

However the declaration of priority wastes can also be used to positively reinforce measures identified in Industry Waste Management Plans, particularly where they concern waste with economic significance and job creation potential.

The Waste Act provides for the registration of private sector transporters of waste with Waste Management Officers at either a national, provincial, or local level. Some municipalities already have registration and licensing systems. Appropriate threshold requirements, particularly with respect to the transport of recyclables will need to be developed.

Section 17 of the Waste Act stipulates that reduction, re-use, recovery and recycling of waste should consume less natural resources than the standard disposal of such waste. It is not clear how many existing operations will actually comply with this provision, and the consequences of implementing this part of the Waste Act need to be carefully assessed. A regulatory impact assessment and options analysis is proposed to address some of the knowledge gaps and to identify feasible approaches to implement these provisions.

Additional measures contemplated in section 17 include mandatory recycling of particular products or components, or the requirement for products to contain a specified percentage of recyclates. The NWMS should set out criteria for the application of these provisions.

Section 17 requires the Minister for Water and Environmental Affairs to consult with the Minister for the DTI before declaring a priority waste. The establishment of an interdepartmental committee comprising DEA, DTI and the National Treasury has been proposed to consider priority waste legislation and regulations and to apply criteria for the utilisation of special measures.

4.7 Producer Responsibility

The Waste Act establishes Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) as a regulatory mechanism for achieving waste reduction through minimisation, reuse and recycling of waste. Currently, most producer responsibility schemes in South Africa are voluntary, industry-led and based on post consumer waste streams. Government initiatives include the mandatory point of sale levy on plastic bags.

• In consultation with DEA, industry will set realistic targets based on their knowledge of their sector in industry waste management plans.
• Industry will work towards achieving these targets through a variety of mechanisms, including education and awareness programmes, recycling, and product and materials levies.
• Industry will report on these targets annually to DEA, and provide reasons when targets are not met. Should an industry repeatedly fail to meet agreed targets without justifiable cause, DEA will implement relevant regulatory measures, penalties and / or disincentives.
• Targets will be reviewed at regular intervals, as agreed by industry and DEA.

• The role of both voluntary and mandatory Industry Waste Management Plans in achieving EPR.
• The relationship between provisions for declaration of priority wastes and EPR. For example, it is important to determine at what point waste from an industry failing to meet EPR agreements should be considered for listing as a priority waste.
• Funding of EPR. While government has a role to play in EPR, it is not the state’s obligation to fund it. Where industry raises the funds for EPR, representatives have argued for control of how and where funds are used. The failure to ring-fence funds derived from the plastic bag levy is cited as a concern by industry.

Mechanisms to protect poor communities from the financial and regulatory impacts of EPR needs to be considered. Whilst some buy-back centres were established for plastic bags in an attempt to reduce the impact of the plastic bag levy on the poor, this initiative is felt to have been relatively unsuccessful, and alternative mechanisms will need to be explored.

4.8 Consumer Protection

Consumer protection is dealt with principally by the Consumer Protection Act, 2008, which exists to promote and advance the social and economic welfare of consumers. In addition to implementing the concept of producer responsibility, the NWMS must give effect to the principle of duty of care, which amongst other encompasses consumer protection. In doing this the relevant requirements of the Consumer Protection Act and the Competition Act will be considered.

• categories of goods that are required to have a trade description applied to them, or
• goods which have been reconditioned, rebuilt or remade and bear the original producer’s trade mark.

A broader concern is the degree to which the recycling sector is dominated by de-facto monopolies, either funded by industry or state-owned. While these initiatives have been undertaken in order to take advantage of economies of scale, they may serve as a barrier to entry in the sector, and risk introducing pricing inefficiencies that run counter to the interests of consumers. This needs to be investigated further in the NWMS.

4.9 Economic Instruments

Economic instruments provide a potentially important influence on the effective and efficient regulation of the solid waste sector. Economic instruments achieve behaviour changes indirectly by creating a set of incentives and/or disincentives through pricing. Economic instruments can offer a more cost-effective and dynamic form of regulation than the traditional command and control approach. It has been argued that the main benefit of economic instruments is that they may allow for the meeting of a target at a lower overall cost than traditional command mechanisms.

In addition to the mainstream taxation system, the Waste Act provides certain additional legislative measures for the use of such economic instruments.

A key economic principle in terms of waste management is that ‘the polluter pays’. According to this principle all generators of waste (including businesses and households) are responsible for covering the costs of waste generated. Government can make use of a number of options to ensure that both private and social costs are covered. However the lack of full cost accounting of the costs of service delivery and tariff policies prevent full costs from being passed on to households and commercial enterprises, which undermines the polluter pays principle.

It should be noted that application of these economic instruments are not seen as an alternative to regulatory measures, but rather as further mechanisms to support “command and control” regulation. A specific area of concern for the application of economic instruments is a precondition for a well functioning market and governance institutions with sufficient capacity to ensure implementation.

Pricing is a significant concern within the waste sector, where there is a tendency to under price for the waste service in terms of collection and disposal. There is a clear need for price increases in order to redress this, however the economic downtown has spurred a drive to keep prices low, and it is important to acknowledge the economic context in which the NWMS must operate. The risks of over-inflation may include an increase in illegal dumping for example. While a general adjustment in pricing is necessary, it should be appropriately phased in so as to avoid over-inflating costs. Opportunities for efficiency gains should be explored to off-set price increases where possible.

Full cost accounting for waste services is necessary in order to ensure that waste services are appropriately priced. This includes taking account of the full capital replacement, operating and environmental costs of delivering the waste service. It is important to drive efficiency improvements in service delivery. A fundamental step is therefore to understand the true costs of the waste service. Municipalities especially need assistance in this regard and the NWMS should aim to provide guidance to municipalities in addressing the need for full cost accounting.

Pricing adjustments should start with larger municipalities and be based on 80/20 principle. A ‘one-size fits all’ approach will not be appropriate and there needs to be consideration given to the differential contexts of municipalities.

The NWMS should steer away from artificially influencing pricing to support recycling and other objectives.

In examining economic instruments, it is important to avoid unintended consequences (for example an increase in illegal dumping as a result of increased disposal tariffs). It is therefore essential therefore to have a suite of mechanisms in place, for example increasing enforcement capacity and establishing community based initiatives to curb illegal dumping which is at risk of increasing in response to fee increases.

Possible economic instruments include Deposit Refund Schemes, Minerals extraction taxes, Waste disposal taxes, Enforcement fines, Product Taxes and Local government incentives. The research has not supported any broad application of economic instruments at this stage, since it is important to get the fundamentals right first. Specific instruments may be warranted for consideration in relation to specific waste streams. However any economic instruments to be considered should be carefully evaluated against a set of criteria. In this regard it is proposed that National Treasury’s Environmental Fiscal Reform criteria should be used in evaluating use of economic instruments.

Within the context of the NWMS, economic instruments are seen as part of a multi-pronged strategy to achieve the objectives of waste reduction, re-use and recycling. It is envisaged that once enforcement capacity of current laws and regulations is improved, the use of economic instruments will be phased in gradually, starting with simpler mechanisms and moving towards more complex ones as the institutional capacity grows over time.

Particular caution should be taken to ensure that only the real costs of any economic instruments (for example a levy) should be internalized so as to ensure protection of the consumer. In addition, while industries may be best placed to implement certain economic instruments there should be oversight by government to ensure appropriate and fair practices.

4.10 Fiscal Mechanisms for Waste Management

• Developing guidelines for intra-sector cross-subsidies and/or external subsidies to assist municipalities in determine appropriate subsidy levels;
• Distinguishing between consumer types to guide equitable share allocations from external subsidies;
• Ring-fencing guidelines for budgeting and accounting practices to facilitate a greater degree of transparency in subsidy levels relative to the cost of service delivery, and assist regulators in exercising greater oversight in this area.

• In the short term, tariff levels and subsidy costs need to be reviewed in the context of the development of policies on the provision of free basic services. Clear guidelines and support to assist municipalities in evaluating their current tariff structures are required.
• In the medium term, devising and introducing tariff structures that encourage waste minimisation and implementing full cost accounting
• In the long term, above-inflation increases in user charge rates will be required, both within national and local government, and with consumers

• Universal service: this window would be used to assist municipalities to make greater use of MIG for financing solid waste infrastructure to support labour intensive projects that expand services to poor households. The efficacy of the window can be measured by the proportion of total MIG funding allocated to solid waste infrastructure. The rules of the MIG programme need to be amended to allow financing of all solid waste assets funded on the capital budgets of municipalities, including trucks.
• Private financing: this window would support municipalities to develop projects that would be financed through development contributions, carbon credits, private equity or borrowing.

• Levying development charges on property developers during intensification of land use.
• Generating revenue sales and carbon credits from energy generation from waste incineration and incentivising waste to energy schemes by municipalities.

The above mechanisms form part of an overarching fiscal framework for implementation of the NWMS and the waste hierarchy. It is important that DEA, in conjunction with National Treasury and COGTA, develops the necessary policy and regulatory tools to give effect to the fiscal framework for the NWMS.

5.1 Roles and Responsibilities

An important issue for the implementation of the Waste Act and the NWMS is role clarification and the separation of roles. This is important to ensure that there is no role confusion, and that each role is adequately fulfilled by each role player. In the process of compiling the NWMS three distinct roles have been identified, namely policy-making regulation, and service delivery roles. The different spheres of government are responsible for varying combinations of these roles. The research has raised concerns regarding the potential blurring of these roles, and has put forward proposals for the regulatory role, which includes compliance monitoring and enforcement, to retain as much independence as possible. This is particularly important in instances in which the same government department or agency is directly responsible for delivery of waste management services which need to be regulated as part of the overall waste management sector. The application of norms and standards, and the regulation of waste management activities, needs to be applied across both public and private sector providers equitably. Without clear role separation, it will not be possible to ensure unfettered and meaningful regulation of waste management activities, and the successful implementation of the Waste Act is likely to be heavily compromised.

In addition to those three distinct roles, there are issues relating to the vertical division of roles and responsibilities between spheres of government, and the horizontal division of roles and responsibilities between different government departments and agencies. These will be considered in further detail below.

5.2 System of Waste Management Officers

The Waste Act has created a specialized system of officers charged with coordinating waste management matters at each level of government. The Waste Act provides for Waste Management Officers (WMOs) to be designated at national, provincial and municipal level. The Waste Act primarily envisages a coordination function for WMOs, although it leaves the precise determination of their functions to the NWMS and regulations to be issued by the Minister. The Waste Act states that WMOs must co-ordinate their activities with other waste management activities in the manner set out in the NWMS, or in terms of a notice published by the Minister in the Gazette.

The Department has developed a guideline for the appointment of WMOs, to further define the role, powers, profile and rank of the WMOs. At a national and provincial level, where actual delivery of services does not take place, the role of the WMOs is essentially regulatory and policy-making. The Waste Act does make provision for support to municipalities in respect of the execution of its delivery mandate. WMOs at provincial level are anticipated to play a proactive compliance role by ensuring that municipalities have the capacity to deliver the services that they are required to deliver.

However, at local level, where municipalities bear responsibility for direct waste service delivery, it becomes important to create a distinction between service delivery on the one hand and policy-making and regulatory functions on the other. It is proposed that the local WMOs should not be involved in the waste service delivery function, and that their role should be to ensure that norms and standards are adhered to by the municipality. Thus the designated WMO should ideally not be based in the division responsible for waste services, and may be best placed in the Municipal Manager’s office.

The rationale is to establish an ‘independent’ system of WMOs at each level of government charged with the responsibility of making sure that the standards are implemented. This regulatory role can be further clarified in terms of regulations issues in terms of the Waste Act. In particular, the regulations should specify the authority and powers of these officers, the requirement to firewall them from policy-making and service provision activities, and the provisions for communication and management arrangements that will enable these officers to establish an effective regulatory system at local government level across the country.

Other regulatory roles anticipated by the Waste Act include a provision assigning the National WMO and Provincial WMOs the right to request the appointment of waste management control officers by holders of waste management licenses (Section 58 (1)) and to require the preparation of waste impact reports when the waste management licenses are being reviewed in terms of (Section 66(2)).

The co-ordination of the activities of the system of WMOs is further described in Section 4.8 on Co-operative Governance.

5.3 Integrated Waste Management Planning

An important public sector implementation mechanism is the provision for an interlocking set of national, provincial and local IWMPs.  National and provincial departments responsible for waste management and all municipalities must prepare IWMPs. The manner in which the IWMPs are developed must be consultative and municipalities are required to follow the prescriptions of Section 29 of the Municipal Systems Act. There is a tiered system for approving IWMPs, with national and provincial IWMPs being submitted to the Minister for approval, and local IWMPS to the MEC for approval, whose responsibility it is to ensure alignment with other relevant plans. The MEC may also request amendments to the IWMP or require adherence to the planning procedures set out in the Waste Act. National and provincial government may integrate their respective IWMPs into their broader development or environmental plans whilst municipalities are obliged to integrate their IWMPs into their integrated development plans. These provisions are important in ensuring that the IWMP is mainstreamed within the overall planning, monitoring and reporting systems of each level of government.

• submitted to national or provincial authorities for approval,
• incorporated within relevant national and provincial plans, and
• aligned with other plans, strategies and programmes.

The actual sequencing of these processes, and the consequent annual calendar for planning and reporting needs to be set out . The NWMS will take into account the varying contexts and capabilities of provinces and municipalities; provide guidance on key priorities and sequencing of interventions in differing contexts; and factor in the considerable resourcing constraints and associated issues that face the sector.

5.4 Compliance and Enforcement

Compliance and enforcement matters are dealt with in Chapter 7 of the Waste Act, which describes the compliance powers of the Minister of Water Affairs and Forestry, waste impact reports, offenses and penalties.

Given the extensive responsibilities created by the Waste Act, it is recommended that a full assessment of the number and capacity of the EMIs required to enforce the Waste Act is undertaken, and a strategy developed to build this capacity in an incremental manner.

5.5 Mechanisms to give effect to International Obligations

Section 6.(1)(b) of the Waste Act requires that the NWMS establish “mechanisms, systems and procedures for giving effect to the Republic's obligations in terms of relevant international agreements”. The most important international agreements that relate to the issue of waste management, and to which South Africa has acceded, are summarised in the table below.

Table: Summary of Main International Agreements

In terms of controlling the dumping of waste at sea, a key recommendation is the inclusion of the cost of port waste reception facilities in general harbour dues, thereby removing a disincentive for unloading waste in port. 

5.6 Education, Advocacy and Awareness

There is a need for advocacy, education and awareness amongst all stakeholders including the public at large, the three spheres of government, and the private sector. Different role-players will fulfil different functions in respect to the respective target audience.

The effectiveness of many waste measures, particularly those aimed at waste reduction and recycling, depends to a significant extent on public and consumer awareness. Awareness of and responses to waste issues are very uneven across different South African communities, and a there is a clear need for high-profile state-led public awareness campaigns to support initiatives in relation to littering, as well as to promote a general awareness of waste issues. The content of such campaigns and their alignment with possible waste delivery measures such as separation at source needs careful consideration.

There is also a lack of awareness of the importance of waste management amongst elected representatives and government officials, particularly at local government level. This has negative consequences for planning, personnel and budget allocations. Amongst other measures, there is a need for training of councillors in waste management issues, and it is anticipated that SALGA will play an important role in implementing this.

The increased involvement of citizens in oversight of waste delivery services provides an important avenue for raising public awareness of waste management issues. Similarly, the “Cleanest town” competition has potentially an important role to play in advocacy and awareness. Consideration should be given to extending this programme and developing detailed criteria for awards, as has been done with the DWA’s “Blue Drop” campaign for water resource management by local water authorities.

Schools have a particularly important role to play in advocacy and awareness around waste issues. Existing recycling initiatives in schools need to be supported and extended, although the fund-raising potential of these initiatives needs be realistically framed. DEA needs to assist the Department of Basic Education in ensuring that waste management is integrated into school curricula and management. There are existing initiatives in this respect that have been implemented in the Western and Southern Cape that provide useful models.

Industry associations and business bodies will have an important role to play in raising the awareness of their members with respect to the provisions of the Act that impact on them, and in promoting the use of the voluntary instruments provided by the Act.

Money spent on effective awareness and education programmes is likely to lead to savings in terms of more effective collection and recycling of waste in the long run, and it is therefore important that such programmes are suitably funded and resourced.

The NWMS will outline the key messages that need to be developed as well as how best and by whom these will be taken forward. A comprehensive communication plan is envisaged in this regard.

5.7 Capacity-building

It is important that the compliance and monitoring capacity that will be required by EMIs with respect to their regulatory functions assigned by the Waste Act be properly assessed. In addition, an assessment is needed of whether their current training equips them to fulfil the functions ascribed in the Waste Act. Capacity building initiatives for members South African Police Services (SAPS), who play a crucial role in enforcing environmental legislation, also need to be considered. To facilitate prosecution of environmental crimes, capacity building initiatives for the NPA also need to be developed.

In terms of the WMOs, guidance is required with respect to their training requirements and to what extent the existing training for EMIs addresses some of their skills requirements.

With respect to municipal support, both national and provincial government are obliged to support and strengthen the municipalities’ ability to perform its functions in relation to waste management. A comprehensive programme of support needs to be developed and rolled out at local government level over the next five years. The NWMS will need to provide guidance regarding the main elements of such a programme.

At a national level, the NWMS should also address DEA’s capacity requirements as it takes on the overall responsibility to ensure the incremental implementation of the provisions of the Act.

5.8 Co-operative Governance