1 Click to edit Master subtitle style CSIR Review of the National Waste Management Strategy (NWMS) Dr Linda Godfrey Principal Researcher: Pollution & Waste 30 May 2012

2 © CSIR 2006 INTRODUCTION Recognize that NWMS was approved by Cabinet in 2011 Acknowledge that NWMS has been through an extensive public participation process during its development CSIR’s presentation will focus on some key issues that consistently came up in the organizational review of the NWMS Refer the Committee to the detailed written submission made for a complete list of review comments © CSIR 2006

3 KEY ISSUES The NWMS touches on what have been contentious (but policy-silent) issues within the waste sector over the past decade Regionalisation of waste facilities Landfill pickers / reclaimers Thermal waste treatment Addressing these issues within the NWMS are welcomed The intention of the NWMS is to provide step-by-step guidance on how to achieve the goals of the Act However, the NWMS is not written at a practical level that would assist, e.g. municipalities to achieve the objectives Does not provide short-, medium- and long-term objectives or timeframes for implementation, e.g. development of standards © CSIR 2006

4 KEY ISSUES The NWMS has a 5-year time horizon based on the review cycle, but should provide objectives beyond 5-years Provide for required infrastructure, particularly large capital investment Ensure government commitment beyond terms of office Suggest the development of detailed Action Plans (more so than Appendix 1) to practically support each of the goals of the NWMS (as were developed for the 1999 NWMS) © CSIR 2006

5 KEY ISSUES Measuring and monitoring of targets Waste pricing / cost Enforcement & compliance Awareness & behavioural change Role of the private sector & PPPs © CSIR 2006

6 Measuring & monitoring of targets Many of the targets will be difficult to measure in the absence of formal monitoring programmes, e.g. StatsSA e.g. number of new jobs created in the waste sector, or waste SMMEs created (Goal 3) For many of the targets, the absence of a baseline makes monitoring (and achievement) difficult e.g. 25% of recyclables diverted from landfill sites for reuse/recycling (Goal 1) Some targets only require a yes/no which is insufficient e.g. 80% of municipalities running awareness campaign (Goal 4), without detail of its content, effectiveness or impact Some targets are counterintuitive e.g. 50% increase in enforcement actions, expect to see decline © CSIR 2006

7 Waste pricing / cost Poor implementation of the waste hierarchy has been less about policy and more about pricing Support Gov’s move towards correct pricing of waste to address low cost of landfilling, lack of cost recovery, and its impact on – Equipment & infrastructure investment (municipalities) Establishing a viable reuse/recycling sector Hand-in-hand with compliance & enforcement i.e. naturally drives up the cost of landfilling to reflect true cost Careful thought on Who along the value chain bears what portion of the cost How we pass this increasing waste cost onto consumers (in the proposed short timeframe), given rising electricity, food, petrol costs Long-term move to include social & environmental costs © CSIR 2006

8 Awareness & behavioural change Awareness campaigns Very important, but raised awareness (knowledge) alone does not lead to changed behaviour Parallel processes of changing attitudes and norms; infrastructure investment, etc. Awareness campaigns must be ongoing and consistent to maintain message Action plans to identify who will take ownership of awareness programmes Economic instruments Pricing, plus economic incentives & disincentives as alternate behavioural change instruments © CSIR 2006

9 The role of the private sector In implementing the waste hierarchy the role of municipalities is to create an enabling environment for enterprise creation and job creation in the private sector Importance of public-private partnerships and outsourcing of waste operations Research in SA shows that utilizing the private sector Reduces costs to municipalities, Gives municipalities access to better infrastructure and specialist skills, and Improves levels of waste management and facility compliance Role for SMMEs, but we need an honest debate around shifting roles to the private sector © CSIR 2006

10 © CSIR 2006 CONCLUSIONS There remain some open-ended statements in the NWMS which would benefit from detailed, goal-specific, Action Plans Action plans must identify short-, medium-, long-term objectives (beyond 5 years) Action plans must provide clear & practical guidance to municipalities and private sector Some minor errors / inconsistencies to be addressed The Act and NWMS are welcomed as they move SA into a space of improved waste management © CSIR 2006

11 © CSIR 2006 CONTACT DETAILS Dr Linda Godfrey Tel: (012) © CSIR 2006