By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
Deputy Minister of Forestry, Fisheries and Environmental Affairs, Bernice Swarts, has launched the e-waste recycling pilot project in Schoemansdal, Nkomazi in Mpumalanga.
The pilot project is aimed at encouraging residents across the country to recycle their old and unused waste items.
South African cities face a dire crisis with landfill space in the country whereby some are expected to run out in six years if drastic steps are not taken to significantly reduce the amount of waste generated and to accelerate recycling efforts, said Swarts.
According to the State of Waste report 2018, South Africa generated Fifty-five million tonnages of waste going to landfill in 2017, Municipal waste accounts for 8,7% of the volume while general organic waste is 34,6%. Census 2022 results indicate that only 20,6% of the households in the Bushbuckridge Local Municipality (BLM) had their refuse removed at least once a week with most households (72,1%) illegally dumping in open areas.
The General Household Survey 2023 showed that only 10% of the country’s waste was recycled, while uncollected and mishandled waste contributes to flooding, land contamination, air, and water pollution leading to serious public health impacts, she said.
The Deputy Minister, said the Absorbent Hygiene Product (AHP) waste represents one of the problematic waste streams in South Africa. AHP products include baby nappies, adult diapers, and feminine care products. The AHP products have increasingly become part of our lives. Over the past few years, there has been a sharp increase on the use of AHP products. However, the challenge is to find effective solutions to manage the waste that gets generated after the use of AHP products, especially at the post consumption stage of the product life cycle.
As such, the Department has taken a position to lead in the development of the strategy for designing, management and disposal of Absorbent Hygienic Products (AHPs) waste with an intention to enhance the diversion of these materials away from the landfill sites and protect the receiving environment, including new technologies and existing best practices, added Swarts.
“Extensive consultation was conducted with various stakeholders such as manufactures of AHP, private organisations, governments departments and municipalities throughout the countries. The consultations aim to obtain credible and grass-root information from key stakeholders directly responsible for AHPs and AHP waste and will be used to share ideas and thoughts on how to address AHP waste in the country. The draft strategy will be published soon to allow opportunities for public to scrutinise and provide inputs. The Department is seeking partnership with Absorbent Hygiene Product producers and brand owners to improve post-consumer management and community awareness on proper disposal of this products.
“To address such challenges experienced in the waste sector, the DFFE gazetted the amended National Waste Management Strategy 2020 on 28th January 2021 in line with the National Environmental Management: Waste Act (Act 59 of 2008). The National Waste Management Strategy 2020 lays a comprehensive background that drives our goals and actions across the country. The strategy highlights the importance of sustainable waste management practices and promotes a circular economy, aiming to reduce, reuse, and recycle waste to protect our environment.
“Furthermore, DFFE promulgated the Extended Producer Regulations (EPR) that intends to ensure the effective and efficient management of the identified end-of-life products, placing the responsibility with the producers. EPR also aims to provide the framework for the development, implementation, monitoring, and evaluation of EPR schemes and to encourage & enable the implementation of the circular economy initiatives. Through the establishment of Producer Responsibility Organisations (PROs), the Department has initiated a collaborative effort that encourages industry engagement in the reduction of waste. These organizations play an important role in ensuring that producers take responsibility for their products’ end-of-life phases, facilitating recycling and fostering a circular economy.
“With the above-mentioned regulations in mind, the DFFE allocated funds to support Bushbuckridge Local Municipality (BLM) with Waste Separation at Source in the community of Mkhuhlu. The Department is collaborating with PROs for this project to ensure that the project remains ongoing and is duplicated in other areas in BLM, said Swarts.