huge penalties for dumping loom as SA cleans up its act
27 September 2007

So serious is the law in pursuit of a cleaner South Africa that certain types of offenders could find themselves having to pay up to R10 million in fines or 10 years behind bars or both.

The strictness of the Waste Act emerged at a three-day provincial summit of the Institute of Waste Management of South Africa which ended on Friday.  Speakers at the summit said there was a wave of optimism about the economic surge South Africa was experiencing. The economy had grown by an average annual rate of five per cent over the past three years, exceeding official forecasts.

But there was a negative side to the rosy picture. Proper and efficient waste management were sadly lacking.

It is estimated that South Africa has about 750 landfill sites. Only 30% of these are permitted and, in turn, only 30% of the permitted landfills are operated to required standards. It is estimated that South Africa‘s population of 47 million generates more than 117 million kilograms of solid waste daily. In addition, only 30% of waste generated by industry and households is properly handled and managed.

To cope with the generated volumes of waste, the summit‘s attention was focused on RRR – Reduce, Reuse, Recycle.

The “waste hierarchy” debated by the summit was based on a general model that placed approaches to waste management in order of priority, reflecting their different environmental consequences. These included reduce; reuse; recycle; material and energy recovery; treat and dispose; and landfills as the least desirable option.

The scourge of illegal dumping was also spotlighted, with the main causes being cited as poor municipal services, no need to pay, “someone eventually cleaning up the eyesore”, and lazy and uninformed people.

Strict application of the law, entrapment, higher penalties, providing better services, and raising public awareness of the filthy habit of littering and dumping were just some of the suggested counter measures.

Deon Van Der Merwe , www.theherald.co.za