Discuss about the Waste Management in South Africa.
According to Dept, I. M. F. F. A. (2016), South Africa is one of Africa’s most developed economies with a long history of colonialism. It got its independence in 1994 which subsequently followed by the abolition of apartheid. The country has from then elected their president democratically. The country is one of the highly populated countries in the world with 50.7 million people. The country has many ethnicities who are mainly Christians and Muslims. The country has several ministries in charge of different sectors within the government.
Waste management practices are governed by The National Environmental Management of South Africa established in 2009. Through the waste Act of 2008, the Minister of Environmental has the authority to formulate strategies to achieve the goals of the Act. Through the act, guidelines of the waste management hierarchy are provided and also promote cleaner processing of waste. Other factors that the Act promotes include minimizing waste production, encouraging reuse, recycling and providing treatment to the waste produced.
A solid waste generation has increased over the decades in South Africa because of the change in lifestyles. Wastes produced vary in quality and quantity depending on how the structures put in place by the government in the management of its production. Most of the wastes generated are not managed responsibly, rather they have littered around, dumped or burned which consequently pollutes the environment. The government should formulate strategies that would be used to change the attitudes of people towards solid waste (Gray & Vawda, 2014). Reusing and recycling are some of the practices that the government should encourage its citizens to exercise so as to reduce the current crisis in waste management.
The government provides its citizens with waste removal and safe disposal to reduce litter and ensure that all members of the society are involved in responsible waste management practices. Solid waste disposal in the community is influenced by the social, economic and cultural environment in which people have socialized. The waste management activities are carried out by the different municipalities in the country.
Solid waste management is a municipality function with legislation guidelines provided by the central government. The function is attracting private sector involvement who seek government contract on garbage collection (Hangulu, 2016). This approach is likely to solve the shortage of labor and ensures that the environment is kept clean and that the waste is properly managed. In some areas, people have to pay to have their waste collected by private companies.
The solid waste stream may contain recyclables, organic waste, waste from industries and health institutions. These kinds of solid are hazardous to the environment and risk human and animal health. Many of the poor neighborhoods experience challenges since garbage take days to be collected. Therefore, they pile up on the roadside, and in the process of decomposition, a hazardous stench is produced. Many of slum dwellers are accustomed to this practice, and many have had health complications as a result of the disposal of solid waste on the environment as explained by Masenya, (2016).
South Africa has numerous legislations passed by the national assembly which caters for waste related issues. The waste management Act enacted in 2008 provides an overall reference to any policy covering waste management. Policies concerning waste management have been established from the late 20th Century and since been used in managing waste disposal challenges (Mashilwane, 2013). These strategies continue to develop and take new looks with emerging issues on waste management such as innovation made to tackle the issues related to waste management.
All municipalities are expected to develop integrated waste management plans to reduce risks related to waste produced. Integrated systems are best applicable in waste management issues as it creates a sustainable plan that could provide a long-term solution to waste management crisis. The national waste management strategies provide guidelines on the various steps that waste collected should go through (Sherman, 2016). First, every citizen has a responsibility of keeping the environment clean by using responsible means of disposing of waste. They should also reduce their waste by using products that do not cause danger to the environment when they are disposed of. This also includes reducing the amount of waste we dispose of and using products and services that have minimal waste products.
Second, recycling of waste generated to reduce the amount of waste that exposed to the environment. This involves re-using of the waste materials that was previously used for the same purpose. These materials could also be molded to form different products that could be used for other purposes. Organic waste could be used to make compost which makes good manure for use in the farms. Recycling is the most efficient method that could be applied in various sectors to reduce large quantities of waste disposal (Maluleke, 2016). Some of the wastes have repairable faults which could serve other people other than disposing of them.
Third, waste materials can be treated to produce less harmful products that could be disposed of to the environment. Chemicals are used to treat human waste before disposal. Waste disposal could also be managed through destruction by setting fire on the waste products or even spilling decomposing chemicals.
Fourth, the use of landfill disposal to manage endless waste streams. Identification of these sites requires verifications of factors that influence human and environmental health. These sites are designed and engineered to fit the specifications given by regulatory bodies. These facilities are located near the populations it serves to reduce the cost of transportation. Landfills are categorized into groups depending on the nature and quantity of waste received. These facilities are efficient in disposing of the dangerous and harmful wastes.
Waste management activities are undertaken by both the national government and the regional governments. Both governments share responsibility in that the national government takes the legislative role while the municipals are responsible for task execution. There has been a measurable improvement in waste management for the past decade across municipalities as argued by Mohee & Simelane (2015). Solid waste has continually been handled responsibly; therefore, risks have been reduced. Implementation of environmental cleanup strategies is crucial to creating a clean and safe environment in which humans can be productive.
Government policies should focus on the establishment of a sustainable environment in which waste disposed of has minimal effect on animals and the environment. Strategies formulated should involve community members as cleanup activities create a sense of responsibility on people. Attitudes and behaviors of society members could be shaped by involving them in activities that they previously paid less or no attention. Devolving environmental responsibility to the community members is effective because when activities are done by communities, it creates a sense of belonging and a responsibility to keep clean.
Innovations could also be influenced by growing amounts of waste being disposed of. Waste management is a growing complex field and innovations have led to the reduction of the challenges facing countries across the world (Ojino, 2016). The sub-Saharan Africa is the worst hit by large waste sites that initially served as landfills. Some of the innovations that inspired waste management crisis include the conversion of waste to energy. This innovation is the most effective waste management platform from the system they traditionally produced energy through incinerators.
The government finances waste management programs by allocating money through the national budget. Municipal funds are used for the construction of waste management facilities and operations in the sector. The government budget is minimal, and a lot of activities cannot be fully accomplished due to the shortage of resources. The money is usually taxed on individuals’ purchases of goods and services. Residents of a neighborhood could also pay directly for the services where private companies have taken up the responsibility of disposing of waste.
South Africa has one of the fastest growing populations across the world. This had led to a continuous increase in consumerism. The increase in demand of basic needs has led to the increase in the quantity of waste produced. This demand requires working systems that would ensure waste is managed and disposal is done in a responsible manner.
Waste streams are getting more complex which requires the government to update its waste management’s practices regularly. Modernization has brought complex products that are difficult to manage, and their disposal techniques are still being debated. Electronics are a perfect example of materials whose waste streams are difficult to manage. These complex materials require a sophisticated system that tends to be expensive to operate in the country.
Limited knowledge on waste management is also another challenge that South Africa faces. A lot of waste produced are not worn out or could have been used for other reasons. Knowledge among people responsible for managing waste should be broad and accommodate different practices that would lead to more sustainable methods of managing waste. Education on waste management should be addressed, and different population groups should be taught on responsible behaviors’ in handling waste.
The lack of implementation of policies and regulations are also challenges that face South Africa. Many policies have been made by the national government but are not implemented at the municipal level. Many municipalities manage their waste by strategizing on what they think works best for their municipality.
There is a lack of effective public engagements on waste management policies among municipalities. The government has not engaged its citizens on waste management as a strategy to reduce the amount of waste produced. Community members are mainly the main source of waste, and if trained and sensitized to be responsible, then waste will be disposed of responsibly. Communities should be engaged in activities that are aimed at cleaning the environment. This will encourage them to change their attitudes towards waste.
Municipalities lack monitoring and control measures in their legislation. Therefore, service delivery is inadequate. The lack of a cooperation mechanism between the municipality and the community members negatively impacts the environment. Lack of monitoring practices creates a disconnect between the community and service providers. Therefore, each group does not work as expected which consequently results in practices that damage the environment (Smit, Esterhuyzen, Louw & Louw, 2015). Legislations have been made at the national level, but the wide disconnect between the regional and national governments makes those policies ineffective. Many municipalities develop their own strategies that would help in the waste management process.
These challenges can be mitigated through legislation that makes waste management programs a mandate for all municipalities. The government has to check its service delivery to the community and how the environment can be sustained. The South African waste management legislation is a world class and is in sync with global trends. Other solutions could be provided by the private sectors. The privatization of waste management can be effective if closely monitored to ensure that the services it signed up for are fully operational. This would reduce challenges on labor shortages and conflicts been the national and regional government.
Waste management should be segmented to bring holistic perspective in different areas rather than a general view on the outlook. This approach involves identifying system mix that would integrate different infrastructures to manage waste streams. This approach provides a comprehensive, practical and a broad scope in managing waste streams (Schenck, Blaauw &Viljoen, 2012).
Municipalities need to utilize various resources such as the wastewater and engineering processes in addressing the various steps in the management of waste streams. All procedures that are required in waste management require full maximization which would ensure that the desired results are achieved. Some of the procedures include the design and engineering of waste stream managements as well as the legal components, industrial requirements, transportation facilities and waste management projects started. These gaps can be addressed by projects formulating an afterthought to the likely waste produced (Battersby & Marshak, 2016). This will ensure that waste management is given a priority once they are released into the environment. This would also reduce waste from industries as they have their waste management programs in place.
The Aurecon has facilitated the links with the government in understanding the applicability of policies made to managing waste streams. This relationship has fostered relevant policies on environmental sustainability that are easy to administer Aurecon facilitates innovation in the sector and has placed South Africa at the top and ensures that internationally recognized practices are implemented in managing waste streams.
Conclusion
Waste management is crucial to animal and environmental health. All the systems involved in waste management should be sustainable to ensure that the environment is kept safe and clean for a comfortable living. Elements that may cause harm to the sustainability of the environment should be disposed of with caution. South Africa has made major strides in reducing waste streams but has not completely solved the waste management crisis. The government should look for other solutions applicable to the sector such as privatization of the sector. Municipalities should experiment this by awarding tenders to private companies to experiment on the effectiveness of the practice.
References
Battersby, J., & Marshak, M. (2016). Mapping the Invisible: The Informal Food Economy of Cape Town, South Africa. Oxford: Southern African Migration Programme (SAMP.
Dept, I. M. F. F. A. (2016). South Africa. Washington, D.C: International Monetary Fund.
Gray, A., & Vawda, Y. (January 01, 2014). Health policy and legislation. South African Health Review, 3-19.
Hangulu, L. (2016). Policy and practice of health care waste management in community-based care in South Africa.
In Swilling, M., In Musango, J. K., & In Wakeford, J. (2016). Greening the South African economy: Scoping the Issues, challenges, and opportunities
In Sherman, W. (2016). Handbook on Africa: Challenges and issues of the 21st century.
In Eltrop, L., In Telsnig, T., & In Fahl, U. (2013). Energy and sun: Sustainable energy solutions for future megacities.
In Smit, S. J., Esterhuyzen, E., Louw, L. B., & Louw, J. H. W. (2015). Environmental man International Conference on Managing Water and Waste for the New Millennium, Pybus, P. J., & International Water Association. (2001). Managing water and waste in the new millennium: Selected Proceedings of the International Conference on “Managing Water and Waste for the New Millennium – the challenges for developing areas,” held in Johannesburg, South Africa, 23-26 May 2000; issue editor, P. Pybus. London: IWA Pub. agement: A business management approach.
Masenya, J. M. (2016). The relationship between the management of solid waste and the degree of satisfaction of residents in Pretoria West.
Mashilwane, C. (2013). Waste disposal pattern of a township in Tshwane.
Mohee, R., & Simelane, T. (2015). Future directions of municipal solid waste management in Africa. Pretoria: Africa Institute of South Africa.
Maluleke, J. C. (2016). The role of external stakeholders in project management at Sedibeng Regional sanitation scheme.
Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, & OECD. (2016). Extended producer responsibility: Updated guidance for efficient waste management. Paris: OECD.
Ojino, Joyce. (2016). EPR as a mechanism for integrating the informal sector: An evaluation of post-consumer PET waste management in South Africa. Lunds Universitet/Internationella miljo?institutet.
Schenck, C., Blaauw, D., Viljoen, K., & International Labour Organization. (2012). Unrecognized waste management experts: Challenges and opportunities for small business development and decent job creation in the waste sector in the free state. Pretoria: ILO.
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