Transcript National Waste Management Strategy: Submissions to PCWEA

National Waste Management Strategy:
Submissions to PCWEA
CER obo groundWork, South Durban
Community Environmental Alliance, and
Click to edit Master subtitle style
Vaal Environmental Justice Alliance
31 May 2012
6/4/12
Overview
1.
2.
3.
Achieving the goals of the NWMS:
measuring and monitoring compliance
The regulatory framework: concerns
about self-regulation model
Capacity challenges: implementation of
the Waste Act and its compliance and
enforcement
6/4/12
Achieving the goals
•
•
•
•
•
NWMS contains targets to be met by 2015/2016(?) and
Action Plan that sets out how effect will be given to it. Must
be reviewed at intervals of not more than 5 years
NWMS needs to be more practical so that it can be
enforced, and in order to measure and monitor whether
government and other role-players are on track to meeting
its goals, and where there is non-compliance
More detail is required, including objectives for the short,
medium and long term
Given the large investment required in order to meet the
goals of the NWMS, time-frames should extend beyond
2015/2016
Problematic aspect in relation to monitoring, is that certain
6/4/12
targets do not have a baseline, which makes it difficult to
Regulatory Framework
NWMS indicates a commitment to a “co-regulatory and
consensual approach”, that “relies on industry initiative and
voluntary compliance”, with “more interventionist regulatory
tools” being deployed only “where industry response proves
insufficient for dealing with waste challenges”
•
Provision in Waste Act for certain voluntary measures – such as
Industry Waste Management Plans and Extended Producer
Responsibility schemes, but, given the extreme challenges of
waste management in South Africa, an approach that relies
heavily on self-regulation is unlikely to succeed
•
In any event, the current dire state of waste management
indicates that industry is unlikely to take this initiative. There is
no reason to believe that industry initiative and voluntary
compliance will improve to the extent that the objects of the
6/4/12
Waste Act will be promoted
•
Regulatory Framework (cont.)
•
•
•
Unless there is strong enforceable legislation that is adhered
to by society and industry, as well as industrial commitment,
political will and consumer power to challenge improper
practice, self-regulation is unsuitable for South Africa
“20 percent of the regulated population will automatically
comply with any regulation, 5 percent will attempt to evade it,
and the remaining 75 percent will comply as long as they think
that the 5 percent will be caught and punished” - Chester
Bowles
Need to be serious disincentives to non-compliance which are
monitored and enforced
6/4/12
Capacity challenges
Serious capacity challenges exist in government, especially in
the local sphere
•
Clear that a number of additional, appropriately qualified staff
are required to implement NWMS. For eg, there are a range
of reporting provisions in the Waste Act, which are
meaningless, unless there is capacity to consider and address
the reports, the reports are given priority, and noncompliance is monitored and appropriately addressed.
•
NWMS refers to a coordinated capacity-building programme
for local government (apparently to be implemented in
2012), but insufficient details are provided as to how the
serious capacity problems will be addressed.
•
As to compliance and enforcement, NWMS indicates that, by
6/4/12
2015/2016: 800 EMIs should be appointed, with two-thirds to
•
Capacity challenges (cont.)
This figure seems to be very ambitious –
according to 2010-11 NECER:
– 413 operational compliance and
enforcement EMIs:
• 183 responsible for brown issues (NEMA,
NEMWA, NEMAQA)
• 229 responsible for green issues
(NEMPAA, NEMBA)
• 1 responsible for blue issues (ICMA)
•
More detail is required as to time-frames
6/4/12
•
Conclusions
In order for the NWMS to achieve the objects
of the Waste Act, it needs to have more
detailed, clearer and more practical objectives
and time-frames. This will make it not only
easier to implement, but it will also be easier
to measure progress towards meeting the
goals, and to identify where there is noncompliance
•
There must be serious disincentives for noncompliance with the Waste Act, as well as
6/4/12
•
Contact details
Robyn Hugo
Centre for Environmental Rights
223 Lower Main Road, Observatory, Cape Town
021 447 1647
[email protected]
6/4/12