RIB Launch

26th March 2010

National Environmental Management: Waste Act

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• Legislative Background• General Approach of the Waste

Act• Scope of the NWMS• Toolbox of measures• Development Process

Outline

LEGISLATIVE BACKGROUND

Constitution, 1996

National Environmental Management Act (1998)

NEM: Waste Act, 2008

Waste Regulations

White Paper on IP&WM

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GENERAL APPROACH OF THE ACT

• Waste Act is framework legislation that provides the basis for the regulation of waste management

• Why Framework legislation:– detailed regulation of different types of wastes requires

specific regulatory approaches to ensure that they are optimally managed from an environmental perspective

– a “one-size fits all” approach frequently results in unintended consequences or undue regulatory burden without necessarily achieving the environmental

objective

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GENERAL APPROACH OF THE ACT

• The Waste Act adopts the waste hierarchy as a national approach to waste management

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Scope of NWMS• Covers waste and waste management measures as

defined by Act• Deals with general, commercial and industrial waste

streams, including hazardous waste, healthcare risk waste and waste streams from agriculture (including pesticides), mining and power generation

• Act requires Minister to review strategy at intervals of not more than five years

• Framework within which more detailed plans will be drawn up by national departments, provinces and municipalities– Must provide sufficient guidance without being

prescriptive

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Overall approachApproach is designed to ensure that the strategy:

• is relevant to the overall priorities of government, including poverty eradication, job creation and economic growth

• follows an integrated, lifecycle and waste hierarchy approach to managing waste

• adopts a flexible approach to the use of appropriate regulatory instruments

• is ultimately actionable through a set of realistic targets and steps

A consensual regulatory modelMore interventionist measures

• to reinforce IWMPs• to address gaps

Norms and standards• foundation of regulatory system

Industry waste management plans• main co-regulatory instrument

• encourage voluntary plans and targets• mandatory plans as last resort

Listing, impact assessment & licensing • regulates waste management activities

Waste avoidance and reduction• Encourage industry to incorporate waste reduction in

design and packaging of products e.g. through Cleaner Production Strategy, fiscal mechanisms

• DEA and the dti to coordinate actions requiring producers to reduce certain products or components, or contain a minimum recyclate content

• Industry Waste Management Plans to include targets and measures for waste minimisation

• Pricing of waste disposal to build in incentives for waste minimisation by consumers.

• Improved enforcement of waste minimisation measures

Recovery, reuse and recycling• Develop norms and standards for recovery, reuse and recycling of waste

e.g. separation at source, acceptable uses, mandatory recycling of substances such as used oil

• Targets for recovery, reuse and recycling to be set in IndWMPs • Develop regulations and incentives to support voluntary industry led

initiatives • In consultation with the dti, require the recovery, reuse and recycling of

products or components, and determine a percentage of recycled material in products

• Promote job creation through establishment of MRFs• Support informal recyclers through improved health and safety standards. • Develop sustainable recyclate markets through e.g. levy on virgin materials • Education and awareness to ensure public participation in recycling

initiatives• Baseline study of waste quantities and flows to set and measure against

firm targets.

Treatment, processing & disposal

• Set norms and standards for operating landfills, treatment and processing technologies

• Task teams in each province to assess state of existing landfills, and make recommendations re steps to be taken by each municipality

• Set targets and develop programme for licensing non-compliant landfills

• EMIs to enforce compliance with norms and standards • Incentives for compliance e.g. redesigned “Cleanest

Town” campaign• Do cost-benefit analysis of regionalisation, and develop

guidelines on whether and how to regionalise waste services

Tool box of measures• Norms and standards

– In addition to waste services, develop and issue standards for each stage of waste hierarchy

– Strategic use of SA Technical Infrastructure, combined with dedicated DEA technical capacity

• Waste classification and categorisation– Issue as norms and standards– Set standards for storage, transport, treatment, processing and

disposal of each class and category• Waste information system

– Ensure universal compliance, expand to cover all waste flows– Public access to information

Toolbox of measures• Industry waste management plans

– Five year programme to target key sectors– Cascade from sector down to site level– Create incentives for well organised proactive industries through easing

regulatory burden• Listing and licensing

– Expedite administrative process & establish integrated database with provinces

– Acceptable use categories to certify compliance with norms and standards, rather than licensing

– Set up systems for integrated and multiple licensing• Priority wastes

– Establish forum with DTI– Apply to asbestos, mercury, PCBs and other POPs

• Extended producer responsibility– Issue guidelines, pilot application with batteries, CFLs

Toolbox of measures

• Economic instruments– Sort out pricing of waste services first– Criteria and short list of instruments proposed– Do further research into basket of recommended instruments

• Fiscal instruments– Full cost accounting– Cost reflective tariffs– Explore volumetric charging– Free basic services policy– Targeted use of MIG– Project development fund– Investigate fund to support expansion of waste services

Monitoring & evaluation• Industry to report on targets set in IndWMPs• National & provincial performance reports on IWMPs to

MECs & Minister by 31 May each year • Municipal reports i.t.o. MSA to include info on

implementation of municipal IWMP• Provinces to consolidate municipal reports, submit to

DEA for publication in DEA annual report• Detailed indicators and targets set for each goal and

objective of NWMS• Set up dedicated capacity to track and report on

indicators• Issue guidelines for municipal performance indicators

Any Questions or Comments?