25th May 2012 - National Waste Management Strategy public hearings

groundWork was invited to attend and present at the public hearings on the National Waste Management Strategy (NWMS) were held in Cape Town from 29 May to 1 June 2012. Advocate Johnny De Lange chaired the meeting, where the Portfolio Committee on Water and Environmental affairs was briefed by various departments on the submissions of stakeholders that were made during public consultations on the National Waste Management Strategy.
The Department of Environmental Affairs and Tourism (DEAT) opened the hearings, with discussions on the following waste management issues:

• Existing definitions of 'waste' and 'byproduct' and the need to redefine the term

• Role of municipalities in the waste separation at source

• Setting targets for waste management at the national and municipal level

• The need for regulations for the remediation of landfills

• Creating jobs and cutting expenses for municipalities

• The need to extend efficient and effective waste management into rural areas

Following this presentation, the Department of Health addressed how the NWMS relates to health. Of significance is that the draft regulations on Health Care Risk Waste Management will soon be published for comment. Other issues dealt with were:

• Lack of treatment facilities across the country and lack of experience of municipal staff

• Challenges with the issuing of tenders and the need for regulations on this

• Provincial government's responsibility to monitor waste management at health facilities in rural areas

• Minimising health care waste

Other presentations were made by the following groups:

• Centre for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) – focus on costs of waste disposal and job creation

• Enviroserve Waste Management – focus on the problem of the current definition of 'byproduct' encroaching on other legislation, guidelines on disposing thermal waste, better implementation of NWMS and groups compliance with NWMS

• Legal Resource Centre (LRC) – focus on the history and recent production of mining waste and acid mine drainage, and the effects of these various toxic materials on people and the environment

• The cement industry – focus on the Polokwane Declaration, the 1999 NWMS, groups' understanding of the hierarchy involved in current NWMS and the current targets set

• Eskom – focus on ash and the issue of using it in the construction industry versus defining it as waste which will consequently make it non-reusable

• The mining industry – focus on the unclear placement of mines in terms of legislation and government departments

And other government departments:

• The Department of Human Settlements – focus on differences between waste and sanitation in municipal budgets, issue of disposal limits and general legislation on sanitation

• The Department of Water and Forestry – focus on regulations and compliance by industry and municipalities on proper disposal of waste that will not affect water

In addressing the DEAT's Acting Deputy Director-General of Chemicals and Waste Management, Nolwazi Cobbinah, Advocate De Lange instructed her to:  "Work with other government Departments and other relevant stakeholders to deal with the concerns that have been highlighted during the public hearings, including the issue of many definitions".
groundWork's Waste Campaign Manager, Musa Chamane, presented on the following topics:

• Zero waste has the potential job-creator

• Incineration is a false solution and a threat to green jobs

• Integrating waste pickers into formal/municipal waste management systems

• Fence line communities are still not protected by environmental laws

• Medical waste regulations must be rationalised

For groundWork's full PowerPoint presentation at the hearings , download here
For a detailed summary of the hearings visit The Parliamentary Monitoring Group at
http://www.pmg.org.za/report/20120529-public-hearings-national-waste-management-strategy-published-november