In South Africa, it is estimated that Green House Gas emissions from the waste sector totalled 18.72 million tonnes CO2eq, accounting for between 3.4% and 3.6% of South Africa’s total carbon footprint (DEA, 2000). - Department of Environmental Affairs, 2018
Be The Change
Leachate seeping into our ground water and contaminating it.
Methane being emitted into the atmosphere.
Surrounding communities being exposed to odour and vermin.
Low rates of recycling diminishing landfill airspace.
While we each generate waste the need for legislatively compliant, appropriately positioned, environmentally sustainable, waste disposal and treatment infrastructure is undisputed. There are numerous examples of waste disposal and treatment infrastructure good practice in pockets all over South Africa and these need to be acknowledged.
However, the vast majority of waste disposal and treatment infrastructure is only partially compliant with the legislative framework which results in environmental damage and threatens the health of our people. These need to be challenged to be compliant or closed. Our research has shown that non-compliant, poor performing, waste disposal and treatment infrastructure artificially depresses waste disposal fees and makes Alternative Waste Treatment Technologies (‘AWTTs’) like recycling to be less commercially viable.
We have chosen to focus on the larger municipalities as they have large-scale landfills, which receive large volumes of waste.
Typically these large landfills tend to be more compliant with their waste licence conditions and ‘sanitary landfill practices’, than those in small towns but where they have compliance failures the impact on the environment and human health is significant.
Our experience has shown that decision makers in municipalities with poorly managed large landfills (in terms of planning, site development and operations) are seldom held to account by the regulatory authorities and equally have little incentive to invest in waste infrastructure upgrades and operations.
Where regulations are enforced, we believe that the budgeted costs for operating landfills will approach the real (social) costs of disposal, and will encourage alternatives to landfill that would then be cost competitive. An added advantage is that waste diversion projects will contribute far more to SMME development and job creation than landfills, which rely on heavy machinery for proper operations.
Chapter 2 of the Constitution of South Africa contains the Bill of Rights in which Section 7 states that the “Bill of Rights is a cornerstone of democracy in South Africa. It enshrines the rights of all people in our country and affirms the democratic values of human dignity, equality and freedom. (2) The state must respect, protect, promote and fulfil the rights in the Bill of Rights.”
Section 24 states that “Everyone has the right: (a) to an environment that is not harmful to their health or wellbeing; and (b) to have the environment protected, for the benefit of present and future generations, through reasonable legislative and other measures that: (i) prevent pollution and ecological degradation; (ii) promote conservation; and (iii) secure ecologically sustainable development and use of natural resources while promoting justifiable economic and social development.” Whilst these rights are enshrined in our constitution they are not equally enjoyed by all communities. Unfortunately the burden of poor waste management practices is disproportionately born by poor and marginalized communities with most landfill sites being in or adjacent to historically disadvantaged communities.