1. Musa Chamane Waste Campaign Manager
PUBLIC HEARINGS ON THE NATIONAL WASTE MANAGEMENT STRATEGY, June 2012
Musa Chamane
Waste Campaign Manager

2. Cover five broad thematic areas
Zero waste has the potential to create jobs
Incineration is a false solution and a threat to green jobs
Integrating waste pickers into formal/municipal waste management systems
Fence line communities are still not protected by environmental laws
Medical waste regs. must be rationalized

3. Mooi River & Msundisi case study
Zero waste has the potential to create jobs in South Africa
Benefits
Sustainable dignified employment
Challenges
Source segregation, local bylaws
Local infrastructure restructuring
Funding (Youth Green Economy fund)
Others

4. Waste Incineration
Waste hierarchy is clear – we must favour options higher up the hierarchy
Fly ash is concentrated toxic by-product of incineration – “there is no away”
Fly ash contains very high concentrations of dioxins and heavy metals making it some of the most toxic material on the planet
Incineration promotes resource intensive extraction = more energy use upstream, = more climate change, = more env. impact
Burning waste does not reduce GHG’s = fallacy

5. Cement GHG fallacy….
Industry resp. for 3% of the world’s total GHG & 5% of CO2 emissions.
1.4 Gt (1 Gt = 1 gigatonne = 109 metric tonnes = tonnes).
Burning of fossil fuels in kilns (40%), transport of raw materials (5%), fossil fuels required for electricity (5%) and the conversion of limestone (CaCO3) to calcium oxide (CaO) (50%).
CO2 savings AFR minor impact on the total.

6. Waste Incineration
Tyre levy must be ring fenced to promote genuine recycling only (at least for a dedicated period to give the recycling sector a chance to establish itself)
Cement Industry must be specifically excluded from benefitting from tax payers money
We must protect ourselves from trans boundary imports of waste

7. HCRW Incineration
Our primary concern with the draft HCRW Regulations is draft regulation 4(1)(k) which provides that:
“no person may treat anatomical and isolation waste in a technology other than incineration”.
Incineration of HCRW is harmful to human health and to the environment.
groundWork is of the view that the DEA should not prescribe the technologies that must be used to treat HCRW – rather, the draft Regulations should only prescribe sterilisation or disinfection standards.

8. Integrating waste pickers to create jobs
SAWPA
Waste pickers statistics
WP perfectly placed to add value to waste and benefit from dignified jobs
Municipalities must be compelled to integrate WP’s in their waste management systems

9. Fence line communities still vulnerable
Communities affected by waste incineration are not protected
Thermopower
Cement communities
Political interference & intimidation

10. YOU NEED THREE THINGS TO PROTECT THE PUBLIC FROM TOXIC RELEASES/EMISSIONS.
STRONG
REGULATIONS

11. YOU NEED THREE THINGS TO PROTECT THE PUBLIC FROM TOXIC RELEASES/EMISSIONS.
STRONG
REGULATIONS
ADEQUATE
MONITORING

12. YOU NEED THREE THINGS TO PROTECT THE PUBLIC FROM TOXIC RELEASES/EMISSIONS.
STRONG
REGULATIONS
ADEQUATE
MONITORING
TOUGH
ENFORCEMENT

13. YOU NEED THREE THINGS TO PROTECT THE PUBLIC FROM TOXIC RELEASES/EMISSIONS.
STRONG
REGULATIONS
ADEQUATE
MONITORING
TOUGH
ENFORCEMENT
IF ANY LINK IS WEAK THE PUBLIC IS NOT PROTECTED!

14. Thank you for your attention!
Any questions?