4.2 Waste Information System

4.2.(1)
DEAT’s vision has been to establish a Waste Information System for South Africa which supports the needs of local, provincial and national government with respect to the management of waste, by collecting reliable, national data on waste, and by providing “accessible information to interested and affected parties, that will support effective integrated pollution and waste management” (DEAT, 2000).
 

4.2.(2)
It is also DEAT’s intent to collect this data without placing an undue financial and capacity burden onto industry and the private sector, which are responsible for providing the data, and government, which is responsible for collecting, verifying and disseminating the data and information.
 

4.2.(3)
Significant progress has been made in the development of the Waste Information System, which was one of the focal areas of the NWMS implementation project, with the development of the required software and launch of an online database. The system is currently underutilized as reporting has to date been done on a voluntary basis, but the Waste Act has now made the supply of this information mandatory, which will ensure that a comprehensive database of waste information can be generated. Furthermore, draft waste information regulations have been developed.
 

4.2.(4)
At a provincial level, Gauteng and Western Cape have Waste Information Systems with similar data fields, which ensures that the provincial information aligns with the national information requirements.
 

4.2.(5)
Key challenges with respect to the effective deployment of the Waste Information System will be to ensure that the database is populated and that the information is used to support effective integrated pollution and waste management, as anticipated by the White Paper.