GAUTENG DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE AND RURAL DEVELOPMENT
GENERAL WASTE MINIMISATION PLAN
FOR GAUTENG
July 2009
TABLE OF CONTENTS
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ii
LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS iv
DEFINITION OF TERMS v
GAUTENG PROVINCE INTEGRATED WASTE MANAGEMENT POLICY 7
1. BACKGROUND 10
2. WASTE STREAM PROFILE 12
2.1 Current Waste Generation 12
2.2 Waste Stream Analysis 13
3.3 Landfill Lifespan Analysis 15
3.4 Waste Generation Forecast 18
3.5 Waste Generation Model Estimates 29
3. IDENTIFICATION OF WASTE MINIMISATION OPTIONS 25
3.1 Waste separation 25
3.2 Recycling 25
3.3 Reuse 25
3.4 Composting 25
3.5 Alternative Uses 26
3.6 Potential Waste Minimisation Activities 26
3.7 Legislative Interventions 27
4. GDACE GENERAL WASTE MINIMISATION PLAN 30
6. WASTE MINIMISATION PLANS AND INDICATORS 40
REFERENCES 46
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Gauteng Province Integrated Waste Management Policy: In September 2006, the Gauteng Provincial Government (GPG) published an Integrated Waste Management (IWM) Policy. The overall goal of this policy is to set out the vision, principles and strategic goals, as well as objectives that the GPG will apply to achieve integrated and environmentally sustainable waste management in the Province. The objective of the GPG is to move away from fragmented and uncoordinated waste management to IWM.
Background: A total of 5.7 million tons of general waste is generated in Gauteng annually, of which some 3.4 million tons per annum (60%) is available for recycling and recovery from the waste stream. Waste Management in the province is beset by numerous waste management problems including the following: Economic constraints; limited refuse removal services in poor areas; inadequate enforcement of the national, provincial and municipal laws and regulations; ineffective waste legislation; lack of encouragement of waste minimisation and recycling in the general public; uncontrolled scavenging, poor monitoring and maintenance at landfill sites; littering in residential areas (streets, taxi ranks, stations, etc) and remnants of a historical culture of non-payment for waste services in some instances.
The goal of the General Waste Minimisation Plan (GWMP) is to stabilise waste generation by 2014 and reduce waste disposal by a margin 1% per annum over the next 5 years, i.e. 2009 to 2014. The achievement of this goal necessitates that Gauteng Province promotes various waste minimisation initiatives. The implementation of this plan should result in reduction of harmful environmental, social and health impacts of waste on people and environment, whilst ensuring sustainable livelihoods from waste recovery. The change of mindset, i.e. to turn waste into a resource, is key. Informal waste picking needs to be transformed into safe, healthy, efficient and sustainable waste management.
The objectives of the GWMP included: establishment of current waste minimisation practices in the Province and ways of strengthening these; forecasting of waste quantities and future generation rates with current status quo in waste management; identification of significant general waste streams and innovative ways of prevention / minimisation and minimising these; establishment of the current life span and air space of general waste landfills with current status quo and setting scenarios for improved waste minimisation; establishment of the volumes of waste currently deviated from landfills through formal and informal means; supporting the Gauteng Strategy for Sustainable Development; stimulation, prevention and minimisation of general waste generation; and promotion of job creation through various waste minimisation initiatives.
Scope of the GWMP: This Waste Minimisation Plan includes prevention, reduction, recovery and recycling and reprocessing of general waste. The plan excludes hazardous waste.
Current Waste Generation: Current estimates and projected future waste generation rates in Gauteng Province are listed in the Table below.
General Waste Volumes Generated in Gauteng:
Actual for 2006 and Predicted for 2007 and 2008
DistrictMunicipality / Waste Generated 2006 (t/annum) / Source of Information / Estimated 2007* / Estimated 2008*
Tshwane / 2,401,840 / Tshwane Waste Department / 2,401,600 / 2,411,303
Johannesburg / 1,492,000 / Pikitup / 1,491,851 / 1,497,878
Ekurhuleni / 1,368,000 / Enviro-fill Database / 1,367,863 / 1,373,390
Sedibeng / 373,071 / Emfuleni IWMP,
Lesedi IWMP, Midvaal IWMP / 373,034 / 374,541
West Rand / 60,949 / West Rand IWMP / 60,943 / 61,189
Metsweding / 33,660 / Metsweding Municipality / 33,657 / 33,793
Total General Waste / 5,729,520* / 5,728,947 / 5,752,094
*Current waste generation figures were estimated by the relevant local authorities, refer to Reference list
**Method of estimating waste generation for 2007 and 2008 is set out in Section 3.5 of this report
The lack of weighbridges means that there could be a high degree of uncertainty in the volumes of waste reporting to landfill as the estimates would be based on number of vehicles and not on the mass of waste weighed. This uncertainty in reported masses of waste also affects projections / estimates of the nature of the waste reporting to landfill, i.e. the accuracy of estimates of the waste types (organics, building rubble etc) which are being reported. Illegal dumping also skews the numbers; e.g. it is estimated that in Gauteng approximately 2,000,000 tons per annum, is illegally dumped waste.
Gauteng Wide Waste Stream Composition (2006)
Gauteng / Non-Recyclable / Organics / Main Line Recyclables (PPGTT) / Builders RubblePercentage / 40% / 15% / 25% / 20%
Amount in tons/annum / 2,292,000 / 859,000 / 1,432,000 / 1,146,000
Percentage contribution of the total volumes of waste per stream for Gauteng
Waste Generation Model Estimates: The report presents an assessment of the quantities of general waste generated in each district municipality in Gauteng. It highlights possible inaccuracies and different confidence levels in the data collected and reported by the various district municipalities. The analysis of the waste streams also highlights the difference between municipalities. A particularly troublesome reality which makes accurate quantification of the waste disposed of at the Gauteng landfill sites difficult, are the limited numbers of landfill sites with weighbridges, with the consequent potential discrepancies in waste quantities which are estimated based on the number of waste loads/trucks, rather than actual weighed masses of waste disposed.
Identification of Waste Minimisation Options: Waste minimisation options considered included: Waste separation; recycling, reuse (e.g. composting); and, alternative uses (e.g. brick-making, fuels, fill material and building materials).
Potential Waste Minimisation Activities: Potential waste minimisation activities, aimed at commercial, industrial and domestic users, included: Dissemination and sharing of information; Technical training; Public reporting; Waste minimisation clubs; Awareness creation; Job creation; and Hands-on training programmes.
Legislative Interventions: In order to make it possible to implement some of the above options, it may be desirable or in some cases essential to implement legislative interventions. Furthermore it is important to implement effective measures or plans that will contribute to addressing the identified areas of the integrated waste management cycle (from waste generation to final disposal) and thereby prevent the pollution of the Province resources, be it - land, water or air.
GDACE General Waste Minimisation Plan: The activities considered in drawing-up the Plan were as was discussed and accepted by stakeholders at the final multi-stakeholder workshop held on 27 February 2008. These are listed in section 5 of this plan. The following timeframes were agreed on: Short term: 2009 to 2010; Medium Term: 2011 to 2014; and, Long Term: 2015 and beyond. A Number of waste minimisation indicators were developed to track the progress with implementation of the plan.
LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS
CDM Clean Development Mechanism
COJ City of Johannesburg
DEAT Department of Environmental Affairs and Tourism
DSM Demand Side Management
ECA Environmental Conservation Act
EPR Extended Producer Responsibility
GDACE Gauteng Department of Agriculture, Conservation and Environment
GDARD Gauteng Department of Agriculture and Rural Development
(formerly known as GDACE)
GPG Gauteng Provincial Government
GWMP General Waste Management Plan
IWM Integrated Waste Management
IWMP Integrated Waste Management Plan
NWMS National Waste Management Strategy
NWMSIP National Waste Management Strategy Implementation Project
PPGTT Paper, Plastics, Glass, Tins and Tyres
PPPs Public Private Partnerships
SANS South African National Standards
Stats SA Statistics South Africa
SDM Sedibeng District Municipality
SOER State of Environment Report
DEFINITION OF TERMS
General Waste / ‘‘general waste’’ means waste that does not pose an immediate hazard or threat to health or to the environment, and includes -(a) domestic waste;
(b) building and demolition waste;
(c) business waste; and
(d) inert waste; (Waste Act, 2008)
Hazardous Waste / ‘‘hazardous waste’’ means any waste that contains organic or inorganic elements of compounds that may, owing to the inherent physical, chemical or toxicological characteristics of that waste, have a detrimental impact on health and the environment; (Waste Act, 2008)
Landfill site / Waste Disposal Facility / ‘‘waste disposal facility’’ means any site or premise used for the accumulation of waste with the purpose of disposing of that waste at that site or on that premise; (Waste Act, 2008)
Polluter Pays Principle / “polluter pays principle” means those responsible for environmental damage must pay the remediation costs, both to the environment and to human health, and the costs of preventive measures to reduce or prevent further pollution and environmental damage.
Recycle (External) / "recycle" means a process where waste is reclaimed for further use, which process involves the separation of waste from a waste stream for further use and the processing of that separated material as a product or raw material; (Waste Act, 2008)
Re-use / ‘‘re-use’’ means to utilize articles from the waste stream again for a similar or different purpose without changing the form or properties of the articles; (Waste Act, 2008)
Waste / "waste" means any substance, whether or not that substance can be reduced, re-used, recycled and recovered -
(a) that is surplus, unwanted, rejected, discarded, abandoned or disposed of;
(b) which the generator has no further use of for the purposes of production;
(c) that must be treated or disposed of; or
(d) that is identified as a waste by the Minister by notice in the Gazette and includes waste generated by the mining, medical or other sector, but
(i) a by-product is not considered waste: and
(ii) any portion of waste, once re-used, recycled and recovered,
ceases to be waste; (Waste Act, 2008)
Waste Indicator / “waste indicator” allows for consistent reporting of specific activities related to a topic of concern (DEAT, 2002)
Waste Minimisation Programme / "waste minimisation programme" means a programme that is intended to promote the reduced generation and disposal of waste; (Waste Act, 2008)
Waste Minimisation Plan / “waste minimisation plan” means a systematic strategy plan intended to promote the reduced generation and disposal of waste; this will include the re-use, recycle, treatment and reduced disposal of waste
Waste Stream / “Waste Stream” means the total flow of waste falling under a particular waste category from activity areas, businesses units, and operations that is recovered, recycled, reused, or disposed of in landfills e.g. domestic waste, hydrocarbon waste, etc. (GDACE, 2006)
General Waste Minimisation Plan vi | Page
PREAMBLE
GAUTENG PROVINCE INTEGRATED WASTE MANAGEMENT POLICY[1]
In September 2006, the Gauteng Provincial Government (GPG) published an Integrated Waste Management (IWM) Policy (GDACE, 2006). The overall goal of this policy is to set out the vision, principles and strategic goals, as well as objectives that the GPG will apply to achieve integrated and environmentally sustainable waste management in the Province.
The objective of the GPG is to move away from fragmented and uncoordinated waste management to Integrated Waste Management (IWM). Such a holistic and integrated approach extends over the entire waste cycle, from cradle to grave, covering the avoidance, reduction, generation, collection, transport, recovery, recycling, reuse, treatment and final disposal of waste, with an emphasis on waste avoidance and minimisation.
The 15 objectives of the GPG for IWM are the following:
1. Integrated Waste Management Planning
2. Roles and Responsibilities
3. Waste Information Management
4. Institutional Development
5. Capacity Building
6. Alignment with National Legislation
7. Funding
8. Avoidance and Substitution
9. Waste Reduction and Minimisation
10. Waste Recovery and Recycling
11. Waste Collection and Transportation
12. Waste Processing
13. Waste Treatment and Disposal
14. Environmental Management
15. Selected Waste Streams
The most applicable objectives to this Waste Minimisation Plan are:
Waste Reduction and Minimisation:
The GPG endorses the development and adoption of appropriate and realistic targets requiring reduction and minimisation in waste generation of all forms of waste. This includes the implementation of waste minimisation options at source.
The GPG recognises the need for the development and implementation of waste exchange and waste minimisation clubs to facilitate the avoidance, substitution, recovery, reuse and recycling of waste between different industries and organisations.
The GPG recognises the need to supply Local Government, industries and other waste role players with information and guidance on, for example, waste reduction and minimisation initiatives as well as other waste databases available to the GPG.
Waste Recovery and Recycling:
The GPG confirms the need for laws for the recovery, reuse and recycling of all waste as well as guidance for and encouragement of the recovery, reuse and recycling thereof. This can take place through source separation or co-mingled collection programmes, manual or mechanical separation, or waste exchange, to provide recovery and recycling of appropriate prioritised waste streams. The GPG also confirms that increased waste separation at source, recovery and recycling are necessary.
The GPG furthermore encourages actions that lead to the expansion and stabilisation of the economic base for recovery and recycling in the local, provincial, and national economy; including the support of existing and new laws designed to encourage the manufacture and purchase of products made from recovered and recycled materials.
Waste Treatment and Disposal
The GPG recognises the need for safe treatment and disposal of waste only as a last option in terms of the waste management hierarchy. The GPG also recognises the need to close and remediate illegal waste dumps including redundant and abandoned mine tailings and slimes dams in accordance with national legislation.