AAA PUBLICATION OF THE INSTITUTE OF WASTE MANAGEMENT OF SOUTHERN AFRICA

P O BOX 79, Allen’s Nek, 1737 June 2004Tel: (011) 675-3462 Fax: (011) 675-3465 e-mail: iwmsa@iafrica.com website: www.iwmsa.co.za

President’s Message

This is my final message as President, to be published in the Waste Paper. My vision for the IWMSA is one of a body that is playing a meaningful role in shaping the future of our sub-continent. There is, however, so much around us that is of concern: crime and grime, unemployment, Aids and senseless violence. How do we react? What must we do? Can we make a difference? Yes, We can!!

As I write this, the euphoria in South Africa, as a result of winning the right to stage the Soccer World Cup in 2010, is still raging. This event is the biggest single sporting event on earth. This will be a major challenge for the people of the entire Southern Africa. The hard work of securing the right to host the cup is done, the party is over, but the hard work in making it happen remains. Waste management will be a major support service and innovative strategies will have to be devised and implemented. Government and the private sector must stand together as one. To this end, I pledge the support of the IWMSA to the Department of Environment Affairs and Tourism, The South African Football Association as well as to the organising company for this great event.

Since the general elections in South Africa we have seen a change in Ministers of the Environment. To outgoing Minister Valli Moosa I say “thank you for a job well done – your innovative approach to environmental and conservation issues has resulted in major improvements in many areas during the 10 years during which you were Minister. To the new Minister Martinus van Schalkwyk – I pledge the support of the Institute to you and your Department during your term of office. We are sure that you will continue with the good work and build on that which your predecessor has started”

A lot of work has been done over the past few years but a lot still remains to be done – it’s your call now.

It has been an honour being President of this prestigious Institute and I trust that I have made a worthy contribution over my two-year term. It has not been an altogether easy task. I wish to thank all members of the Institute for the support, which I have received during my two-year terms. A special thank you must go to the Council members as well as to Hennie Neethling and Gail Smit for all the assistance and hard work that has gone into making the Institute a success.

Have we achieved our goals over the past two years? I invite you as members to be the judge of that. Do not remain quiet if you have criticism or praise – we value constructive criticism that can be used to build a better and stronger IWMSA. I have said before that mostly volunteers who give of their time freely drive the IWMSA and they deserve our praise.

WasteCon is once again promising to be a world-class event. I encourage everyone to register early for a truly African experience in which you can learn, but also make a contribution to the learning and capacity building of others in the waste industry.

I wish our incoming President, Hennie Neethling, vice-President, Shirleigh Strydom, as well as the new Council everything of the best for the next two years in office.

Keep up the good work – farewell for the last time.Viva IWMSA viva……..

Peter Novella SFIWMSA

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The Waste Paper

President, IWMSA

New RSA Branch Committee Elected

The results of the 2004 Branch Committee elections are the following:

Central BranchMary Chettle Sidney Crampton Kobus de Meyer

Jaco Bloem Linda Godfrey Lance Hill

Jeff le Roux Jonathan Shamrock Marita Vermaak

Eastern Cape BranchConrad Basson Benjamin Cooper Sean Mac Bean

Mervin Olivier Richard Patten Gordon Price

Heartland BranchHendrik Claasen Gysbert HoonEduart Hugo Cedric Nelson Willem Smith

KZN BranchSue Beningfield Shauna CostlySheena Louwrens Geoffrey Marshall Pat Reddy

Western Cape BranchBarbara Jenman Claire McKinnon Craig MitchellAnette Naudé Tracy Roos Juan NomdoJan Palm Melanie Traut Pat Weaver

At the time of writing, no chairperson had been elected as yet. Congratulations to all and best wishes for the task ahead.

CommentAccording to the Constitution, a Branch Committee shall consist of a minimum of 5 and a maximum of 10 elected members. If more than 10 eligible members are nominated for a specific Branch Committee, an election shall be held, if less, the nominated members shall be declared duly elected.Judging by the above results, not one Branch managed to nominate more than 9 members, let alone 10, with KZN, a numerically big branch, barely managing to scrape together the required minimum.This, on the one hand, is worrying because it sends a message of something bordering frustration with, or disinterest in, the affairs of the Institute. On the other hand, one is grateful that there are still members out there who are prepared to shoulder the burden of managing the Institute to whom we all owe a great debt of gratitude. It may behove the incoming Council to give attention to this state of affairs.

Registration as Non-profit Organisation

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As reported in the last issue of the Waste Paper, the Institute has applied for registration as a non-profit organisation. Word has it, that this has been approved by

the Department of Welfare. Watch this space for further developments.

Plastic Bags Levy Up 50%After considerable confusion, South Africa’s finance minister announced that he had decided to increase the levy on all size shopping bags from 2 cents RSA to 3 cents, which will become legally enforceable from 1 June 2004.

Bags are being sold by retailers for about 17c a bag, even though they pay 32c each for them. For the past year, some have on a voluntary basis either been setting aside 2c a bag in a trust fund for a new section 21 company to educate the public about the need not to litter the environment with used plastic bags and how best to dispose of them, or have been keeping the 2c in a separate account of their own until the section 21 company has been established.

Revenue from this source is expected to exceed R20 million a year and unions have expressed concern about the effect of this development on jobs and have urged retailers to absorb this cost to prevent further job losses.

It is believed that the Articles of Association of the proposed section 21 company have been drafted and that seven organisations, including the Institute, under the leadership of the Plastics Federation of South Africa, have agreed to function as Founder Members of the company, which is expected to start operating early in the next financial year.

Please help us to process your membership fees

If your company pays your membership fee, please ensure that the relevant person is informed of these instructions All mailed payments are to be

accompanied by the return slip provided at the bottom of the invoice

Electronic payments and payments made into the Head Office bank account (Standard Bank Account no. 200129910 – Montroux Branch 006305) should include name of member and membership number as a reference. Please fax proof of payment or deposit slip to 011-675-3465

Please ensure that your contact details are correct. If not, please contact Head Office immediately at 011-675-3462 to make the necessary changes

Contents

President’s message Page 1

Branch Elections Page 2

Registration Non Profit Page 2

Plastics Bag Levy up 50% Page 3

I Hopewell relocates to UK Page 4

Introducing our Friends Page 5/6

New members Page 6

3

WasteCon 2004 Page 7

Branch Highlights Page 8

Of this and that Page 9/10

Recycling News Page 11

Pikitup/ Global Warming Page 12

Event Notebook Page 13

WasteCon 2004 Page 14

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Former President Ian Hopewell Relocating To UKIan Hopewell, President from 1998-2000, has decided to return to the UK where he was born on 28 August 1955. He emigrated to SA in 1984 to take up the position of National Environmental Manager with Waste-Tech which later became EnviroServ.

During the period Ian was employed by Waste-tech and EnviroServ, he was

a member of the Chemical and Allied Industries Association chairman of the SACOB Environmental Committee, 1998-2000 company representative of the Industrial Environmental Committee Forum, 1998 a member of the Minimum Requirements Steering Committee a member of the SABS Code 0230-0233 Committee

He also found time to qualify as an Environmental Auditor. In 1997 he represented the RSA at a UNEP-sponsored meeting in Nairobi. He became member of the IWMSA in February 1986 and eventually reached the grade Senior Fellow.

Some of the highlights as President of the IWMSA include:

the establishment of the Botswana Chapter exploratory Namibian Chapter Workshop held in Windhoek workshops in connection with the establishment of SETA’s and SGB’s.

As President he was privileged to travel to France as part of a South African Delegation concerning the implementation of the Waste Management Strategy, to the United States on a US Trade Development Funded Study Tour and to the United Kingdom to visit the UK Waste Show and have discussions on Training with both the British Institute and the Waste Management Training Board.

From the beginning it was clear that Ian was no lightweight in the field of waste management in particular and environmental management in general. The old saying of “if you want something done in hurry, give it to a busy man” was, we believe, specially coined for him. He was always willing to help where others were either unavailable or unwilling. But this trait sometimes landed him in hot water because he often overburdened himself on behalf of fellow members or colleagues.

Ian will always be remembered for his even temper, his friendliness, his integrity and the manner in which he managed to stay away from, and above, Institute politics.

He will also be remembered for one of the more light-hearted moments in the history of the IWMSA when his chair collapsed during the opening ceremony at WasteCon 2000!

We also wish Ian every success in his new career in the country of his birth and want to thank him for this valuable contribution to waste and environmental management in South Africa and the Institute in particular. We will certainly miss you.

INSTITUTE OF WASTE MANAGEMENT OF SOUTHERN AFRICA

The Institute of Waste Management of Southern Africa (IWMSA) is a professional association not for gain, committed to sound waste management

We provide opportunities to network and exchange information to debate burning issues to formulate legislation for professional and business growth

We offer our members access to the latest technology, trends and legislation special rates at IWMSA congresses, seminars and workshops free copy of our newsletter The Waste Paper and our journal RéSource special rates for listing in our Buyers' Guide and Directory courses to upgrade and develop skills within the industry

Introducing Our Friends

The Plastic Federation Of South Africa

The Plastics Federation of South Africa (the Federation) was formed in 1975. As the umbrella body representing the various sectors of the plastics industry, our purpose is to support the plastics industry in promoting plastics as the material of choice.

Our primary functions are to: provide value-adding administrative and technical services, develop an industry training strategy and provide training in line with industry

requirements, implement the plastics industry environmental strategy, and have a useful website and database.

Our vision is: to be fully representative of the industry to be the spokes body of the industry to have a competent and skilled sector for plastics to be environmentally acceptable materials to be the information custodian of the industry to promote and market the benefits of plastics

The members of the Federation are constituent organisations representing the various sectors of what is a very diverse industry, and are as follows:

Raw Material Suppliers

Converters Others

Dow Plastics SA PCA (Plastics Converters Ass)

SAMPLAS represents the machinery suppliers in SA

Sasol Polymers ARMSA (Association of Rotational moulders of SA)

PISA (Plastics Institute of Southern Africa)

SAPIA (SA Polymer Importers Association)

Although not constituent members of the Federation, other associations representing interest groups in, or allied to, the industry, are:

PREO (Plastic Recycling Employers Organisation) EPSASA (Expanded Polystyrene Association of SA) IoM (Institute of Materials, which deals primarily with rubbers and elastomers.

Policy matters are determined by Federal Council, on which each of the constituent organisations has one or more representatives. A Management Committee implements the policy decisions of the Council. A levy on sales of locally manufactured plastic raw materials, some small contributions from certain associations, as well as income from training activities fund the Federation. From a legal point of view, the Federation is

registered as a section 21 company – association not for gain. It therefore has no shareholders, nor can it distribute profits in any way.

The Federation has a staff of 20 employees, with its head office in Midrand (Gauteng), and offices in Pinetown (Kwazulu-Natal) and Cape Town (Western Cape).The South African plastics industry has been recording steady volume growth in recent years. We expect this to continue, but also realise that the industry will have to become internationally competitive at all levels.

The major challenges facing our industry concern the average age of the converting capacity, the skills levels of the people operating the plant, as well as environmental issues. In order to meet the need to become internationally competitive, our industry will need to invest more heavily in new plant.

The introduction of SETAs (Sectoral Education Training Authorities) has seen a vast increase and improvement in training across all sectors of industry. The plastics industry falls within the ambit of the MERSETA (Manufacturing Engineering and Related SETAs), under the Plastics Chamber.

The Plastics Environmental Initiative was launched in 1997 with the aim of creating environmental awareness among the general public and publicising an anti-littering message. The E-mark is a tangible symbol of that campaign and an Enviromark licence is given to companies that have avowed their commitment to the environment and to the Environmental Initiative. To date, more than 80% of the plastics packaging industry are E-marked licensees.

[With thanks to Executive Director, Bill Naude]

NEW MEMBERS

WELCOME TO OUR NEW MEMBERS

CENTRAL BRANCH

Members Mr JA BewseyMr JJ le RouxMr HNN JeleMr BZ KutzuMs L Deetlefs

Mr L Venter

Organisation Members Health & Env Institute Of NamibiaMr Refuse cc Kgetlenrivier Local Municipality

KWAZULU NATAL

MembersMiss K Govender

Associate MembersMr S MajidMr Mp MhlunguMr RG Stewart

Organisation MembersSlick & SludgeMidnight Glaze InvestmentsActi-Chem SA (Pty) Ltd

Patron MemberWasteman Group (Pty) Ltd

WESTERN CAPE

MembersMs T Roos

Organisation MembersRose Foundation

WASTECON 2004“INTEGRATED WASTE MANAGEMENT”

Before we know it WasteCon 2004 will have come and gone and those of you who did not attend, for whatever reason, will have missed a brilliant event! An event we are all looking so forward to and that promises to be absolutely fantastic!

For those who don’t already know, WasteCon 2004 will take place at Sun City in October this year. The programme for the week includes a golf day on Monday 11th October 2004, for those who enjoy following an elusive little white ball around a beautiful setting. The formal technical programme begins on Tuesday morning and runs through until Thursday afternoon (12th – 14th October 2004). This is then followed by a technical tour on Friday (15 th October 2004) for those wanting to see and experience waste management in practice.

You should receive the final announcement together with the registration forms, which will be posted to all our members, by the middle of June 2004. It will also be available on our web site www.iwmsa.co.za.

If you would like to qualify for the early-bird discount, please book as soon as possible. Payment must be received by the end of July 2004 to qualify! We also urge you to book your accommodation now, if you have not already done so!

We are also organising a fun-filled programme for the companions, so bring along your loved one to enjoy a week in the sun!

The week’s programme will be as follows:Monday 12th October Golf day - Lost City Course (optional extra)Monday evening Registration and IcebreakerTuesday 13th October 2004 Technical programme (plenary sessions)Tuesday evening Gala Banquet (with entertainment to die for!!)Wednesday 14th October 2004 Technical programme (parallel sessions)

GIGSA training course on landfill GeotechnicsDWAF Minimum Requirements workshop

Wednesday evening Party at the Valley of the WavesThursday 15th October 2004 Technical programme (parallel sessions and closure of the conference)Thursday evening Game drive (optional extra) and Boma dinnerFriday 15th October 2004 Post congress technical tour (optional extra)

The exhibition will take place in the Super-bowl, and will include the large (traditional outdoor) exhibition and the smaller (traditional indoor) exhibition. Exhibition space is selling fast, so if you have not yet already booked your spot, please do so immediately via Head Office. All teas and meals will be served in the exhibition area, so you should get good mileage / coverage from your stand!

Running parallel to the normal technical programme on Wednesday will be a capacity building session for decision makers. This was borne out of a request from numerous people and delegates from past WasteCons, who require orientation training regarding waste management in general. In reaction to this the Institute has developed basic training material and this will presented at WasteCon 2004.

The aim of the capacity building session will be to capacitate decision makers with basic knowledge regarding waste management. Teaching material will cover all aspects of waste management, including waste avoidance, cleaner production and generation, including reduction and re-use. It will also cover on-site storage of waste, containerisation, collection and transport. The next section covers processing, compaction, chipping, composting, separation, treatment, incineration and recycling options for waste. Disposal of waste is the last topic but separate sections follow after disposal. In these sections other types of waste like hazardous, health-care, mine, industrial and nuclear waste are briefly discussed. Management issues, planning, human resources, safety and health, legislation, financial management and other related topics are also discussed in separate sections.

Attendees will leave with a workbook covering all the aspects mentioned above. The material has been developed in such a way that the course can be presented over a period of one or up to five days, depending on the level of detail required by attendees. At WasteCon the training will be presented as a one-day orientation course. Interested persons should indicate their planned attendance on the registration form for WasteCon to enable the organisers to print the needed material for the training session.

The DWAF Minimum Requirements workshop will be run and will cover both the revision of the existing documents, i.e. the 3rd Edition, as well as the extension to the existing trilogy, i.e. Document 4.

As you can see WasteCon 2004 will offer something for everyone! It allows the opportunity to learn, network, socialise, relax, and get away from all the hustle and bustle of the Cities and our offices. Look forward to seeing you there!

BRANCH HIGHLIGHTSIWMSA members throughout the country are involved in a variety of interesting

activities. Contact the branch chairpersons for further details.

CENTRAL BRANCH(Gauteng, Northern Province, North West Province & Mpumalanga)

Chairperson: Mary Chettle Tel. 011 706-5731

A Regional Seminar was held in Naledi (Vryburg) on the 12 March 2004. The topics covered included Integrated Waste Management Planning, funding, collection, disposal, HCRW, recycling and composting. We had six guest speakers. The event was fairly well attended and enjoyed by all.On the 25h March 2004 we had our local afternoon capacity building session. This was hosted by Roshcon and was a report back on the progress to date on the LG&W SETA’s education and training programme. Louis Boshoff and Hennie Neethling ran this for us. Our second local afternoon capacity building session for the quarter included a farewell for Ian Hopewell (Central Branch Committee Member and past President). This was held at DBSA on the 5 May 2004. We had three guest speakers.We once again held an annual golf day at the Randburg Golf Club. This event is very popular and financially successful.The new committee will finalise the remainder of the year’s programme, however, I think most of our attention will now be focused on WasteCon 2004. The new committee also has the challenge of trying to attract more support for these events, into which so much effort and money is put in! The new committee plans on forging closer ties with DEAT, DWAF and GDACEL. The guideline document on Integrated Waste Management Planning and Funding is still to be finalised but will hopefully soon be available to our members at a nominal fee (to cover printing and postage only) and at a higher fee to non-members. Health-Care Waste Interest Group have drafted their aims and objectives and will submit a plan to the new committee.Waste Minimisation, here were no takers for the waste minimisation proposals, which were submitted to various role-players in the Rustenburg area. There will therefore be no presentation / case study presented at WasteCon 2004.Central Branch is still in the process of developing the basic introductory course, which we hope to get accredited as soon as possible. The modules for this course will be distributed to our members and to the branch committees for comments first. This course is to be presented as a training course or a capacity building course at WasteCon 2004 (run in parallel) aimed specifically for Councillors responsible for waste management. Nominations for Central Branch Committee members were recently submitted. Because Council required the presence of the new Chairman at this meeting we needed to elect the new office bearers before the scheduled meeting at the end of June 2004. We therefore decided to hand over to the new committee at our May branch meeting. The following members will serve on the Central Branch Committee for the period 1 July 2004 to 30 June 2006:

Kobus de Meyer (Chairman)Linda Godfrey (Vice-chairman)Sid Crampton (Secretary / Treasurer)Jeff le Roux

Jaco BloemMarita VermaakMary ChettleLance Hill

Jonathan Shamrock (LIG)The following have been co-optedLaetitia Ferreira (HCWIG)Stan Jewaskiewitz (WasteCon 2004)Elias Barnard

Tinus RedelinghuysChris Liebenburg

Gail Smit will again fulfil the Secretariat function

The remaining portfolios are still to be decided and allocated. This will be done at the first committee meeting of the new committee on 24 June 2004.

I wish the new committee every success and in particular Kobus and Linda, and I hope we achieve all that is needed to make Central Branch vibrant and active and ensure that we serve our members as required. We also wish our new President and Vice-president every success and hope you take the IWMSA to new heights.

WESTERN CAPE BRANCH

BRANCH COMMITTEE:

Jan Palm Chair (Database)Claire McKinnon Vice (Newsletter & finances)Craig Mitchell LIGBarbara Jenman WMRIGStephan Morkel CTIGAnnette Naude (Education)

Susanne Dittke (Promotion)Roger Parsons (Road Shows)Melani Traut (Seminars)

Bev Ball Office ManagerJorina Minnie Secretary

INTEREST GROUPS:

The three interest groups in the Western Cape are all active, each with its own committee. Coordination of activities takes place by the Branch Committee and all activities are incorporated into the Branch activities calender.

Landfill Interest Group:Planning is currently underway for two half day events.Waste Minimisation and Recycling Interest Group:This IG had a very successful event on 29 April which was attended by 40 people. A new organising committee was also elected. The members are as follows:Lesley Jones of On Site Services EM: lesleyjones@absamail.co.zaLynette Kruger of EEU- UCT. kruger@science.uct.ac.zaSonwabo Ndandani of Tsoga nosipdil@iafrica.com Deon McDillon of the waste dept in CT- deon.mcdillon@capetown.gov.za Collection and Transport Interest Group:This Interest Group is planning practical events for its members. Amongst others, a special collection vehicle gearbox information event is being organised.EDUCATION:All available educational material are still being evaluated to determine its application potential for low and medium level courses. NEWSLETTER:This year’s first edition of our branch newsletter, Utter Rubbish, is currently being compiled.ROAD SHOWS:Road Shows have a major role to play in technology transfer to our rural areas and the first road show of the year will be held in Laingsburg on Hazmat on request of the local municipal officials.DATABASE:The branch has a membership database that is based on MS Access and has recently been updated with the latest info from head office. There are still a large number of members complaining that they do not receive head office mail or Resource. SEMINARS:The Breakfast seminar held on 18 April 2004 was well attended, but the speakers unfortunately did not keep to their allotted time slots resulting in many attendees leaving for work before the last speaker started. PROMOTION:

The branch erected a stand for the IWM at the WISA Conference in May. Although all the promotional material were up to date, the “look” was a bit old fashioned. Modern displays are being investigated by the branch. MEMBERSHIP:Since the last National Council meeting there was not a significant number of new applicants.FINANCES:The Branch operates two bank accounts.

A current account, and A 32 day call account for educational purposes.

The Branch’s annual golf day was organised as a fundraiser (for the first time) and we drew 64 players (biggest field ever) and made a profit of R2500. Socially it was also a very successful day and the organisers learned a few lessons that will help with next year’s planning.

Of This And That

Orange County In USA Ponders Price Of SuccessOrange County Solid Waste Managers are proposing a solid waste fee that would cost residents between US$36 and US$75. The County Commissioners are soon to receive a report on the recommended “Waste Reduction, Reuse and Recycling Fee.” The proposal is the latest after a year of tinkering with a much higher fee recommended by the Solid Waste Advisory Board.

The new levy would replace landfill tipping fees, which underwrite 90 per cent of the budget for the county’s solid waste and recycling programmes.

Tip fee revenues have been declining in recent years as trash disposals drop. Garbage haulers are

taking more waste out of the county to landfills with lower fees and the county’s recycling and reduction efforts have been successful. “The solid waste enterprise depends on tipping fees,” a spokesman said. “The more successful we are at recycling and reducing, the less money we have to sustain the enterprise. So we have to come to the citizens and essentially ask them to subsidize the fact that we are successfully reducing the disposal of waste in Orange County”

Solid waste officials have projected shortfalls of up to US$3.9 million in 2005-06, and say they’re the reason the county has to find a different way to finance the programme.

New Zealand Revisits Packaged Goods AccordThe Packaged Goods Accord 2004, currently under negotiation, is a voluntary collaborative effort by central government, local government New Zealand, recycling Operators of New Zealand (RONZ) and the Packaging Council NZ (representing the packaging manufacturing industry, including aluminium, glass, plastics, steel and paper manufacturers and brand owners) to reduce packaging waste going to landfill and to create markets for the recovery of packaging materials.

The Zero Waste New Zealand Trust reports that the Ministry for the Environment’s NZ Waste Strategy, “Towards Zero Waste and a Sustainable New

Zealand,” notes “voluntary agreements with industry have brought mixed results. The 1996 Packaging Accord sought to minimise the environmental effects of packaging waste…. [but] as in other countries the total quantity of packaging waste has increased.”

Therefore, while all steps towards reducing waste are admirable there is room to develop a mix of voluntary and mandatory approaches, adopting overall principles of Extended Producer Responsibility (such as container deposit legislation), to ensure that the amount of packaging waste being consumed and disposed of into New Zealand’s landfills is reduced.

Waste Management In UK “Dreadful”

A report published by the UK Sustainable Development Commission (SDC) welcomes Government efforts to protect the environment, reduce unemployment, alleviate poverty, increase life expectancy and improve education, but appeals for fundamental policy shifts to improve overall quality of life and tackle issues like inequality, climate change, traffic, waste and obesity.

On waste management, the SDC’s verdict is “Dreadful” – Municipal waste is rising faster than GDP and faster than in most other European countries. Recycling rates are rising, but are still among the lowest in Europe.

Vietnam Regulates Imported Waste Materials

Vietnam’s Ministry of Natural Resources and Environmental has issued regulations on importing, transporting, storing and usage of waste materials for production. The Vietnam News Agency reports that the regulation stipulates that waste material imports must be used in production only. It prohibits the import of waste for any other purpose.

All importers and users of imported waste materials for production must be responsible for any pollution caused by these materials. They may

only import waste materials suitable for their specific needs.

Waste materials allowed to be imported include sub-standard and scrapped materials made of alloys, metals, paper, cardboard, glass and plastics containing none of the materials, products and goods which are banned from being imported according to Vietnam’s law and the international treaties that Vietnam has signed or acceded to ban the imports of toxic waste.

[With acknowledgement to Warmer Bulletin)

Mercury Dumping Problems For India

The Centre for Science and Environment, India (CES) reported in November that the country had become the world’s biggest consumer of mercury. It is also the destination for a great deal of mercury disposal from other countries, with imports registering a six fold increase in seven years, according to data from the Directorate General of Commercial Intelligence and Statistics, Kolkata. In spite of this, India still does not regulate the trade and use of mercury, nor inventorize its own stocks of the substance.

Because of this dramatic rise in import, India has now outstripped the US in mercury consumption: at between 1350-1843 tonnes a year, its consumption represents 50% of the mercury produced globally. India also processes nearly 70% of the world’s mercury. Furthermore, according to the data that CSE has

studied, only about 0.2% of mercury used in the country is regulated, effectively meaning that around 99% of mercury use is completely unregulated, and there is no information on how almost 90% of the mercury imported is used in this country.

Mercury has severely contaminated land, water, air and the food chain throughout India. At a conference recently organised by the CSE, Dr R.C. Srivastava, Co-chairperson of the UNEP Chemicals Working Group, said that mercury contamination in India is reaching alarming levels, largely due to the discharge of mercury-bearing industrial effluents in the range of 0.058-0.268 mg/litre – several times more than the prescribed Indian and WHO standards of 0.001 mg/litre (for drinking water) and 0.01 mg/litre (for industrial effluents).

At the same conference, the CSE’s Director Sunita Narain said that these data indicated India was rapidly

becoming the world’s most preferred toxic dump for mercury.

[WMW, Jan/Feb 2004]

Overstrand Municipality Leading The Way

At present households in Hermanus, which forms part of the Overstrand Municipality in the Southern Cape, are provided with clear plastic bags for dry refuse that can be recycled – such as glass bottles, cans and plastics.

These bags are collected with the other refuse by the municipal services and taken to the waste transfer stations where they are sorted for recycling. Walker Bay Recycling has set up operations at the waste transfer stations.

A similar system is due to be implemented with households in the Kleinmond area this Easter, although a permanent recycling operation is yet to be established at the Kleinmond waste transfer station.

All waste that is not recycled is transferred to the Karwyderskraal landfill site.

[Urban Green File, March/April 2004]

Recycling News

Recycling In RSA A Growth IndustryThe following article appeared in the Sunday Times Business Times of 30 November 2003.

South Africa is one of the world’s top recyclers – in the past 10 years it has increased the quantity of goods that are reprocessed by 168%.

Owen Bruyns, executive director of the Packaging Council of SA, says that in 1984, 1.4-million tons of “virgin” material was used to produce packaging in South Africa and that this had increased by 70% to 2.4-million tons by last year. In contrast, 486 000 tons of recycled products were processed in 1984, a figure that more than doubled to 1.3-million tons in 2002. The industry is now worth R1.3-billion a year and employs some 40 000 people – mostly on an informal basis – who collect used products such as paper, cans, glass and plastics.

But, in many instances, recycling is undertaken for environmental reasons rather than financial ones.Mondi Recycling’s Peter Hunter says that 922 000 tons of paper are reprocessed each year, giving South Africa a 52% recovery rate. This compare with a world average of 47%. In Germany, where there is recovery legislation, the rate is more than 70%. The rates in the UK and US are about 45%. Hunter says there are about 11 000 people employed informally in paper recovery, working with about 300 collection centres.

The collecting centres pay up to R1 500 a ton for white office paper and R150 a ton for low-grade material. Nick Kok, managing director of Collect-a-Can, says South Africa recovers 66% of its tins and cans. This compares with 80% in Germany, 78% in Japan and 57% in the US. Collect-a-Can pays about R150 a ton for recovered cans and up to R600 a ton for compacted cans. These are then sold to a steel mill. Around 48 000 tonnes of cans are collected a year in South Africa and last year Collect-a-Can – a non-profit organisation – paid out R23-million.

The glass industry recovers about 120 000 tons a year. Consol recycles around 78% of this and Nampak Glass the balance. Consol Glass’s Jaco Human says the business is worth about R60-million a year. Between 1 500 and 3 000 people are employed or derive an income from glass recycling. Glass recyclers pay between 2c and 12c a unit, depending on the type of glass.

The plastics industry recycles about 114 000 tons a year through 124 recycling factories. Douw Steyn of the Plastics Federation of SA says South Africa’s collection stations are fully viable business operations and pay between 50c/kg and R1.20/kg. The industry is worth about R300-million a year and employs 20 000 people.

Brazilian Aluminium And Steel Recycling Report A total 121,000 metric tonnes of aluminium cans recycled, 35 recyclers (among them producers of secondary aluminium), most of them concentrated in Sao Paulo and Minas Gerais, 152,000 direct and indirect jobs and sales of US$ 293 million. These are the results obtained in 2002 by the aluminium can recycling sector in Brazil, according to data from the Brazilian Aluminium Association (Abal).The numbers show that the country recycled 87% of the cans consumed, or over 9 billion cans. According to Abal, since 2001 Brazil has ranked number one in can recycling in countries where this is not compulsory by law. For the last two years, the percentage of cans recycled in Brazil has been 85% compared to 83%, in Japan, the previous world leader.

In 2002, Brazil consumed five million tons of scrap steel, of which 3.3 million tonnes were used to produce new steel. The manufacture of new sheet metal for steel packaging consumed 1 million tonnes. These figures show that Brazil already has the installed capacity to absorb 100% of scrap from steel packaging. Tin-plated steel accounts for 21% of the domestic packaging market, cans for carbonated drinks (sodas and beer) for another 6%, and the remainder goes to steel smelters that melt the scrap for new products or new sheet steel. Metalic, a part of the CSN steel company, is Latin America’s only manufacturer of two-part steel cans (a casing made without soldered joints, together with the lid) for drinks. Production at the company accounts for around 6% of the Brazilian beverage can market – the remainder being made of aluminium.

[Cempre, No 72, January 2004]

Pikitup Partners Denmark to Combat Global

Warming

Pikitup, the waste management service provider for the City of Johannesburg signed a letter of intent on 18 September 2003, with the Royal Danish Embassy, which kicked off the second phase of a process to harvest and sell the methane gas that is generated by natural decomposition processes at two of its landfill sites. The project with the aim to reduce the impacts of global warming will eventually be implemented at the company’s Robinson Deep and Kya Sands landfill sites.

Landfill sites generate methane gas naturally, which is a major contributor to global warming. Following computer modeling studies that were completed in June 2003, as part of phase 1, the Danish/South African partnership decided that it was viable to further investigate the harvesting of the methane produced at the two mentioned landfill sites. This methane may be sold to local gas networks, as an alternative energy and heating source for coal-based electricity.

Internationally, global warming has become a key concern for scientists. The earth's average surface temperature has risen by 0,6 degrees Centigrade during the last century, largely as a result of greenhouse gases (GHGs) like carbon dioxide and methane being emitted into the atmosphere. If the trend continues unabated, global temperatures are predicted to rise by another 5 degrees Centigrade over the next century, with associated negative consequences like a rise in sea levels, climatic changes, flooding, and threats to fauna and flora species.

To find viable solutions to the global warming problem, the world's nations met at Kyoto, Japan in 1997, and set targets for reducing global greenhouse gas emissions. Most of the greenhouse gasses are produced by the developed Northern Hemisphere nations, and it was agreed that these nations would have to achieve obligatory emission reduction targets by 2008 - 2010. Currently, developing countries in the Southern Hemisphere are exempt from having to meet similar targets, as developing nations produce comparatively low emissions. However, reducing emission levels is an extremely costly process, even for the wealthier nations, so the Kyoto Protocol encourages developed and developing nations to co-operate in reducing emissions globally.

This is achieved via environmental projects, named Clean Development Mechanisms (CDMs) that reduce greenhouse gas emissions measurably. Each ton of reduced carbon dioxide emission (or equivalent) is known as a 'carbon credit'. So, if a CDM project results in a site or activity reducing its carbon emissions by 500 tons per annum (measured against what it was producing before the CDM), then that CDM has generated 500 carbon credits. These are valuable commodities which can be traded on world markets. The Kyoto principle encourages developed nations to provide technology and/or funding that helps developing nations to reduce their emissions. The developed nations can then purchase the resulting carbon credits to help meet their Kyoto emission reduction targets. For developing nations, it's an

attractive principle. Not only do they receive technological assistance and funding to reduce emissions, they can also sell the resulting carbon credits to developed nations.

The Danish International Development Assistance organization (Danida) has a long history of co-operation with South Africa, particularly on Environment and Energy issues, and has invested approximately R650-million in South Africa. Denmark is required to reduce its GHG emissions by 20 million tons per annum, and it may purchase up to 5 million tons of carbon credits from South Africa to help meet its target. Part of this total will be generated via the co-operative venture with Pikitup.

At the time of signing the letter of intent with the Danish Government, it was estimated that the second phase of the project would take approximately 18 months to complete. This phase involves project design, external validation, registration with the CDM Executive Board, and the issuing of carbon credits for the project. The cost of this phase was estimated to be between R1,5 - R2 million and the Danish Government will provide the funding in exchange for the first right of refusal to buy any carbon credits generated by the project. Once the second phase has been completed and proven that the projects are viable, they will be constructed and can start harvesting methane gas to generate carbon credits for the benefit of both partner countries.

Apart from the funding provided for Phase 2 of the project, Danida had also arranged workshops in Johannesburg and Cape Town to raise awareness and build capacity for the CDM projects. The City of Joburg considers the development of a CDM project as a milestone in its Climate Change Programme (CCP), and City officials have been an integral part of the project since inception. The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) was also a major contributor, undertaking a country-wide CDM capacity building project during the first half of 2003.

"The Robinson Deep and Kya Sands CDM projects represent a classic win-win situation, not only for Pikitup but also for Johannesburg and South Africa," explains Francois van Aswegen, Pikitup's, Business Development Executive, "Locally, we benefit by harvesting methane gas which can be sold to Johannesburg industries for beneficial use. Internationally, the CDM projects generate a second revenue stream in the form of carbon credits sold to developed nations like Denmark. Finally, and in line with our long-term strategic goals for integrated and sustainable waste management, these projects ensure that we run more environmentally-friendly landfill operations, and play our part to help combat global warming. We are excited about the multiple benefits of these CDM projects, and look forward to further co-operative ventures with Denmark and others in the future."

Pikitup and the Danish government are currently approaching the end of the second phase, which is expected to be concluded by mid 2004, and will include the signing of an agreement between the two parties.

Phase 3 entails the actual implementation of the project which requires the installation of capital and plant equipment while phase 4 will focus on methane gas extraction and the sale of carbon credits.

“We look forward to the completion of phase 2 of this CDM project,” says Francois“ and are excited about the prospect of being able to reduce a potentially hazardous gas from emission to our immediate atmosphere through this project.”

Marius de Villiers – Pikitup

Event Notebook

Local Events

WasteCon 2004 – International Waste Congress and Exhibition, Sun City, SA 11-15 October 2004Gail Smit, Office Co-ordinator, IWMSA, PO Box 79, Allen’s Neck 1737, South AfricaTel: +27 11 675 3462Fax: +27 11 675 3465

17th Annual Labour Law ConferenceSandton Convention Centre, Gauteng30 June – 2 July 2004Unversities of KZN, Cape Town,

Witwatersrand and LexisNexisJacki de BeerTel: (011) 268 3255e-mail: jacki.debeer@lexisnexis.co.za

Short courses – CEMNorth West University PotchefstroomCEM-02.6: Legal Framework for Integrated

Waste Management in S ACourse fee: R4 650-00 (No VAT charged)Date: 20-23 September 2004

CEM-06.1.1: Handling, Storage and Transportation of Dangerous GoodsCourse fee: R5 900-00 (No Vat charged)

Date: 16-20 August 2004

CEM-06.2.1: Introduction to Integrated Waste Management for Environmental Managers

Course fee: R4 800-00 (No VAT charged)

Date: 10-12 August 2004Mrs Hèlanie JonkerTel: (018) 299 2714/5Fax: (018) 299 2726e-mail: aokhj@puk.ac.za

International Events

IFAT China 2004Shanghai, China29 June – 2 July 2004Messe München GmbH,Messegelände, 81823 München,GermanyTel: +49 89 9 49 11 358Fax: +49 89 9 49 11359e-mail: info@ifat.deweb: www.ifat.de

Eco-Tech Scandinavia and Process Technology 2004Göteborg, Sweden5-8 October 2004Svenska Mässan, SE-412 94 Göteborg, SwedenTel: +46 31 7088000Fax: +44 31 160330e-mail: miljoteknik@swefair.se

Sustainable Waste Management & Recycling ConferenceKingston-upon-Thames, Surrey, UK14-15 September 2004Dr Mukesh Limbachiya, School of Engineering,Kingston University, Penrhyn Road,Kingston-upon-Thames, Surrey KT1 2EE, UKTel: +44 20 8547 2000, ex 62243Fax: +44 20 8547 7972e-mail: m.limbachiya@kingston.ac.ukweb: www.miljoteknik.comISWA 2004 World Conference Rome, Italy18-21 October 2004General Secretariat, ISWA Italia,Via del Boschetto 32,00184 Roma, ItalyTel: +39 06 4893 0032Fax: +39 06 4782 6468e-mail: info@iswa.itWeb: www.iswa.it

WasteCon 2004

Institute of Waste Management of southern Africa P O Box 79, Allen’s Nek, 1737 Tel: 011-675-3462 Fax: 011-675-3465 e-mail– iwmsa@iafrica.com website - www.iwmsa.co.za

SPONSORSHIP OPPORTUNITIES AT WASTECON 2004

SHOULD YOU WISH TO SPONSOR ANY OF THE FOLLOWING, PLEASE CONTACT GAIL SMIT

ON 011-675-3462 International Speakers Gala Evening Dinner Welcome Drinks - Gala evening Delegates Bags Pens and Notebooks Name tags/ beaded necklace Key rings - delegate bags Flyers in bags

WasteCon 2004 Sun City

11-15 October 2004