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4.1 Norms and Standards

Submitted by admin on Thu, 2009-10-01 13:07

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 department is at an advanced stage in developing a revised hazardous waste classification system, including prescriptions in relation to the storage, treatment and disposal of waste. 
 
Two sets of standards for the delivery of waste services are being developed and are due to be finalised in March 2010. The first set of standards provides a basis for the delivery of free basic waste services, and the level of service that will be provided. The second set of standards revolve around the collection of waste, and includes recommendations for separation of waste at source, measures to promote recycling, and prescriptions in terms of the frequency of collection.
 
In terms of the discretionary national norms and standards, the development of technical standards for the remediation of contaminated land and soil quality was identified as a priority and these will be available in April 2010. 
 
Other discretionary norms and standards will be identified using the following criteria:
  • 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. 
These criteria will be developed further and set out more fully in the NWMS.
 
To prevent a proliferation of norms and standards, discretionary provisions for provincial and local government norms and standards should only be invoked where national implementation is unable to effectively address provincial or local waste management issues due to regional variation. Instances where possible regional variation might be required should be identified and discussed in the appropriate inter-governmental forums. 
 
Wherever appropriate, it is recommended that norms and standards be implemented in terms of the Standards, Quality Assurance, Accreditation and Metrology infrastructure, or more simply the South African Technical Infrastructure. The South African Technical Infrastructure is housed under the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), and provides industry-wide systems for determining standards for products and services, and ensuring their measurement and certification. Apart from mainstreaming the Waste Act provisions within the mainstream standard setting mechanism, this will allow for some of the fiscal and economic measures set out in the NWMS to be linked to existing national codes and standards.
 
To ensure that the South African Technical Infrastructure is able to support the implementation of the required norms and standards, the DTI will be required to identify waste management as a lead sector requiring priority attention. Institutional arrangements will require the establishment of a bilateral committee with DEA to co-ordinate the development and implementation of standards for waste management. 
 
The utilisation of the South African Technical Infrastructure for developing norms and standards in terms of the Waste Act needs to be informed by a critical assessment of the implementation of air quality standards. In addition, the availability and cost of requiring SANAS accredited professionals to evaluate compliance with norms and standards needs to be considered, as well as recognition of credible international standards to which companies already subscribe.