6. Framework for NWMS

6.1
The Waste Act establishes the NWMS as a statutory mechanism, which binds all organs of state in all spheres of government. An organ of state is obliged to give effect to the national strategy when exercising a power or performing a duty in terms of the Act or any other legislation regulating waste management. This clearly distinguishes the strategy from the 1999 NWMS, and the subsequent White Paper on Integrated Pollution and Waste Management, 2000. While these were solid policy documents, which spearheaded the new approach to integrated waste management, they lacked the regulatory “teeth” that will be invested in this new strategy.

6.2
The Waste Act obliges the Minister to publish the strategy within two years of coming into effect of the Act, and it specifies the contents of the strategy, which must include:

• strategies, objectives, plans, guidelines, systems and procedures relating to the protection of the environment and the generation (including the avoidance and minimisation of such generation), re-use, recycling, recovery, treatment, disposal, use, control and management of waste in order to achieve the objectives of the Act;
• mechanisms, systems and procedures for giving effect to the Republic’s obligations in terms of international agreements;
• national norms and standards for waste management, including planning, and national norms for service delivery;
• practical measures for achieving co-operative governance in waste management matters;
• guidance on raising awareness regarding the impacts of waste on health and the environment;
• approaches for securing compliance with the requirements of the Act; and
• targets for waste reduction.

6.3
The Minister may prescribe additional items to be included in the strategy that are considered necessary for achieving the objects of the Act.

6.4
The Act indicates that the strategy must be reviewed by the Minister at intervals of not more than five years. While the time period to be covered by the strategy is not specified, it is assumed that the bulk of the provisions of the strategy should relate to the five year period prior to the next review of the strategy.

6.5
Before publishing the national strategy, or any amendment to the strategy, the Minister is obliged to follow a consultative process, which provides for public participation, as well as consultation with relevant national Ministers and provinces. This will inform the consultative approach to be adopted in developing the strategy.

6.6
The revised NWMS will be focused on measures to avoid or minimise the generation of waste, and where waste cannot be avoided or reduced, measures to ensure that it is re-used, recycled or recovered, and only treated and safely disposed of as a last resort. The strategy will deal with general, commercial and industrial waste streams, including hazardous waste, healthcare risk waste and waste streams from agriculture (including pesticides), mining and power generation.

6.7
The strategy explicitly excludes consideration of nuclear waste, which is the subject of a separate policy exercise under DME. While pollution by waste products clearly is an important issue, the strategy does not deal with pollution per se, and therefore only deals with the related fields of environmental impact management and remediation where these relate to waste products. The strategy also excludes consideration of air quality management and waste water and industrial effluent management, which are the subjects of detailed policy and regulatory processes in their own right. The strategy does deal with water quality issues, but only to the extent that they are relevant to the location and management of waste disposal and landfill sites.

6.8
The strategy covers the five period from 2009/10 to 2014/15, but it may present a longer term vision and targets to be achieved beyond this period. The strategy provides the framework within which more detailed plans will be drawn up by national departments, provinces and municipalities. The strategy will therefore provide sufficient guidance without being prescriptive as to the content of these more detailed action plans.

6.9
The development of the NWMS is a dynamic process that will be regularly reviewed (e.g. every 5 years) to take account of progress made, changing needs and priorities, as well as the realities of practical implementation.
A provisional Chapter outline for the NWMS has been included at the end of this document as a basis for discussion on how best to structure the revised NWMS.