A load of garbage
Ninety per cent of South Africa’s waste is disposed of at landfill sites.
This amounts to 98-million tonnes of waste deposited across 826 landfills
each year. Our reliance on these facilities means that they are quickly
running out of capacity.
By Johan van den Berg
South Africa, like the rest of the world, is bowing under the amount of garbage generated.
A
nton Bredell, the Western Cape
MEC for local government,
environmental affairs, and
development planning, recently said
that a waste crisis will follow the energy
and water crises we have already
experienced. According to him, this can
only be avoided with good planning,
sustainable interventions, and an
investment in engineering – “because
we need to start thinking differently”.
I agree; our current thinking needs
to change. There is a tendency for
consumers to prioritise cost over all
other considerations when enlisting
the services of a waste management
provider. This has led to serious under-
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pricing in the industry, which is hindering
innovation.
South Africa’s waste management
industry is plagued by unlicensed or
unscrupulous providers, who can
charge less for services because they
operate with little regard for negative
environmental, health, or social
consequences. The prevalence of these
vendors means that larger, compliant
companies have to drive down prices
to compete. This reduces their ability to
invest in alternatives that would promote
the development of sustainable cities.
The World Commission on
Environment and Development (WCED)
defines a sustainable city as one that
Water Sewage & Effluent May/June 2018
meets the needs of the present without
compromising the ability of future
generations to meet their own needs.
This priority has stimulated the
development of several innovative
alternatives to traditional waste
management practices throughout
the world.
In Rotterdam, for example, a waste-to-
chemistry facility is being built to convert
non-recyclable plastics and other mixed
wastes into new raw materials, while
in Beijing, reverse vending machines
incentivise recycling by enabling users to
put plastic bottles in and get money out.
Global drivers, including pollution,
climate change, and resource scarcity,