The association held Responsible Care workshops in Johannesburg and Durban in June, to update members on the progress that has been made and what they can expect when the new regulations,norms and standards become effective.
Speaking at the workshop, CAIA Responsible Care Manager, Louise Lindeque, said the regulations were likely to extend producer responsibility and set stringent criteria for the implementation of the waste hierarchy, to encourage cleaner production and resource efficiency.
"CAIA’s Responsible Care programme emphasises compliance with legislation," says Lindeque. “We therefore assist our members to stay abreast of the developments, and to plan ahead so that they will be prepared to fulfill the requirements of the new regulations, norms and standards when these come into effect.”
Dealing with general, commercial and industrial waste streams, including hazardous waste, the National Waste Management Strategy (NWMS), forms the blueprint for the way waste is managed in South Africa. The NWMS is a requirement of the Waste Act (2008) and is aimed at establishing a common platform for action by government and its stakeholders in order to systematically improve waste management.
The strategy has been circulated and is due to be gazetted by early next year. Key challenges for the chemical industry include extended producer responsibility, the development of a national waste manifest system, the hazardous waste classification system, the control of waste disposal to landfill and the remediation of contaminated land.
Speaking at the workshop, Martin Ginster of Sasol said that waste avoidance and minimisation have become particularly important aspects of modern waste management, especially with regard to hazardous wastes, to protect the environment and human health.
Ginster said waste management should focus on prevention through the adoption of a systematic and hierarchical approach to integrated waste management, including cleaner production techniques, effective and sensible reuse and recycling, and responsible treatment and disposal. This will assist in promoting the diversion of waste away from landfill.
Once a waste has been classified as hazardous or general waste, the generator will have to consider the most suitable management options that apply to the waste. These will determine if the waste is suitable for reuse, recycling, recovery, treatment or whether the waste must be disposed of. Before disposal to landfill the generator will have to consider landfill acceptance criteria.
Briefing delegates on the Revised Waste Classification & Management System (WCMS), speaker Hanré Crous of EScience Associates said the WCMS, a comprehensive national system for classifying and categorising waste, was envisaged as a key tool to manage waste. Improved classification and reporting would enable the Department of Environmental Affairs (DEA) to determine the success of the NWMS in moving waste up the hierarchy from landfill to reuse, recycling and recovery.
He said a draft waste classification system had been developed which incorporated classification of waste, appropriate waste management and waste categorisation and reporting. It was proposed that hazardous waste should be classified in accordance with the Globally Harmonised System of Classification and Labelling of Chemicals (GHS) as per SANS 10234 and assigned to one or more hazard classes that will determine management and disposal options. Once the WCMS has been finalised and formalised into regulations in terms of the Waste Act, CAIA will develop guidelines for the chemical industry.
Speaker Dr Jonathan McStay of WSP Environmental informed delegates that a draft framework had been developed in terms of the remediation of contaminated land. The framework provides a protocol for site risk assessment, norms and standards for site assessment reporting and the derivation and use of preliminary soil screening values.
Speaker Marius van Zyl of Jones and Wagener Consulting Civil Engineers discussed the practical aspects of the licensing of waste management facilities as per section 19(3) of the Waste Act. Sanet Jacobs of Omnia Group shared with the delegates the practical implementation of the waste holder/generator’s responsibilities. To this end, it is envisaged that the WCMS will be accompanied by a “Best Practice Technical Guideline” to serve as a reference for waste generators and managers. This guideline will be supplemented by the additional norms and standards for the storage and handling of waste that are to be developed in terms of the Waste Act.
CAIA will continue to be actively involved in the process of developing and refining the instruments necessary to ensure cleaner production and resource efficiency for the benefit of human health and the environment.