4.1 Integrated Waste Management Planning

4.1.1
The implementation of an Integrated Waste Management Planning system was seen as key to aligning and coordinating the activities of government and industry, in order to optimise waste management, maximise efficiency and minimise the associated environmental impacts and financial costs of waste. This was identified as a high priority short term initiative in the 1999 NWMS.
 

4.1.2
The Action Plan for the integrated waste management planning system required the promulgation and enforcement of regulations for integrated waste management planning, preparation of guidelines for the development of the plans, and awareness campaigns to promote the need for and approach to integrated waste management planning.
 

4.1.3 The following diagram represents the core of the integrated waste management planning system, which requires integrated hazardous waste management plans, integrated general waste plans and industrial waste management plans.

4.1.4

4.1.5
Two provinces have developed integrated hazardous waste plans, namely North West and Western Cape whilst the former has integrated this into its IWMP. Mpumalanga is in the process of developing its integrated hazardous waste plan. Whilst not a requirement of the 1999 NWMS, the North West has finalized its IWMP and the Northern Cape is in the process of doing so. However, the Waste Act addresses this by specifying that the provinces are required to prepare IWMPs as provided by Chapter 3 Section 11.
 

4.1.6
Over two thirds of district municipalities have developed integrated general waste management plans whilst just over three-fifths of the municipalities have developed theirs and the number of municipalities that have developed IWMPs in each province varies between 14% and 100%.
 

4.1.7
The status of the integrated waste management plans for industrial waste is unconfirmed since there no compulsory preparation or reporting requirements. This has been addressed by the Act, which provides that the Minister or MEC may obligate individual persons or category of persons or industries to submit integrated waste management plans.
 

4.1.8
With respect to guidelines for the preparation of IWMPs, the national framework guideline for the development of IWMPS has been drafted and three provinces, namely Gauteng, Western Cape and KwaZulu-Natal, have also produced provincial guidelines.
These guidelines will go a long way to ensuring consistency and uniformity in the development of the IWMPs, which currently show great variances in content and quality, as well as the extent to which they are included in municipal IDPs, which is important for aligning priorities and influencing the allocation of resources for implementation. As a result there are varying degrees of implementation of municipal IWMPs.
 

4.1.9
In terms of Industry IWMPs, the Department has developed draft guidelines and the Department of Minerals and Energy has developed a list of technologies to reduce the hazardous nature of waste.
 

4.1.10
In terms of regulations to enforce the required planning documents, these will be prepared in light of the promulgation of the Waste Act. At a provincial level, Gauteng province has drafted IWMP regulations obligating municipalities to prepare and submit IWMPs to province. The development of these regulations will be a significant enabling factor in the preparation of IWMPs by the provinces and municipalities.