ReSource May 2012

Vol 14, No 2, May 2012

ISSN 1680-4902 R35.00 (incl VAT)

The official journal of the Institute of Waste Management of Southern Africa

Promoting integrated resources management

TruckStore The latest used commercial vehicle offering from Mercedes-Benz P6

EarthwormsGauteng’s abattoir

pilot project

PikitupJoburg’s

sustainable transformation

BiogasFuelling future

generations

Panel discussion

Recycling and the sustainability ‘food chain’

www.3smedia.co.za

is printed on 100% recycled paper

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Cover story6 TruckStore – the latest used

commercial vehicle offering from Mercedes-Benz

Regulars

3 President’s comment

5 Editor’s comment

72 IWMSA news

Solid waste

10 Joburg’s sustainable transformation

13 Earthworms in waste management

Recycling

18 Momentous year for PET recycling

21 Panel discussion: Recycling and the sustainability ‘food chain’

Landfills

30 Feasible gas-to-energy projects

Waste to energy

34 Fuelling the biogas generation

37 Energy-strapped SA

Special feature

50 RPMASA celebrates 10 years of environmental success

Air pollution / CDM

38 Mine water balance and climate change

41 Climate change linked to deforestation

Hazardous waste

45 PVC given the green light

46 Environmental health risks in the workplace

48 Oil and gas: a balancing act

Medical waste

56 Patient disposal of insulin needles: Wentworth Hospital case study

Wastewater management

58 Rainwater harvesting: improving

access to clean water

Waste equipment

62 Reducing your truck’s footprint

Legal

69 CPA and waste management – beware!

Vol 14, No 2, May 2012

ISSN 1680-4902 R35.00 (incl VAT)

The official journal of the Institute of Waste Management of Southern Africa


TruckStore The latest used commercial vehicle offering from Mercedes-Benz P6

Earthworms Gauteng’s abattoir pilot project

Pikitup Joburg’s sustainable transformation

Biogas Fuelling future generations

Panel discussion Recycling and the sustainability ‘food chain’

www.3smedia.co.za

is printed on 100% recycled paper

contentswww.3smedia.co.za ISSN 1680-4902, Volume 14, Number 2, May 2012

10

18

69

38

The RéSource team stands firmly behind environmental preservation. As such, RéSource magazine is printed on 100% recycled paper and uses no dyes or varnishes. The magazine is saddle-stitched to ensure that no glues are required in the binding process.

RéSource May 2012 – 1

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President's comment

Patron members of the IWMSA

It is not so long ago that we returned

from the holiday season at the beginning

of the year, then we were plunged into

the Easter holidays, and with more public

holidays at the end of April it would appear

that there is little time for work! However,

despite this, there seems to be a lot of

work around and a number of people I have

spoken to appear to be very busy. At the

IWMSA, we have been very busy right from

the beginning of the year with a number of

training courses and, of course, our flagship

event WasteCon 2012, which is to be held

later this year in East London.

Nominations for branch committees and vice-

president have been received and we will soon

call for elections, so please take the time to

vote and make sure we get an energetic new

team in place for the next two years!

Talking of elections, it is amazing how time

has passed so quickly and to think that my

term of office will be over at the end of June.

The last four years on the council have been

exciting, fruitful and very busy with a number

of projects or programmes that were initiated

and even completed! Foremost, we set

ourselves a number of strategic objectives,

which included the following:

• The development of effective communica-

tions with our members and the public,

which included an electronic newsletter

(WasteVine), an upgraded website, regular

announcements via SMS and e-mail,

and regular press releases on topical

issues. Judging from the number of media

requests and the resulting exposure, it

would be safe to say that the IWMSA is

now recognised as the authority on waste

management in South Africa.

• The development and provision of training

courses, including accredited courses.

The IWMSA is also being contracted by

some large organisations, particularly

municipalities, to provide training for

their employees.

• The accreditation or registration of our

organisation members who are service

providers. This process is well advanced

and a number of stakeholder workshops

will be held during the course of this year

to engage with the relevant stakeholders

for their input.

• Government liaison – various initiatives

are being pursued by IWMSA members

in interacting and liaising with govern-

ment departments at different levels.

These include invitations to workshops

and forums.

• To involve ourselves in social responsibility

opportunities with school programmes,

supporting communities and providing

assistance to those with existing

programmes, resulting in tangible

grassroots impact where projects get

benchmarked and used by municipalities

as well as small and micro enterprises.

• Transformation – the IWMSA has

been reviewing its policies and

procedures in terms of procurement

and, of course, our demographic

profile. I am happy to report that the

demographic profile of the IWMSA

membership has changed

significantly and membership

is now slightly below 1 000,

the highest it has been in the

history of the IWMSA.

I am indeed proud of the above

achievements and can only praise

the team that I have had the

pleasure to work with, namely all

the Council Members (who ran their

portfolios with great dedication and energy),

and the ladies in head office (Gail, Ann and

Sanki). To all of you, I say thank you.

Unfortunately, we have also had our

disappointments over the past two to four

years and these mainly revolved around

health care risk waste (medical waste)! The

one area which we have not been able to

resolve is the issue of the management of

the Health Care Waste Forum (HCWF) as

previously reported. I trust that the incoming

council will give this their full attention as

the next Health Care Waste Summit is due

early next year.

On a closing note, I wish to report that the

council, in the last council meeting in March,

took the decision to reinstate Wasteman

Holdings (Pty) Ltd as a Patron Member.

This decision was taken after a lengthy

process which included an independent

audit of Wasteman’s processes and policies

which were put in place subsequent to their

suspension from the IWMSA. A number of

the other Patron Members have welcomed

this decision.

Finally, as this is my last opportunity

to say goodbye to the readers of

RéSource, I would like to thank

all members who supported me

during my term of office

(including those with

constructive criticism),

members of the

National Council

and the head office

staff for making my

job easier.

Regards,

Stan Jewaskiewitz

President, IWMSA

Farewell and thank you



With Christmas 2011 a not-so-

distant memory, it’s scary to

know that Easter has already

come and gone. And as we usher in the

winter months, we also bid farewell to the

current president of the IWMSA (Institute

of Waste Management of Southern

Africa), Stan Jewaskiewitz, founder and

director of Envitech Solutions, whose

term of office comes to an end in June.

Apart from secretly fantasising about

becoming a world-famous chef, Stan

spent the past two years dedicating his

free time to, and sharing

his expertise with, the

waste industry.

I took over as editor of

RéSource when Stan came

into office and hence

was not given sufficient

time to conduct a proper

‘background check’ on him

– as we editors like to do

with every new president who comes on

board. But working with Stan on claiming

back the magazine’s institute status by

fairly representing all waste management

sectors under the IWMSA umbrella, has

been an absolute pleasure.

Although he doesn’t always stick to his

promises, such as cooking me the best-

tasting game meat I’ve ever eaten, his

openness and helpfulness will be missed

by the RéSource

team. Stan will

officially hand over

the presidency

at the opening

of the IWMSA’s

biennial conference

and exhibition,

WasteCon, which

will be held in East

London from 8 to

12 October.

Farewells aside,

in addition to

the front cover

story, this issue

of RéSource also

kicks off with the

first the latest

offering from the

Mercedes-Benz commerical vehicle

division – TruckStore (see pages 6 and 7

for more information).

This month’s line-up also includes

another panel discussion, this time

focusing on recycling in relation to both

consumers and industry. And Pikitup is

at it again, pushing towards sustainable

transformation in the city of gold. See

page 10 for the full story.

Also on the agenda is a very interesting

paper on the use of earthworms in waste

management. With increased emphasis

being placed on

waste reduction

to landfill, this

paper outlines a

pilot project that

was conducted

at an abattoir

in Gauteng,

highlighting

the challenges

experienced in relation to the National

Environmental Management Bill

(page 13).

Rounding up, the Responsible

Packaging Management Association

of Southern Africa celebrates its

10th anniversary this year and, as an

association addressing environmental

needs, RéSource celebrates their

achievement and wishes them 10 more

years of success and

industry support

(page 50).

If you haven’t already

booked your spot at

WasteCon, stands and

delegate seats are

selling out fast – so

book now to avoid

disappointment. For more

information on the event,

refer to page 68.

Happy reading!

ReSource is endorsed by:

Editor's comment

With time comes change

Publisher: Elizabeth ShortenEditor: Candice Landie Tel: +27 (0)11 233 2600, [email protected] chief executive: Frédérick DantonSenior sub-editor: Claire NozaicSub-editor: Patience GumboProduction manager: Antois-Leigh BotmaFinancial manager: Andrew Lobban Marketing: Martin HillerDistrubution manager: Nomsa MasinaAdministrator: Tonya HebentonDistribution coordinator: Asha PursothamPrinters: United Litho JohannesburgTel: +27 (0)11 402 0571

Advertising sales: Christine PretoriusTel: +27 (0)11 465 8255 [email protected]

Publisher: MEDIA

No.4, 5th Avenue Rivonia, 2191PO Box 92026, Norwood 2117Tel: +27 (0)11 233 2600Share Call: 086 003 3300 Fax: +27 (0)11 234 7274/5www.3smedia.co.za

Annual subscription: R195.00 (incl VAT) South Africa ISSN 1680-4902

The Institute of Waste Management of Southern AfricaTel: +27 (0)11 675 3462E-mail: [email protected]

All material herein RéSource is copyright-protected and may not be reproduced either in whole or in part without the prior written permission of the publisher. The views and opinions ex-pressed in the magazine do not necessarily reflect those of the publisher or editor, but those of the author or other contributors under whose name contributions may appear, unless a con-tributor expresses a viewpoint or opinion in his or her capacity as an elected office bearer of a company, group or association.

© Copyright 2012. All rights reserved.

Editor

Apart from fantasising about becoming a world-famous chef, Stan spent the past two years dedicated to the waste industry

6 – RéSource May 2012

USED COMMERCIAL VEHICLE SPECIALISTS

TruckStore is a fi rst for Mercedes-Benz South Africa and will soon become one of the largest used-vehicle dealers for commercial vehicles.

Cover story

Introducing TruckStore from Mercedes-Benz

TruckStore, the used commercial

vehicle specialist from Mercedes-

Benz South Africa, is ready to start

construction of a brand new facility for

the Southern African market. Preparing

for the necessary earth works, and then

commencement of construction, the

TruckStore team is kicking-off with an

official ground-breaking ceremony on site at

Highway Business Park, Centurion.

The roll-outTruckStore is one of the largest used

commercial dealer networks in Europe and

will now officially be launched to the Southern

African marked by the middle of 2012. In

the Daimler Group, TruckStore is responsible

for the professional, international used-truck

business, involving trucks of all brands and

ages, and with all body types. TruckStore in

Europe is growing constantly and already has

30 locations in 14 European countries and

has a rolling stock of around 4 000 vehicles,

selling more than 20 000 vehicles annually.

TruckStore is a first for Mercedes-Benz

South Africa and will soon become one of the

largest used-vehicle dealers for commercial

vehicles – vans, trucks, buses and trailers.

TruckStore sells vehicles of all brands,

body configurations and ages. Conveniently

situated off the N1, on 30 000 m2 of prime

real estate, the facility will have ample parking

for large vehicles and is well-situated in

Gauteng – between the two major airports

(OR Tambo and Lanseria) for the convenience

of its clients.

Construction preparationFollowing numerous geometric tests, it was

identified that the ground works require a

significant amount of preparation due to

the dolomite in the area. A fair amount of

excavation will take place – 15 000 m³, which

equates to 1 500 truckloads of earth – after

which the area will be compacted and the Oliver Marte, project manager: TruckStore, and Roy van der Walt, TruckStore manager


Cover story

earth returned to the site. Following the

earthworks, construction will commence. The

builders will be laying around 1.25 million

paving blocks to complete the professional

display area.

Consideration has been taken into the

design of the building, which will be both

functional and environmentally friendly.

Certain eco-friendly measures will be put

in place, such as retaining the rainwater

for irrigation and installing solar geysers to

minimise electricity costs.

Architect Boorgertmann & Partners is also

the contract manager of the building project,

while building contractor JC van der Linde and

Venter is the main contractor.

A proven conceptTruckStore is a Daimler initiative that began

operations in 2002. This proven model

concept has been adapted to suit the local

market. TruckStore accepts commercial

vehicles of any vehicle type or brand in part

exchange; the condition of every vehicle is

thoroughly checked and assessed on the

basis of uniform standards.

Vehicles are then sub-divided into the

product categories: gold, silver and bronze.

This ensures that every vehicle delivers what

is promised.

TruckStore will also have a dedicated

reconditioning centre based at Zandfontein,

which will also serve as the national return

centre for the finance house: Mercedes-Benz

Financial Services. Dedicated technicians

and service staff will bring these used

commercial vehicles up to set standards,

at the Zandfontein facility, ensuring that

these vehicles meet TruckStore benchmark

standards. As part of the Mercedes-Benz

South Africa commercial vehicle value

chain, TruckStore customers will benefit

from a range of services specifically for

used commercial vehicles, such as finance,

insurance and warranties.

Online product offeringThis TruckStore initiative will ensure

significant growth in the used commercial

vehicle segments and the close collaboration

with the Mercedes-Benz South Africa dealer

network will be strengthened. For product

information, visit www.truckstore.co.za. The

website recently went live with full details for

customers to familiarise themselves with the

new and exciting TruckStore concept. Once

RéSource offers advertisers an ideal platform to ensure maximum exposure of their brand. Companies are afforded the opportunity of publishing a cover story and a cover picture to promote their products and services to an appropriate audience. Please call Christine Pretorius on +27 (0)11 465 6273 to secure your booking. The article does not represent the views of the Institute of Waste Management of Southern Africa, or those of the publisher.

the TruckStore facility is officially opened,

the website will be upgraded to an internet

platform that will enable customers to find

their ideal vehicle even faster, thanks to easy

navigation functions. The new functionality

will be user-friendly with its clearly structured

sections, simple controls and optimised

contact functions. In addition to the new

design, users will also benefit from a

photograph gallery of the used commercial

vehicles together with full specifications.

TruckStore is able to meet increasingly

demanding customer requirements and

continue to extend its lead at the very

forefront of innovation.

Contact: Shirle Greig

Tel: +27 (0)12 677 1904

Fax: +27 (0)12 677 1682

E-mail: [email protected]

Left to right: Roy McAllister, CEO of Sandown Motor Holdings; Oliver Marte, manager: Sales and Business Development at TruckStore South Africa; Kobus van Zyl, vice president: Commercial Vehicles, Mercedes-Benz South Africa; Dr Martin Zimmermann, president and CEO of Mercedes-Benz South Africa, and Frank van Heerden, managing director of Sandown Commercial Vehicles


RéSource May 2012 – 9RéSRéSourourcece MayMay 20201212 – 99

Listed South African company

Interwaste adopted the Tops & Tags

initiative in August last year, which

gives back to the community and assists in

the preservation of the environment. The

tops that come off bottles and tags that

are used to seal the plastic coverings of

loaves of bread are the new way to help the

less fortunate.

For every 10 000 bread tags or plastic

bottle tops collected by Interwaste, one

registered charity will receive a wheel chair.

Corporate and individual participants are

invited to join Interwaste in this initiative by

giving back to an underprivileged project of

their choice.

They will not only be contributing to a

sustainable environment, but will also

receive a Certification of Participation and

will be acknowledged on the website.

When the company collected its first

10 000 tops and tags in aid of this

initiative, a wheel chair was donated to

Hospice Soweto.

“Our request is simple,” says Jason

McNeil of Interwaste, “when you buy a loaf

of bread or a bottled beverage, please keep

the tops and tags and give it to us, and we

will not only recycle these items but also

give back to a needy organisation.”

There are various drop-off/pick-up

points where these recyclable materials can

be placed:

• Richards Bay: 126 Alumina Allee, Alton

• Durban: 42 Brooklyn Road, Jacobs

• Boksburg (Gauteng): Cnr

Commis sioner and Atlas Road,

41 Davids Street, Boksburg

• Germinston: 5 Brammer Street,

Industries Site, Germiston East

• Nelspruit: 10 Bosch Street, Nelspruit

• Cape Town: 6 Montreal Drive, Airport

Industria, Cape Town.

The eeZeeBin systemIn addition to its Corporate Social Investment

projects, Interwaste also introduced a new

waste collection system last year called

the eeZeeBin system, which allows for the

collection of recyclable materials including

paper, cardboard, plastic, glass and cans

which can be deposited into a single bin

without any further sorting and separation.

“Dedicated collection vehicles are

employed to regularly collect and compact

waste before transporting it to the Materials

Recovery Facilities Company for final sorting

and reprocessing. Six cubic metre-bins are

available for use at high volume generation

points with 240 ℓ wheelie bins for smaller

loads,” says McNeil.

EeZeeBins are used by corporates,

schools, universities, event companies

and others that are interested in keeping

the environment safe, and provide

branding opportunities.

McNeil says everyone should realise when

glass or aluminum, for example, is not

recycled, it costs the earth because glass

takes up to 4 000 years to decompose in a

landfill. This can be easily avoided through

the use of the eeZeeBin.

For more information, visit

www.interwaste.co.za.

INTERWASTE

Environmental solutions company, Interwaste Holdings, is not just focused on environmental protection, but is a fi rm believer in giving back to the less fortunate – creating a sustainable future for all South Africans.

Finding rewards in waste

ABOUT INTERWASTE: For 21 years Interwaste has been built on the character of its people and through them commits itself daily to the highest standard of performance, integrity and business practice in serving its clients. Interwaste is a South African company with a solidly based national footprint. Every aspect of its sustained development has successfully integrated its people, facilities and infrastructure into a cohesive force, able to provide its customers with a truly integrated waste management solution. Solutions are based on proven systems and practices that are at the same time cost-effective and environmentally sound.

Profile


JOBURG’S SUSTAINABLE TRANSFORMATION

From creating jobs and encouraging active citizenry to reduce waste to the city’s strained landfi ll sites and converting waste to energy, Pikitup has a signifi cant role to play in helping Johannesburg meet its 2040 Growth and Development Strategy goals and, ultimately, its aim of becoming a world-class African city.

Solid waste

Scaling up waste management initiatives

landfill sites and reduce greenhouse gases,”

he adds.

Waste-to-energy technology In September 2011, Pikitup implemented

gas-to-energy conversion at its landfill site at

Robinson Deep. By extracting the methane

gas and flaring it, the harmful effects of

greenhouse gases are eliminated. The next

step is to convert the gas to energy, which

Pikitup hopes to kick off this year. This

requires being registered as an Independent

Pikitup acting MD Lawrence Boya

says that as an agent of the

city responsible for solid waste

management, Pikitup has a meaningful

contribution to make in transforming

Johannesburg into a city that is sustainable,

liveable, globally competitive, inclusive and

resilient. Boya says methane gas, a by-

product of landfill sites, contributes towards

greenhouse gases and global warming. “By

instituting alternative waste management

practices, Pikitup can divert waste from

Power Producer with the National

Department of Energy, tariff approvals and

identifying a purchaser for the energy.

In addition, Pikitup is investigating various

waste-to-energy technologies such as

absorbing waste into an incineration process

and converting the by-product of this process

into steam, electricity or heat. “Every year,

1 million tonnes of waste goes to landfill –

our target is to convert at least half of this

into energy,” says Boya. When this gets off

the ground, Johannesburg will be one of the

first cities in the developing world to institute

this type of technology, apart from China.

“This will hopefully expand to all cities in

South Africa and ultimately contribute to job

creation and economic growth,” says Boya.

Contributing towards recyclingSeparation at source will also play an

important role in reducing waste to

Johannesburg’s five landfill sites and


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Solid waste

intends to formalise separation at source

for all Johannesburg households in July

2012; in this respect, citizens will have to

play an active role in reducing, recycling

and reusing.

In addition to separating their waste,

households will be encouraged to start

compost heaps that can be used to nurture

gardens or vegetable patches, thereby

further reducing the amount of green waste

going to landfill. Boya says Johannesburg

needs to transform its current model of

‘collect, transport and dispose’, to a model

of ‘reduce, recycle, reuse and remediate’.

“This will put us in line with international

best practice and the National Environmental

Waste Act of 2008. Essentially, this year

sees the scaling up of the plans we put in

place in 2011. The landfill gas-to-energy

project will be instituted at all five landfill

sites, separation at source will become a

city-wide endeavour and a five-year plan to

build a plant for the conversion of waste to

energy will get under way,” he says.

Holistic approachTo ensure that the city’s waste management

by-laws are adhered to, Pikitup has enlisted

the support of the Johannesburg Metro

Police Department, which has provided

34 dedicated police officers to enforce

the by-laws. This is because the issues

especially relate to illegal dumping and

littering. “We will take stronger action if

these pleas are continually ignored; however,

we will continue to raise awareness and

educate the public on the importance of

disposing waste efficiently and as directed

by Pikitup,” says Boya.

Pikitup also views job creation initiatives by

communities in a positive light. “In addition

to waste pickers who collect plastic and

other items for recycling, we are aware of

young people in the townships who enter into

agreements with households to take their

bins to a central point for waste collection

and then clean them before returning the

bins to their owners. We believe this type

of initiative can be organised and expanded

to provide additional opportunities for

unemployed individuals,” says Boya.

Looking at the overall cleanliness issues

faced by the city, Boya says rodents have

become a significant health hazard. “By

promoting anti-littering campaigns and

providing the proper infrastructure to support

this, Pikitup can begin to address this

problem and at the same time dovetail these

efforts to complement the city’s health

objectives,” he says. He is confident that

Johannesburg is on its way to becoming a

low-carbon economy.

will therefore contribute towards a more

sustainable city.

Boya says businesses, manufacturers

and households in the city need to adopt

greener waste disposal practices. “Waste

needs to be separated at source and items

that don’t need to go to landfill need to

be recycled,” he says. Pikitup is currently

running a recycling pilot project in the

Waterval area (western Johannesburg) in

conjunction with Mondi, which provides

vehicles to collect recyclable waste. Pikitup

Waste needs to be separated at source and items that don’t need to go to landfill need to be recycled

Johannesburg will be one of the first cities in the developing world to institute this type of technology, apart from China

Let’s recycle our way to a better future.

We at Pikitup Johannesburg (Pty) Ltd. aspire to be the leading integrated waste management company in Africa. It’s why we’ve made it our mission to provide sustainable and innovative waste management solutions that exceed stakeholders’ expectations time and time again. Our service offering includes Round Collected refuse, Business Waste, Hazardous Waste, Special Waste, Landfill Sites, Garden Sites and Green Waste Recycling; just some more ways we’re working toward a better, greener South Africa.

70469B


Solid waste

As they are the world’s best natural

recyclers of biological waste,

earthworms can be used to convert

wet waste on a large scale.

Their main function when converting waste

is to create a pathogen-free micro-organism-

rich soil conditioner, which improves soil

fertility. Pilot projects have been carried

out with Gauteng Provincial Veterinary

Health Services on the safe reduction and

conversion of abattoir offal and condemned

material using earthworms. The large-scale

use of earthworm compost and castings

(produced from wet waste) can rehabilitate

degraded mining and agricultural land in

South Africa.

Scientific studies have shown that by

increasing the life in the soil, erosion is

stopped, groundwater is purified, the air is

cleaned and carbon is locked into the soil,

where it belongs.

Earthworm factsIt is estimated that there are at least 3 500

species of earthworm throughout the soil on

the planet. They are very specific to location,

habitat and environmental conditions and

can be described according to the level of

soil they occupy and their feeding behaviour.

According to M Bouche (1977) earthworm

types are described as follows:

• Epigeic types – are surface dwellers

that live in freshly decaying plant or

animal residues.

• Endogeic types – live within soil and feed

on degraded organic matter present in

the soil.

• Anecic types – burrow deep in the soil, but

come to the surface at night to forage for

freshly decaying residues.

In South Africa we have approximately

300 species; the longest is 3 m and can be

found in the Eastern Cape area. Earthworms

are hermaphrodites and all are sensitive

to UV rays. The earthworm falls under the

animal kingdom, not the insect.

Earthworm anatomyThe body structure is basically a hollow

tube, albeit very complex. Earthworms

use a ‘hydraulic’ system to move around,

hence the importance of moisture

replacement. The haemoglobin in their

blood absorbs oxygen efficiently through

the skin. They have no immune system

and this is possibly one of their most

important characteristics: they ingest

harmful pathogens and digest them in order

to grow their own bodies. Their movement

in the soil introduces air and helps create

an oxygen-rich environment that makes it

possible for beneficial bacteria to multiply.

Protozoa, bacteria, ciliates, fungi – all these

microscopic organisms thrive and push out

South Africa is currently experiencing enormous environmental problems such as degraded soils, polluted groundwater and air, which have led to a serious global problem: greenhouse gas. But earthworm waste management can address these issues. by CC Nottingham*

THE USE OF EARTHWORMS IN WASTE MANAGEMENT

Gauteng’s abattoir pilot project


the anaerobic pathogens, thanks to the role

of the earthworm in that environment. It has

also been discovered that the earthworm’s

excretion is 10 times more nutrient rich

than what is ingested, specifically because,

due to the presence of beneficial micro-

organisms which are increased 1 000 times

while passing through the worm’s gut, food

state nutrients (i.e. nutrients available to

plants) are created.

Analysis of worm castings showed

approximately the following when compared

to the parent soil:

SOIL-BENEVOLENT BACTERIA IN ONE WORM

FOREGUT MIDSECTION TAIL SECTION

475 million

32 900 million

474 billion

AVAILABLE MINERALS IN THE SOIL AFTER EARTHWORM ACTIVITY:

Phosphorous 7 times more

Nitrogen 6 times more

Magnesium 3 times more

Carbon 2 times more

Calcium 1.5 times more

Commercial worm farmingThere are three or four species commonly

used to create compost and castings on

a commercial scale, mostly because of

their high rate of reproduction and dense

population in enclosed conditions. The other

species live in and ingest soil, and need

large areas in which to move, therefore

creating healthy soil in situ. The most

studied earthworm species, widely used and

established worldwide is the Eisenia fetida.

During the Olympic Games in Sydney,

Australia, in 2000, all food waste, sewerage

and paper products were processed by

earthworms. At the Bhawalker Earthworm

Research Institute in Pune, India, they

have successfully developed waterless

earthworm toilets and sewerage treatment

facilities. In Minsk, Russia, they reportedly

have the largest waste treatment facility

using earthworms.

Due to the effects of the Chernobyl

Nuclear Plant accident about 25 years

ago, the Eisenia fetida has become the

most-researched earthworm and even the

radioactivity in those soils have been found

to be best contained by earthworm activity.

France and the United States of America also

have large-scale earthworm plants.

With the advent of environmental

science, born as a result of the impact of

environmental degradation, loss of habitat

abd large-scale extinction of many species,

mostly due to our actions, the global

environment has our attention.

It is in this light that earthworms and their

products have become mainstream, and

the time has come in South Africa where

we are very aware of their importance

in maintaining healthy soil, now that the

repercussions of ‘dead’ soil have been

linked to massive erosion, groundwater

pollution, large-scale farming failures,

adverse weather pattern changes – and

even global warming.

Throughout the years, scientists have

studied isolated characteristics and effects

of earthworms and compost. Many papers

have been written, too numerous to mention.

At North West University in Potchefstroom,

trials have been carried out on the efficacy

of earthworms to convert contaminated soils

from gold mine tailings dams.

The earthworm and soil life In the 20 years of my involvement with

earthworm farming, the focus has been

mainly on the creation of a product –

registered with the Department of Agriculture

as a ‘group 2 fertiliser’ for the soil.

This classification, due to the empirical

approach of laboratory analyses, measures

but a small window. With the technological

advancement of electron microscopy and

its application to soil analysis, a whole new

world has opened up to us – the complex

web of life of micro-organisms and hence

a greater, complete picture of soil life,

health and the resulting environmental

consequences have emerged. Thanks

are due to Dr Elaine Ingham and the

International Soil FoodWeb Institute. In

summary, earthworms live in and convert

biological waste into a soil-enhancement

product – discovered due to the role of the

micro-organisms. Earthworm products are

classified as follows:

• vermicompost and vermicastings from

the breakdown of organic matter (mainly

plant matter and manures)

• liquid leachates or worm tea/wee

• worm bins of varying sizes and

shapes (domestic, commercial, large-

scale farming)

• doggie-loos, and others.

Safe management of abattoir wasteInitial enquiry 2006

Based on some articles that were written in

2005 and 2006, I was approached by

Dr Soni and Dr Louro of the Gauteng

Veterinary Health Services, who at the time

were compiling a Guideline Manual

for Abattoirs. This meeting was about the

use of earthworm technology to manage

abattoir waste.

This has led to an interesting journey

where the focus is not only the management

of a toxic, hazardous and extremely pollutant

waste, but the possibility of its conversion

into an environmentally safe (pathogen-free)

and therefore usable, soil conditioner.

Pilot research 1: June, July 2006

Armed with this question, we immediately

set upon experimenting on a small scale – in

two plastic boxes approximately 600 x 300

x 350 mm. Although this was carried out

with the sanction of the Veterinary Health

Solid waste

Table 1: Characteristics of tested soils

An earthworm product: liquid leachate or worm tea


Johannes Schuback & Sons(S.A.) PTY Limited, Johannesburg / RSAPhone: +27 11 7062270, Fax: +27 11 7069236

[email protected]

AMANDUS KAHL GmbH & Co. KGDieselstrasse 5, D-21465 Reinbek / Hamburg, GermanyPhone: +49 (0)40 727 71-0, Fax: +49 (0)40 727 71-100

[email protected] www.akahl.de

Pelleting of Municipal and Industrial Sewage SludgePelleting of Municipal and Industrial Sewage Sludge

Prebin

Possible design of a plant for pelleting of sewage sludge

Water

Mixer

Pelleting press

Countercurrent cooler

Screen

The final products are pellets which are appropriate for a variety of applications.

Solid waste

Services, it took three months to obtain 1

kg of carcass meal and 1 kg of blood meal

from an abattoir due to the red tape involved,

especially when it was for something ‘outside

the box’.

The first results registered a failure in

that within a short space of time, all the

earthworms turned either luminous yellow

from the carcass meal, or a deep red from

the blood meal, and all of them died. The

obvious conclusion was that earthworms are

not carnivores. They do not ‘eat’ the matter

itself, but rather go for the micro-organisms

that are present in decaying matter. In this

case, the fat and the blood then needed to

be pre-digested by micro-organisms to be

made ‘safe’ for the earthworms.

Pilot research 2: October 2006

The next step was to compost the carcass

meal and the blood meal for a period of

time, and then earthworms were introduced.

Although they hesitated to move in, they

eventually settled in. Our conclusion was that

by ensuring the presence of micro-organism

activity, earthworm composting was possible,

but we needed to up the scale.

Pilot research 3: 2007 – 2008

Then followed months of delay. Because we

wanted to do everything above board, as we

were working in conjunction with Gauteng

province, we approached a reputable abattoir

and the local environmental departments,

both municipal and provincial, to request

permission for our official pilot to take place.

The Department of Environment kept shifting

us from one person to another; we could

not get anyone to, firstly, determine how

much abattoir offal we could transport and

use in the pilot (our request was for 1 t),

and, secondly, find a person/department

that would grant us that permission. It was

the same with the local municipalities’

environmental departments. We had the land

and the methodology and, through Gauteng

Veterinary Services, we had access to testing

from the Onderstepoort Labs. However, we

needed the permission to run a pilot.

Presentations, written motivations and

requests to the various departments

eventually resulted in written responses

that we would not be granted permission

to run a pilot without first undergoing an

Environmental Impact Assessment.

It was not feasible for us to do this for

the small quantities involved to run a pilot

test. We were totally stumped and turned

back to Gauteng Veterinary Health. After

deliberation, the State Vet himself (Dr

Louro) and his colleague, Dr Soni, gave us

written permission sanctioning our actions.

The obvious conclusion was that earthworms are not carnivores

A WELL COACHED

TEAM IS A

WINNING TEAM


But the pilot was limited to half a tonne of

offal and, instead of the numerous tests

that would be done by Onderstepoort Labs,

they would do only two: for E. coli 0157

and Salmonella.

Concurrent to this, we decided to run an

unofficial trial on our own. We ‘found’ 500 kg

of offal from a small abattoir (to remain

unnamed), mixed it with manure and greens,

and composted it for a few months.

Regular temperature, moisture and pH

readings were taken. This was then fed to

the earthworms with moderate success.

Moderate because as it was an unofficial

pilot, the results carried little weight.

During this time, however, (2007 and

2008) I was regularly invited to be a guest

speaker at many abattoir-government-related

conferences and open days in Gauteng,

Mpumalanga, Limpopo and the Northern

Cape. We also had a hearing at the Gauteng

Legislature in May 2008. The word, or

rather the ‘worm’, was spreading – several

large abattoirs had started composting

their offal, instead of the usual practice of

burying or landfilling it.

The National Environmental Management

Bill was grinding its way towards becoming

an Act.

Official pilot 4: 2008-2009

This pilot is the thesis for an Honours

Degree by a Gauteng Vet, Jack Motshegoa

and his thesis subject was approved at

the end 2008. In February 2009, armed

with the necessary letters of permission,

signed undertakings and Memorandums

of Understanding between the various

provincial and municipal departments, as

well as the ‘official’ abattoir and ourselves,

we collected the 500 kg offal and set up

the pilot.

Tests were carried out by Ondestepoort,

Nvirotek Labs and the Soil FoodWeb

Institute. The results were handed to an

expert on compost (Mr Dahan) and his con-

clusion was that ‘it is a good product’ – see

Table 2.

ConclusionNEMA (National Environmental Management

Act) 2009

According to the Waste Hierarchy (right),

NEMA has opened the doors for different

thinking to take place across all walks

of life, from industry and commerce to

domestic, as each section of society has to

find every means possible to prevent (or at

least to minimise) disposal to landfill. This

opens up many opportunities for renewable

operations to establish themselves – see

Table 3

Recycling, conversion and treatment of

various ‘wet’ waste streams

On a very small budget, and therefore

rather informally, it has been proven that

earthworms can be a vital link in the reduc-

tion of certain wastes that would normally

either go to landfill or be buried, namely

abattoir offal, manure and sewage, and veg-

etative matter.

Rehabilitation of degraded lands

In addition, NEMA places the responsibility

on the owners of land to rehabilitate the land

after use to “its former state”. Whether or

not this seems possible or feasible, it never-

theless opens many opportunities for doing

things differently.

The Global Carbon Credit Exchange

platform is just one such means to link

recycling and treatment (prevention of

disposal) of major existing waste streams

through the use of Earthworm Technology,

and also help clean up degraded lands with

the resulting product.

*Living Earth

Solid waste

1-3 MONTHS AT MONTH 2 AT MONTH 3

COMPOST mixtureTotal weight (kg)Total volume (litres)

First lab testsDaily readings: Moisture pH Temperature

Lab tests Lab tests

EARTHWORM mixture Total volumes – compost, waterEarthworms weighed

SFI test

Table 2: Summary of tests conducted

Table 3: Waste hierarchy

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTSDr Louro and Dr Soni of the Gauteng Department of Agriculture, Conservation and Environment (Veterinary Public Health) – in asking the question of whether or not earthworms can be used to recycle abattoir waste – have initiated the exploration and helped make possible the findings of this project. Although no sponsorship has been received, the project has continued for four years as the basis of a feasibility study for the business Earthworm Waste Management. This is a Section 21 Company, whose mission is to rehabilitate the environment (land, air and water) through earthworm waste management and thereby positively impact society. Its aim is the reduction and management of wet or biological waste to become the leaders in environmental regeneration.

There are three or four earthworm species used to create compost and castings

CLEANER PRODUCTION

Prevention Minimisation

RECYCLING Reuse Recovery Composting

TREATMENT Physical Chemical Destruction

DISPOSAL Landfill


FISCAL 2011 A MOMENTOUS YEAR FOR PETCO

The latest statistics reveal that over 1.4 billion PET bottles are being recycled across South Africa, which equates close to 4 million bottles recycled every day. In addition, PETCO exceeded its PET plastic recycling rate for 2010 by 5 290 t.

Recycling

PET recycling grows despite tough trading markets

collected in the first year to well over 1

billion bottles recycled in 2011. We’ve

have assisted in the establishment of over

430 plastic recovery stations throughout

In 2011, PETCO celebrated its sixth

anniversary and its efforts over the past

year were evident in the outstanding

recycling figures. While the world was still

recovering from the economic recession,

polyethylene terephthalate (PET) recycling

figures in South Africa continued to grow

despite tough trading conditions, and the

organisation is therefore proud to announce

that in 2011 it achieved an annual PET

recycling rate of 42% of post-consumer

beverage PET and 29% of total PET. A

total of 42 651 t of PET was collected and

recycled out of a 145 000 t 2011 resin

market. PETCO also tracked the recycling

rate, including pre-consumer material, and

the tonnage collected and recycled in 2011,

including pre-consumer, equalled 46 276 t,

representing 46% of beverage PET and 32%

of total PET.

Credit where it’s dueThese achievements would not have been

possible without the voluntary financial

support from PETCO’s members. By paying

the recycling levy and other contributions

through grants-in-aid, the PET converters,

bottlers, raw material producers and Coca-

Cola South Africa have all helped PETCO to

be the benchmark for Extended Producer

Responsibility and to reduce the volume

of post-consumer PET plastic in the waste

stream bale-by-bale, year-by-year.

The organisation achieved this recycling

rate in partnership with contracted service

providers, Extrupet, Kaymac and Sen Li Da,

which combine collection, recycling and end-

use in their PET value chain.

Cheri Scholtz, CEO of PETCO, says:

“Over the past six years we’ve gone from

9 840 to 42 651 t of post-consumer PET

bottles recycled or from 324 million bottles

South Africa and supported training of

staff at these drop-off sites. We have also

been involved in numerous separation at

source and school education projects. The

organisation has grown its targets from 16%

to 46% of beverage PET recycled, from 87

000 to 145 000 t of PET resin produced,

from small to large amounts of recycling

levies collected and income opportunities

created, from success to success.” In

addition, the organisation has helped

generate almost 26 000 indirect jobs across

the country. As far as carbon is concerned,

recycling 1 t of PET saves 1.5 t of CO2, so

the total carbon saved via PET recycling is in

excess of 63 000 t of CO2.

A winning formulaThe organisation’s 28 shareholder and 42

associate members have contributed to job

creation and skills development. PETCO

PROVINCIAL FACTS• Gauteng generates the most PET

post-consumer product in South Africa

at 55% of the national total, followed

by the Western Cape with 13% and

KwaZulu-Natal accounts for 10%

• Eastern Cape and Mpumalanga

account for 5% each, with the

North West and Free State each

generating 4% of SA’s post-consumer

PET product

• Limpopo and the Northern Cape

create the smallest PET post-

consumer product at 3% and

1% respectively


Recycling

post-consumer packaging plastics do not end

up on landfill sites.

Last year also saw the organisation support

projects with a strong focus on public and

consumer-based education and awareness

programmes, and these initiatives and

activities contributed to the visible recycling

of PET. Many of these programmes, such as

beach clean-ups, trade shows and workshops

for members on topics such as designing

PET bottles and containers with recycling

in mind, were convened in Cape Town,

Johannesburg and Durban. Together with

major retailers Woolworths and Pick n Pay,

PETCO has recently established the Retailers

for Recycling Forum, which aims to minimise

the environmental impact of post-consumer

packaging on the South African landscape

by creating awareness among consumers of

recycling issues and supporting retailers as

they work with their own suppliers to ensure

that packaging is designed with reduction,

reuse and recycling in mind.

Looking aheadIn 2012, PETCO needs to meet the targeted

tonnage of post-consumer beverage PET

recycled of 48 356 t or 44% of all beverage

PET resin converted, assist with the

establishment of more collection and drop-

off centres, and progressively build recycling

awareness through compelling and focused

messaging. There has to be a vigorous and

cost-effective strategy from both the public

and private sector.

has also provided millions of rands worth of

financial support to PET recycling companies

and in doing so has managed to expand

both bottle-to-fibre and bottle-to-foodgrade

recycling. “Built on the simple principle of

establishing an industry-driven and -financed

environmental solution for PET, the PETCO

model is now proven to be expandable and

sustainable,” says Casper Durandt, senior

technical operations manager for Coca-Cola

South Africa and PETCO chairman.

According to Scholtz, 2012 will certainly

prove to be a turning point in the

organisation’s development as this will be

the first year that PETCO will be facing a

shortage of end-use market applications for

recycled PET, with the local bottle-to-fibre

market now reaching saturation and local

recyclers have reached capacity. “This means

that as more and more post-consumer PET

bottles are collected, so end-use markets

need to expand and develop,” she explains.

South African PET recycling is unique in that

almost all of the post-consumer PET bottles

collected are recycled into a local end-use

(mainly fibre and more recently bottle-to-

bottle) and not exported to China, as is done

by many other countries.

The largest end-use market for post-

consumer PET bottles in South Africa is

currently the fibre market (bottle-to-fibre).

More recently, there is installed capacity for

post-consumer PET bottles to be recycled

into new bottles (bottle-to-bottle). Bottle-

to-bottle resin take-up is, however, still

relatively slow and PETCO is working with

retailers and brand owners to increase the

demand for PET recyclate.

Industry and consumer initiatives During 2011, PETCO worked closely with

the Recovery Action Group on drafting the

Industry Waste Management Plan for the

packaging and paper industries, the main

co-regulatory instrument within the waste

management system.

At the same time, PETCO now chairs

the newly formed Sustainability Council

of Plastics SA, providing leadership to

the plastics industry in order to reduce

carbon emissions, be more energy effi-

cient, cut transportation and ensure that

In 2012, PETCO needs to meet the targeted tonnage of post-consumer beverage PET recycled of 48 356 t or 44% of all beverage PET resin converted

GENERAL FACTS• Approximately 33 bottles = 1 kg PET

• The fibre for a standard pillow can

be made with nineteen 500 mℓ PET bottles

• According to the UK-based recycling

organisation Recoup, if plastics

were no longer used in packaging,

the weight of packaging materials

would rise by 300%, the volume

of rubbish would expand by 150%

and the energy consumed by the

packaging industry would increase

by 100%.

• Statistics say approximately 12%

of household waste is packaging

waste. Estimates are that some 3%

of this, by weight, is plastic bottles

(estimated to be 100 000 t for

2012 in South Africa).

• Recycling 1 t of plastic bottles

saves 1.5 t of CO2, and decreases

the need for raw materials, thus

saving energy.


For more information, call us onJohannesburg 011 922 3300East London 043 727 1057Cape Town 021 531 8110Durban 031 717 2300Or contact us on-line at www.kaytech.co.za oc

tarin

e 31

57

40 years of better solutions



Integrated Waste Management PlansWaste Disposal StrategiesIdentification and permitting of landfill sitesDesign of General and Hazardous Waste sitesDesign of Solid Waste Transfer StationsDesign of Material Recovery FacilitiesOptimisation of Waste Collection SystemsAuditing of Waste Management FacilitiesDevelopment of Operational PlansClosure and Rehabilitation of LandfillsQuality Assurance on Synthetic LinersWaste Recycling Plans

Specialist Waste Management ConsultantsSustainable and appropriate engineering solutions with integrity and professionalism.

Jan Palm Consulting EngineersTel +27 21 982 6570 / Fax +27 21 981 0868 / E-mail [email protected] / www.jpce.co.za

Gansbaai Recycling Centre

Velddrif Transfer Station

Botrivier Drop-off

Hermanus Materials Recovery Facility

Vissershok Waste Management Facility

Stanford Drop-off

Panel discussion

Recycling and the sustainability ‘food chain’There’s more to recycling than separate, drop and go!

Sustainability – the industry buzz word

that’s on everyone’s lips. From small

companies to large corporates, it

seems that everyone is jumping on the green

bandwagon. In spite of the numerous ways

that sustainability can be adopted, from basic

energy and water conservation through to

complex green building designs, none is more

popular than recycling initiatives. But while

businesses and industries have and continue

to establish effective recycling programmes,

the everyday consumer in South Africa still

battles with the concept. This is mainly due

to the fact that recycling at household level in

South Africa can prove to be quite a daunting

task as the infrastructure for collecting

recyclable material isn’t quite where it should

be. Although municipalities are geared to

implement domestic separation at source

kerbside collections, until this is properly

enforced, households are left to separate

their rubbish and take the recyclables to

a municipal drop-off or buy-back centre.

Despite the setbacks, this hasn’t deterred

industry role players who continue to embark

on recycling campaigns, which aim to educate

and create awareness among consumers and

the youth. But recycling doesn’t just include

solid waste; what about the proper disposal

and recycling of e-waste?

Candice Landie facilitates this panel discussion, which looks at the initiatives and projects that role players are involved in at both consumer and industry level, including the outcomes of these campaigns. The discussion also highlights how Extended Producer Regulation can affect manufacturers of recycled products and packaging.

PANEL DISCUSSION

Desco off ers a sustainable, responsible, one-stop convenience for recycling of electrical and electronic equipment, compliant to all national, provincial and local legislation, with the assurance of secure premises and controlled processes, based on our ethos of business excellence.

Drawing upon our experience over the past 20 years in this e-waste recycling industry, we are able to off er state of the art solutions for all of your e-waste recycling requirements.

This allows for peace of mind to all of our valued clientele, in that your e-waste is being recycled responsibly, with the minimum impact on the environment.

Recycling e-waste responsibly for 20 years.

For more information, please visit our website

www.desco.co.za Tel +27 (11) 979 3017 • E-mail: [email protected]


Q. What is Desco’s core business function?A. Desco is a specialist recycler

of e-waste consisting of waste

electrical and electronic

equipment (WEEE). As an

established e-waste recycler

celebrating 20 years of recycling

in this industry in South Africa,

using clearly defined processes

and procedures based on

our ISO 14001 certification

and standards, we are able

to offer our clients a one-

stop solution for their e-waste

recycling requirements. As it

is impossible to recycle all the

identified waste streams on site

in a sustainable and responsible

manner, Desco Electronic

Recyclers uses approved,

specialist downstream vendors,

to effectively recycle the

different categories of waste

fractions, such as ferrous and

non-ferrous metals, plastics,

paper, cardboard and cabling.

Q. What initiatives is Desco involved in at consumer level to promote the recycling and proper disposal of e-waste? A. The following projects have

been in place for the past two

to four years:

Makro Stores: Makro stores

nationally have specialised

6 m closed containers on site

for their customers, who can

place all e-waste products

into the bins for collection

and responsible recycling by

Desco. The initiative started as

a joint venture between Fujitsu

Siemens, Makro and Desco

Electronic Recyclers in 2008.

Incredible Connection: all

stores nationally have a

1 000 ℓ capacity wheelie bin

for their clients to place their

e-waste into, for collection and

responsible recycling by Desco.

Incredible Connection also uses

the wheelie bins as a marketing

opportunity when they run their

trade-in promotions on an annual

basis, encouraging clients to

PANEL DISCUSSION

bring in their old and used

e-waste and receive a discount

on new goods purchased.

Hi-Fi Corporation: currently has

15 stores nationally that have

wheelie bins, similar to those of

Incredible Connection, for their

clients to place e-waste into.

School projects: Acer and Miss

Earth South Africa have bins

placed at six schools in and

around Johannesburg where

pupils bring their e-waste from

home, place it in the bins, which

when full are collected and

emptied by Desco.

Holy Rosary School: Incredible

Connection and Desco have

a 6 m container placed at the

school, offering pupils and the

surrounding local community a

drop off point for their e-waste.

In this initiative, pupils from

the school’s eco committee

manage the entire process of

marketing the initiative and have

launched competitions to create

awareness around the need for

responsible e-waste recycling.

Miss Earth South Africa (in

association with Consol): Desco

has been working closely with

the Miss Earth South Africa

platform to promote awareness

regarding the importance of

e-waste recycling in South Africa.

Q. What is Desco doing within the waste industry to promote recycling and proper disposal? Has the new Waste Act helped increase recycling statistics?A. Desco is interacting more

and more with other role players

within the industry, investigating

synergies and possible

collaborations that can bring

about awareness and education

to understand the importance of

e-waste recycling. As this is the

fastest growing waste stream

within the waste management

arena, it is important for role

players within the industry to

work together on offering more

value-added services to the

consumers, and look at joint

strategies to ensure a steady

growth in the awareness around

the importance of e-waste

recycling. The new Waste Act is

increasing awareness at industry

level, ensuring that the captains

of industry are concerned about

recycling and/or disposing of

their e-waste in a responsible

and controlled fashion,

eliminating the need for sending

e-waste to landfill, as has been

the case in the past.

Q. Desco prides itself on environmental excellence by providing a high-quality service for the disposal of electronic waste. Briefly explain how you ensure this service is always conducted in an eco-friendly manner?A. As Desco has been in the

business of recycling e-waste

for 20 years, we have refined

the art of doing business in this

industry based on excellence

and integrity. Desco is able to

offer this service on an ongoing

basis, based on the following

conformity, compliance and/or

certification, namely:

• ISO 14001 certification

as certified by SGS, an

international auditing company

• Section 20 permit of the

Environment Conservation Act

(Act 23 of 1989) as amended

• compliance to both ISO 9001

and OHSAS 18001: we will

be striving for certification in

OHSAS 18001 standards by

the end of 2012

• recycling authority permit

from Gauteng Department of

Agriculture and Environment

(permission to operate a

recycling facility)

• all our vehicles and drivers are

Hazchem certified and remain

current in this certification

• we are currently in possession

of Waste Hub permits for both

City of Johannesburg and the

City of Tshwane, allowing us to

traverse all areas of Gauteng

with our vehicles

• Level 1 BBBEE contributor

• accredited and audited

e-Waste Association of South

Africa membership since 2008

• Members of the Metal

Recyclers Association (MRA)

• Precious Metals Recovery

License

• compliant to other national,

provincial and local

government legislation

where applicable

• compliant to client specific

requirements

• compliant to the Second

Hand Goods Act (Act 23 of

2009) of the South African

Police Services

• full access security, CCTV

camera’s on site and night

guards with dogs after hours

to ensure integrity of all clients

goods arriving on site for

recycling and or disposal.

Malcolm Whitehouse, sales manager, Desco Electronic Recyclers

Panel discussion


PANEL DISCUSSION Zimasa Velaphi, PR/marketing manager, Collect-a-Can

Q. What is Collect-a-Can’s core business function?A. Collect-a-Can was established

in 1993 by shareholders

ArcelorMittal South Africa

(tinplate producer) and Nampak

BevCan (steel beverage can

manufacturer). The main

aim is to recover, recycle

and reuse metal cans from

the environment as a litter

abatement and environmental

responsibility project.

Q. Collect-a-Can has a very impressive schools programme and competition running? Can you briefly explain this initiative?A. Collect-a-Can’s philosophy is

that the culture of Responsible

Waste Management through

recycling needs to be inculcated

from a young age for it to become

normal behaviour in South Africa.

One of the vehicles is through

the school’s competition that we

currently run in four provinces:

Gauteng, Western Cape, KwaZulu-

Natal and the North West.

The National Schools

Competition: This is our flagship

competition; it operates in six

Collect-a-Can branches within

South Africa. Schools can

raise funds for themselves by

collecting used cans and stand

a chance to win monthly and

annual prizes, while creating

environmental awareness and

cleaning their community. The

school that collects most cans

per child and per school wins

a prize.

Can Craze Competition: An

exciting competition that

encourages pupils to create

structures or characters using

beverage cans. Through this

exciting team exercise, learners

are required to collect at least

300 cans and use them to build

a structure.

Artistic Competition: This year

we’ve introduced this to tertiary

institutions, where students can

design our logo and create the

new campaign line.

Q. Consumers aside, what is Collect-a-Can doing at industry level to promote recycling and reduction to landfills? A. Apart from recovering

cans, Collect-a-Can places

significant emphasis on

environmental education and

regularly participates in clean-

up campaigns and recycling

drives where we provide the

infrastructure for the clean-

up, such as bags, T-shirts

and transport. Collect-a-Can

actively works with communities,

encouraging citizens to assist in

our can-collecting efforts.

Q. What services do you offer those interested in becoming entrepreneurs in recycling?A. Collect-a-Can assists

upcoming entrepreneurs by

providing them with advice

on how to increase their

productivity and profitability. In

addition, they are assisted with

infrastructure such as bags

for collection, arrangement of

transport weighing scales and

the use of mobile balers.

For collectors that are located

far away from Collect-a-Can

depot, the cost of transporting

their cans to a collection point

can be prohibitive. For this rea-

son, Collect-a-Can encourages

scrap metal dealers, multi-recy-

cling companies and any other

businesses or individuals that

are willing and have the infra-

structure to assist by becoming

collection agents. The agents

help their community while ben-

efiting from being part of the

Collect-a-Can network.

Q. Overall, what are your top achievements?A.The perception in corporate

South Africa is that the

Collect-a-Can schools recycling

programme is the most

organised to date in South

Africa. The Guinness World

Record – we’ve been breaking

the record consistently for the

past nine years and have a 72%

recovery rate increase this year

compared to 70% recovery rate

for 2011.

They are assisted with infrastructure such as bags for collection, arrangement of transport weighing scales and the use of mobile balers

Panel discussion

Remade is thelargest independentlyowned recycling company in SouthAfrica and has conducted business for morethan 25 years. Remade has expanded into manydifferent fields of waste management and isoperational in all the major regions in SouthAfrica.

Remade generates in excess of 15,000 tonsof recyclable waste per month which is soldas a substitute raw-material input source toSouth Africa’s leading manufacturers, includingSappi, Mondi, Nampak, Kimberly Clarke, Transpaco,Extrupet and Collect-A-Can.

Government’s New Environmental Waste Act of 2009now requires that both waste generator and waste serviceprovider comply with the New Act.One of Remade’s primary offerings is to deliver a full On-Site Waste Management solution to all sectors of commerceand industry. This service ensures that companies become,and remain, compliant with the Act.Remade is fully certified and permitted to provide these

services.

Remade Onsite Waste has successfully enteredinto agreements to manage the waste streamsgenerated by some of South Africa’s majorretailers, including Pick’nPay, Massmart, Massbuildand Shoprite/Checkers as well as to manyshopping centres and shopping malls.Each solution is tailor-made to fit the needs of anysize business or industry.

Remade is continuously looking for innovativemethods of using recyclable waste and is currentlyworking with municipalities and international wastemanagement companies to create sustainablesolutions for the recycling of all waste products.


PANEL DISCUSSION

Q. What is Remade’s core business function?A. Remade provides a multitude

of waste management services

specialising in the minimisation

of waste streams and the

collection of recyclable waste.

Q. What initiatives is Remade involved in at consumer level to promote recycling? Do you educate consumers on what can be recycled and how so?A. Remade Recycling provides

Waste Management services

to Commerce & Industry

and promotes recycling to

each of our customers who,

in turn, promote recycling to

their customers.

We do, however, provide an

offtake for most recyclable

products and promote

separation at source of

recyclable and non-recyclable

waste. We encourage recycling

by putting a good market-

related price on all recyclable

material and giving clear

descriptions of what can and

can’t be recycled. We buy

recyclable materials at all our

buy-back centres and branches.

Q. Do you have buy-back centres in Gauteng only? How many and in which areas?A. We currently have 30 buy-

back centres and we buy

recyclable material at the

nine Remade branches as

well. In total we buy back

from the public at 39 centres.

Our branches are located

in: Germiston, Jeppestown,

Newtown, Pretoria, Wynberg,

Springs, Randfontein,

Rustenburg, Klerksdorp,

Witbank and Nelspruit. We also

have operations in Polokwane,

Vereeniging, Vanderbijlpark,

Midrand, Witbank and

Nelspruit. Anyone who is

interested in taking their

recyclables to a buy-back centre

can contact our toll-free number,

0860 736 233, to find a buy-

back centre in their area.

Q. What types of recycling containers/bins are available to your customers?

Is the type of container environment/area specific?A. Bulk containers are available

to industry in different sizes,

that is, 6 m³, 9 m³, 11 m³ and

30 m³ containers and cages.

We supply bags for smaller

customers andprovide cardboard

boxes for office recycling. These

containers are not environment

or area specific, but they are

volume specific.

Generators of large volumes

of recyclables would obviously

receive larger containers.

Q. Do you work with street harvesters/hawkers in the collection of recyclables? How so?A. Yes, we are supplied by

thousands of street harvesters

per day. As mentioned, we buy at

39 centres and each is supplied

by approximately 100 people per

day. They deliver their material to

us and we pay them per kilogram

for all recyclable waste delivered

to a buy-back centre.

We provide training in the

identification of all recyclable

waste to encourage harvesters

to collect as many grades of

recyclable waste as possible.

We provide opportunities

for harvesters to get further

involved in our business and

help to develop them in such a

way that they might one day own

their own Buy-Back Centre.

Q. Consumers aside, what is Remade doing within the waste management industry to promote recycling and reduction to landfill?A. Firstly we needed to make

sure that we are fully compliant

with all aspects of the new

Environmental Waste Act of

2009. I’m happy to say that we

have been very successful in

doing so. We have also created

a division within our Business

called Remade Onsite. This

division offers sustainability and

management programmes to

commerce and industry.

In light of the New Waste Act,

Remade Onsite provides a full

waste management service,

which includes:

a. separation-at-source,

b. retrieving all recyclable material

from a customer’s waste stream,

c. Managing the disposal of all

different waste to the correct

landfill, such as hazardous,

non-hazardous, redundant

stock, etc

We thereby minimise waste

disposed at landfill, thus

ensuring that our customers

remain compliant.

We then created a division called Remade Onsite which offers sustainability and management programmes to commerce and industry

Michael Benjamin, marketing director, Remade Holdings (Pty) Ltd

Panel discussion

For more information on how cartons are recycled,visit www.tetrapak.co.za or www.mywaste.co.za

GAYATRI PAPER MILLS1 Power Str, Germiston, Gauteng

Tel: +27 11 821 8600

NOW! Tetra Pak is proud to announce the commencement of local carton

recycling in South Africa with Gayatri Paper Mill, based in Johannesburg. The

last drop of milk or juice does not mark the end of a cartons’ useful life. Used

cartons are a valuable resource-easily recyclable and much in demand.

HOW? Waste management and collection companies throughout South

Africa are encouraged to collect and bale used cartons for resale to Gayatri

Paper Mill. Recycling takes place at Gayatri with a hydro-pulping process

which separates the paper fibre from the polyethylene and aluminium.

The recycled fibre is then used to make a range of cardboard products.

The poly/alu component is separated for aggromulation and pelletisation for

use in plastic injection moulded products.

WOW! In addition, carton packaging is made mainly from paper

board, a natural renewable resource. In fact carton packaging is the only type

of packaging made mainly from renewable materials which gives our

packaging a low carbon footprint.

When the contents are gone,

YES! Cartonsare Recyclable!

let the carton live on!GAYATRI PAPER

11015 - TP IMIESA MAG AD_A4.ai 3 2012/04/13 12:53 PM


PANEL DISCUSSION

Q. What is Tetra Pak’s core business function and what products and services does the company offer?A. Tetra Pak is the world’s

leading supplier of food

packaging and processing

equipment. It was established 60

years ago, supplying packaging

suitable for long-life milk, juice

and other food products. The

company also supplies the food

processing and filling equipment

required for its packaging.

Q. What initiatives are Tetra Pak involved in at consumer level to promote reuse and recycling of its packaging products?A. Cartons can and are being

recycled here in South Africa at

Gayatri Paper Mill in Germiston.

The hydro-pulping technology

was developed by Tetra

Pak’s engineers and involves

the separation of the paper

board from the polyethelene/

aluminium. The fibres (pulp),

once separated, are used to

manufacture cardboard boxes

and other paper products, while

the polyethelene/aluminium is

processed into ‘pellets’ suitable

for injection molding. Most

consumers in South Africa are

unaware that cartons can and

are now being recycled, so we’ve

started communicating this to

them through:

• on-pack messaging

• point of sale promotions

• schools educational

programmes

• collection programmes with

waste management companies

and collectors

• PRASA (Paper Recycling

Association of South Africa)

• leaflets

• drop off recycling centres

• websites.

Q. What effect has Extended Producer Responsibility in relation to the new Waste Act had on Tetra Pak? A. Tetra Pak has been a member

of RAG (Recovery Action Group

of South Africa) and has

worked very closely with all

the other industry associations

to formulate plans for the

efficient and proper collection of

packaging waste in South Africa.

We understand that we have a

responsibility to ensure proper

environmental solutions for our

packaging and will continue to

do so with the brand owners

(for example, Clover, Parmalat,

Ceres and other retailer brands)

using our packaging.

Q. Tetra Pak considers its packaging design to be environmentally sound and sustainable. How so? A. Our cartons are made

of paper board, a natural,

renewable resource. This gives

our packaging a lower carbon

footprint compared to other

types of liquid packaging.

Our long-term goal is to ulti-

mately supply packaging derived

from 100% renewable materials.

We measure our environmental

impact throughout the entire

value chain, from the sourc-

ing of raw materials (mainly

paper board), the manufactur-

ing of laminated board at our

converting factories, the pro-

cessing and filling equipment

used by our customers, to the

distribution of our packs into

retail, and then once consumed,

ensuring that cartons can

be recycled.

Q. With regards to packaging technology, what is meant by Environment Product Declaration Certified, and how does it fair in terms of energy and water reduction?A. Tetra Pak set a climate goal

objective in 2005 to reduce

carbon emissions by 10% by

2010 and ended up achieving a

13% reduction, despite growth

during this period.

New targets have been set

to further reduce emissions

by 2020, measuring impact

throughout the value chain.

Q. Consumers aside, what is Tetra Pak doing within the waste management industry to promote recycling and reduction to landfill?A. Tetra Pak works with packaging

councils, industry associations,

NGO’s, governments and others

internationally to ensure that

waste to landfill is reduced. The

situation is no different in South

Africa. Tetra Pak worked as a

member of RAG, and together

with all the industry associations

formulated the IWMP (Integrated

Waste Management Plan) that

was submitted to government for

approval. The plan encourages

separation of waste at source

(consumer) and then for the

waste to be collected separately

and taken to a Materials

Recovery Facility where it

will get separated, baled and

sold to recyclers. The plan, if

implemented, will reduce waste

to land fill and create thousands

of jobs nationally.

Rodney Reynders, cluster leader environment SSA, Tetra Pak SA

Panel discussion

Tetra Pak is the world’s leading supplier of food packaging and processing equipment


LANDFILL GAS PROJECTS

The capture and destruction or utilisation of landfi ll gas is not a legislative requirement in South Africa, which opens the doors for the commercial sector to develop this resource in the warming climate of carbon credits and green electricity tariffs. By Dr M Griffith, K Naidoo and M Saner

Landfills

The search for feasible landfill gas-to-electricity projects

So what is needed to extract the euros

and rands from society’s detritus?

Landfill site? Check! Trillions of

methane-producing microbes? Check! Proven

technology to extract the gas and produce

green electrons? Check! A local industry

with the experience and expertise to design,

build and operate the facility? Check! Check!

Check! Sadly, it’s not so simple, and the

problems lie in the nature of the landfill sites

themselves, the populations they serve, the

people who operate them and the officials

who regulate the entire chain. Landfill sites

are good projects, with great economic and

ecological benefits; however, a landfill site

does not automatically equate to positive

financial returns and the correct sites must

be chosen.

CEF (Pty) Ltd is a private company owned

by the Department of Energy with a mandate

to search for appropriate energy solutions to

meet the future energy needs of South Africa.

Through the feasibility study of a basket of

20 wholly-owned landfill sites, some valuable

lessons have been learnt on the assessment

of site feasibilities, and being able to tell the

difference between good sites and bad sites

may save time and money.

The feasibility study approachA five-pronged approach is taken in the

development of the bankable LFG feasibility

studies: technical, environmental, legal,

clean development mechanism (CDM)

and financial.

The following activities form part of

each group:

1 Technical – split into two stages, namely

prefeasibility and detailed feasibility

studies.

2 Waste licence and environment study –

the Act regulating landfill gas utilisation

changed from the National Environmental

Management Act of 1998 to the National

Environmental Management: Waste Act of

2008. Consequently, the environmental

methodology changed from a full EIA

to a waste licence application and

basic assessment.

3 CDM – the CDM was chosen as the

system through which the carbon will be

traded due to the higher prices that the

Certified Emission Reductions (CERs)

commanded. The CDM process includes

a methodology assessment, Project Idea

Note, Project Design Document, validation,

CDM registration. Verification of the CERs

forms part of the site operations.

4 Legal – the exclusive rights to utilise the

gas is granted through an agreement

with the municipality, in exchange for a

fair royalty payment. An important issue

is the land use agreement, with triggers

in the Municipal Finance Management

Act causing some lively debate around

the negotiations table. The two primary

revenue streams – the CERs and

electricity – will be secured using long-term

Emissions Reduction Purchase Agreements

and Power Purchase Agreements (PPAs).

5 Financial – Being a commercial endeavour,

the project must generate sufficient

returns to justify the risk of investment.

The technical study, gas flows with CER

as well as electricity generation estimates

and sale prices are combined with the

CAPEX and OPEX estimates to form a

financial model. The model is used to

evaluate the performance and determine

the viability of the project, which is taken

to the shareholder’s board for the final

investment decision.

A positive result for all five aspects is vital

to reach bankability; however the financial

performance has proved to be the greatest

hurdle. As the majority of these activities are

informed by the results of other activities in

other groups, the processes must parallel

each other in a carefully structured fashion.

The experience gained in conducting the 20

feasibility studies is shared below.

Experience shared• Landfill sites are not attractive

(investments): Although those in the know

will argue to the reasons behind it all,

the fact remains that landfill gas CDM

projects are renowned for under-delivery.

Worldwide, the figures are quite appalling

with 35% of the projected CERs delivered

from 48 projects (http://cdmpipeline.org/A fully functional landfill gas-to-energy plant

Landfills

cers.htm). According to Pierce (2009) the

over-projection of landfill gas extracted

was the cause for many project failures.

The challenge to the project developer

is to convince investors or finance

institutes that their project will deliver

as expected. From these experiences, a

more conservative approach is now being

adopted. On the flip side, the financial

institutions must ensure that the right

professionals are appointed for the due

diligence in order to recognise the level

of conservatism that has been adopted

and thus avoid excessive haircuts on

a project that has already been to the

army’s barber.

• Not all sites created equal: An obvious

statement for anyone involved in the

industry. However, a surprising number of

people believe that a landfill site equals

a landfill gas project. Be they ambitious

businessmen or municipal councillors,

these expectations must be properly

managed and the developer often needs

to negotiate its way around the small and

shallow to find those sites that are ‘more

equal than others’. The sites that have

progressed to final bankability all have

the following in common: in-place volume

of more than 1 million cubic metres,

an annual disposal rate of more than

200 000 t and the receiving of waste for a

few years into the project.

• The fuel: To quote a waste-to-energy

professional (McKendry, 2008), it’s all

about the fuel. For a landfill gas project,

the organic waste is the fuel for the

production of biogas. Those industrious

microorganisms supply the methane in

a fairly reliable concentration of about

40 to 60%; however, it’s the quantity

that concerns us the most and methane

formation needs degradable organic

material. Although one can be reasonably

assured that the large general waste

sites will receive organics, be sure of the

proportions of the various waste streams

as a high percentage of inert materials

may mean the difference between a fizzer

and foreclosure.

• Open sites are better: As per the previous

point, the gas supply is dependent on

the incoming waste. Stop the waste and

the gas supply will also cease. Due to

the nature of the organic processes, the

decline is a somewhat drawn-out process

with a half-life (50% of the initial gas flow)

of about five years post closure. This has a

profound effect on the commissioning and

operation of the generation equipment as

the gas engines’ performance deteriorates

when operated below 50 to 65% of

the rated capacity. Hence, if the site is

closed, some sort of engine swapping will

be required. Conversely, open sites will

release gas at a more steady rate, which

can be exploited through ongoing gas field

development. Furthermore, a gas engine

operating at a de-rated capacity will provide

less return for the CAPEX outlay and is a

problem for both open and closed sites,

which can only be resolved through a cost-

benefit analysis.

• Good data is like hidden treasure: Reliable

data can be difficult to find, but it’s worth

finding. Municipal departments often

don’t have readily available access to

the information, but their consultants do.

Add the large number of consultants that

have been appointed by the municipalities

(generally due to procurement processes)

and one often needs to contact many

different professionals in order to retrieve

the information. Despite the advancements

in remote data access that the cyber age

has brought us, the most reliable method

of collecting the info is still physically

visiting the offices. All information

should also be thoroughly interrogated

– weighbridge data is a prime example

as when questions were asked about

the apparent low tonnages at one site,

the response was: “Ja, the site opens at

07:00 but the weighbridge operators only

arrive at 08:30.”

• Local knowledge is vital: South African

waste professionals are excellent; they

know the sites, know the process and

they now have the knowledge to design

and implement landfill gas-to-electricity

projects. Although the technology is

still based on international practices,

a South African engineer can tell you

which manhole cover is more likely to be

stolen and understands concepts like

‘landfill compactor operator risk’. With

The challenge to the project developer is to convince investors or finance institutes that their project will deliver as expected



list of commissioned landfill gas projects,

currently around nine, the South African

industry is indeed gathering steam.

• Landfill sites are fickle: Although cause is

mostly due to the disposal patterns of the

populations they serve and the regulators

that govern them, an attractive site may

suddenly lose all appeal because the

disposal rate halves or the site is closed

early. This is certainly a challenge as one

progresses through a drawn-out feasibility

study with continual adjustments to the

design required. Significant changes

in disposal trends are sometimes

unavoidable, but can be picked up by

well-directed consultation with the site

owner and its landfill operations plan. As

one can only work with the information

available at the time, the development of

the site should remain conceptual for as

late as possible.

• Projects require patience: A LFG project

developer needs a deep pool of patience

and an even deeper pool of resources

if they wish to see any sort of project

dividend. The feasibility stage, waste

licence and CDM registration processes

are long, drawn-out affairs. When

commissioned, the municipal projects

should have taken more than three years

to implement. It must be said that the

pioneering efforts of the early LFG project

developers have helped significantly, and

these timeframes are getting shorter with

each instance. There are some delays,

however, which are unavoidable and may

catch some cash-strapped developer

unawares. Take CER revenues as an

example: the project is commissioned

and the carbon credits start to flow – not

true. The project is commissioned and the

CER monitoring process begins. After 6

to 12 months (depending on how urgently

you need cash flows) the verifiers arrive

on site, gather the data and write their

reports. More waiting is needed while

the credits are registered and finally

delivered. An 18-month delay between

the commissioning date and the first CER

cash-inflow should be expected.

• Take calculated risks: Linked to the

previous point, the development of

these projects takes time and the

commissioning of feasibility activities ‘at

risk’ is necessary to keep the programme

reasonably short. It is necessary to

identify what activities are required and

when they should be delivered. An EIA,

for example, needs technical information

from feasibility work, while the CDM

process requires feedback from the

EIA, technical study and agreement with

the municipality; the gas rights usage

agreement requires the completion of the

feasibility study. This web of information

transfer requires careful planning and

coordination for information to be

available when needed and to avoid

processes being repeated as a result

of incorrect assumptions being applied.

Additionally, if the project is taken to the

market too early, delays or changes in

figures may result in reputational damage.

• The markets change: In 2008 the projects

had a heavy carbon slant – CER prices

were in the teens and electricity prices

still Eskom-based (see Figure 1). Electricity

accounted for less than 40% of the

project revenues for the 10 years of CDM

registration. Now, the CER market is down,

but REFIT-based electricity prices are up,

with electricity sales accounting for over

65% of the revenue split. Incidentally,

a theoretical price of €15/CER (R154/

CER) would result in a 50/50 total

revenue split with REFIT-based electricity

revenues. Adding to the problem is the

exchange rate with the South African rand

‘pronking’ all over the euro. It’s great for

buying European services or equipment,

but most of the compliance buyers are

also European and the CERs are likely

to be Euro-based. The importance of the

CER revenues is still significant. The CER

revenues are required to make the projects

viable and the markets may recover to

the extent that the carbon surpasses the

electricity revenue, but while on holiday in

Greece you may want to take another look

at that PPA.

• The rules change: The final lesson is that

Landfills

FIGURE 1 Recommended project development strategy

A fully functional landfill gas to energy plant

TECHNICAL CONSTRUCTION CDM LEGAL FINANCIAL

• Start pre-feasibility study• Prelim gas models and

costs• Complete prefeasibility

study• Begin detailed feasibility• Refine gas models and

costs• Finalise technical

feasibility report• Tender for services• Detailed design• Commissioning!

• Environmental• Start basic assessment• Impacts assessment• Begin public participation• Screening models• Public meetings• Draft BA report• Submit waste licence

application• Specialist studies (if

needed)• Complete basic

assessment• Finalise public participation• Submit BA report for

waste licence application• Obtain waste licence

• Methodology Assessment• Write and submit project

idea note• DNA letter of no objection• Write generic draft

project design document (PDD)

• Investigate CER pricing• Complete detailed draft

PDD• Validation• Contact CER buyers• DNA letter of approval• Final validation report• CDM registration

submission• CDM registration

• Finalise MOU• Investigate generation

licence and PPA• Draft gas rights

agreement• Finalise municipal royalty

structure and site development plan

• Finalise gas rights agreement

• Finalise PPA• Submit generation

licence application• Obtain generation licence

• Basic financial model• Evaluate costs and

revenues• Detailed financial model• Engage financiers• Final financial model• Final business plan• Draft term sheets• Shareholder decision to

invest (CPs)• Select financier• Finalise term sheet (CPs)• Disbursement of debt


renewable energy is still a relatively new

player in a parastatal monopolised market.

Thanks to the state’s renewable energy

strategy (the white paper on renewable

energy) and, arguably, the more apparent

Eskom supply problems, the regulations

are adjusting to make development in the

energy industry more accessible to the

private sector. Public feedback is central

to these changes and it is advisable to at

best participate, or at worst be informed,

of the intended legislation. The end

result should be beneficial to the project;

however, the developer must be on the

ball in order to change the game plan if

and when required. We look forward to

a mature renewable energy sector with

an established process and many REFIT

projects delivering green power to the

citizens of South Africa.

ConclusionThe monetising of landfill gas as a

commercial project is a viable and

established undertaking; however, a

comprehensive feasibility study is vital

to ensure the projects that make the

cut are actually able to perform. The

licensing and approval processes makes

the commitment of feasibility funds ‘at

risk’ almost unavoidable if one is to keep

the programme relatively short and the

shareholders may face a long wait for the

first dividends. Changes in site operation,

legislation and markets make these projects

challenging developments and a certain

degree of ‘looseness’ is required to adapt

and move on. The feasibility processes

should be progressed, as recommended, in

a structured and responsible manner in order

to avoid redoing work and to preserve your

reputation in the market.

Finally, landfill gas-to-energy projects are

attractive projects, not only because of

good investment returns: the environmental

impacts of greenhouse gas and odour are

reduced, jobs are created and renewable

energy is delivered to a country that

desperately needs it.

1 Pronking is an Afrikaans term describing the

boastful gait of the Springbok – South Africa’s

national antelope which adorns the R1 coin

Landfills

* ABOUT THE AUTHORSDr M Griffith and K Naidoo work at CEF (Pty) Ltd, South Africa, and M Saner is from Margot Saner & Associates


TRANSFORMING WASTE INTO ENERGY, SAVINGS AND INCOME

While the concept of extracting energy from organic waste is defi nitely not something new, most people are of the assumption that these bio-energy solutions are only reserved for large refuse dumps and industrial-sized companies. This is not true. by Jonathan de Magalhães*

Waste to energy

Fuelling the biogas generation

Biogas is a combination of mostly

methane (CH4) and carbon dioxide

(CO2), and is created in the

process of anaerobic digestion, which is

the fermentation of organic matter in the

absence of oxygen.

Simply put, a biogas digester is a water-

tight tank which is fed with organic waste.

And the scope for usable organic waste is

huge: food and table waste, animal manure,

animal fat and blood from abattoirs, sew-

age and even grass cuttings are all perfect

candidates for biogas generation, to name

but a few.

Government support?Unlike some renewable bio-energy tech–

nologies that are fairly new, a quick Internet

search confirms that biogas digesters have

in fact been around for over 150 years. The

first biogas digester was built in Bombay,

India, in 1859 at a leper colony. Currently, it

is estimated that there are around 2 million

biogas digesters in operation in India,

while China supersedes that amount with a

staggering 6 million digesters estimated to

have been installed by 1970.

And yet, the idea of easily converting

organic waste to usable renewable energy is

virtually unknown in South Africa. Even other

African countries, such as Kenya, Tanzania

and to a lesser extent Botswana, have active

governmental assistance programmes in

place to assist in the easy deployment of

biogas digesters. In fact, here are more biogas

digesters installed in Lesotho than there are

in South Africa! In South Africa, the assistance

for any individuals, companies or communities

wanting to take advantage of a waste-to-

energy digester has been largely ignored by

government. As Mark Tiepelt from Biogas SA

observed: “Large-scale commercial biogas

digesters have huge potential, but the most

effective and highest impact way to establish

biogas as a viable sustainable alternative

source of energy is to support its application

of waste-to-energy in whatever way on farms.”

So basically put, don’t expect any financial

assistance from the government in the form of

a REFIT (renewable energy feed-in tariff) or IPP

(independent power producer) agreement.

Great potentialIsn’t it ironic then that the first large-scale

biogas digester privately built to generate

biogas was done by South African pig

farmer L John Fry in the mid-1950s. Known

worldwide, his agricultural digester ran a

bi-fuel generator on biogas for six years

non-stop before he moved to the United

Kingdom. But the good news is that, even

without any financial assistance, biogas still

has huge potential as being a very viable

solution, showing greatcost payback periods

for environments with suitable quantities of

organic waste available. The biogas that is

produced can also be used for a number

of different applications as well. Burning

the gas for heating is the most efficient

way of using biogas. Heating could be a

normal requirement, such as space heating

for ambient temperature control (crucial for

chicken farming in the winter), as well as

water heating. By using a biogas water heater

it is possible to provide instant hot water using

nothing more than your organic waste. Using

biogas stoves, rice cookers and other biogas

appliances that are readily available enables

normal food cooking to be done running solely

off biogas. Lighting can also be provided,

using biogas lights that work in exactly the

same way as a camping gas light.

Energy efficiencyWhile it’s not the most efficient way of using

biogas, running a biogas generator can also

generate electricity. However, the comment of

low efficiency does need to be looked at in

the correct context though, as using free and

Anaerobic digesters at the Lübeck Waste Treatment Facility, a mechanical biological treatment plant


Mills & Otten ccEnvironmental Consultants

1998/46338/23 Johannesburg Cape TownTel: (011) 486 0062 Tel: (021) 671 7102 Fax: (086) 554 6573 Fax: (021 671 7102 Contact: Charles Mills / Kirstin Otten Contact: Stephanie de Beer

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abundant biogas to generate electricity has

many advantages, regardless of the efficiency

process when running it through a biogas

generator. It was in fact these advantages that

took centre stage at the Bio-Energy session

at the Africa Energy Indaba 2012, recently

held in Sandton, Gauteng. The indaba was

a platform for energy stakeholders,solution

providers and professionals to get together

and look at the solutions available to assist

countries and projects throughout Africa who

are facing various energy challenges.

Biogas specialist, Jan du Preez, who was

at the Africa Energy Indaba, also commented

on the environmental impact of biogas

digesters noting: “Currently there is very little

precedence for EIA (environmental impact

assessment) studies for biogas digesters in

South Africa. If the digester is to treat manure,

sewage and energy crops, only a basic EIA

is required, provided the generation capacity

is less than 10 MW and the land area used

is less than 1 ha. However, if the digester is

to treat other wastes such as the putrescible

animal wastes from abattoirs, then a full EIA

may be required, regardless of the size of

the biogas digester”. So while deploying a

biogas solution can be done relatively quickly,

it is possible that the environmental impact

studies required could take some careful

planning into the roll-out schedule.

No such thing as trashOne of the main advantages of a biogas

system is that the organic waste that is usually

subject to strict health and safety procedures

can now be used to generate free energy.

For new developments, or where a septic

tank system is used, sewage can be routed

directly into the biogas digester. Besides

providing additional organic waste for biogas

generation, using sewage has the benefit

of providing most of the water required for

the biogas digester to function correctly.

Additional benefits include not burdening the

existing sewerage infrastructure system, as

all sewage can now be naturally processed

on site while generating biogas at the same

time. After the biogas has been generated,

the organic slurry produced by the digester

also has a commercial value as an organic

compost and fertiliser.

This can either be used on site if the

installation is on an agricultural holding, or it

can be sold either in its wet form or as dry

pellets to farms requiring fertilisers.

Therefore, a biogas solution offers the

advantages of taking freely available, and

sometimes problematic, organic waste to

generate energy, reduces existing energy costs

in an environment, and provides an additional

revenue stream in the form of creating natural

fertilisers, making the use of biogas a win--win

solution. There is energy in waste. And a lot

of it too!

*Managing director of Ubuntu Energy Solutions

Waste to energy

BUILDING A BIOGAS DIGESTERThe main components of a biogas digester are the inlet section, the digester tank and the outlet section, and building a small-scale biogas digester is a fairly straightforward process:• First, a hole is dug for the main digester tank. For a 10 m3 digester, this would be around 3.5 m by 3.0 m.• A collapsible shutter system is installed and the inlet and outlet sections are built into the digester tank. The

digester is then formed by pouring 25 MPa concrete over the shutter system.• The shutter system is collapsed and removed, and the inlet and outlet sections are completed and plastered.• A floating dome is then inserted into the digester tank. This dome will be underwater and collects the biogas as

it is produced. • As the dome is underwater, the biogas being collected is automatically under constant pressure, therefore

negating the need for any additional pressure pumps.• Finally, the gas piping is connected to the floating dome and the concrete covers and manhole plates are placed

over the digester tank.

SLR is one of the leading consultancies in the energy, waste and resource management sector, offering specialist technical expertise across the full range of environmental and engineering service areas.

global environmental solutions

• Private Sector • Waste Technology Advice• Public Sector • Waste Planning, Permitting & EIA• Financial Sector • Renewable Waste Projects• International Projects • Waste Logistics & Routing • Design, Build & Contract


Waste to energy

Energy from waste (EfW) represents

a favourable step towards achieving

complete waste diversion from landfills

– towards the widely used adage ‘zero waste’.

Arguably there will always be waste residues

to any waste treatment or disposal method

adopted – even landfills leak out large

volumes of biogas and noxious leachates.

Planning in South Africa encompassing waste

management plans for cities, metros and

government infrastructure must consider the

full waste hierarchy (as depicted in Figure

1). But to an energy intensive South Africa

(as well as energy-strapped South Africa),

recovery of energy (prior to final disposal) is a

step yet to be fully taken.

Cost analysisEnergy from waste technologies is, by and

large, either biological or thermal. Biological

treatment invoalves the Anaerobic Digestion

(AD) of wastes to produce a biogas for

energy. There are many AD technologies

available being applicable to specific waste

feed-stocks. Thermal processes are similarly

wide and the general descriptions are mass

burn, advanced thermal treatment, thermal

valorisation, pyrolysis, gasification. The

word ‘incineration’ is largely avoided – much

similar to the word ‘dump’ being avoided by

the modern landfills!

AD bankability: AD is, strictly speaking,

aligned to a specialised industrial treatment

process. Technical risk can be identified as

high by funding organisations, in particular,

the operational risks if a specialist operator is

not involved with the ‘AD kit’ implemented. In

comparison to energy outputs, capital costs

are high for AD.

A plant of about 12 000 tpa may offer

up to 500 kWe at a total capital cost of

approximately R30 million to R40 million. The

project financials can also be tough on AD

projects. In the United Kingdom for example,

where SLR Consulting has been involved

with the development of many AD projects,

the availability of Renewable Obligation

Certificates (ROCs) and the high cost of

landfill disposal are significant pushers to

an AD choice. An AD project locally would

have to be supported by a strong ‘gate

fee’, for mainly liquid wastes (avoiding

co-disposal to landfills). Energy sales may

also be significant particularly where a funder

could offer bankability of a Fuel Purchase

Agreement (FPA). Carbon credits are useful

to bolstering project finances but banks

are generally critical of projects requiring

carbon sales for IRR. Several donor funding

opportunities are also available but a

project must be well conceived and detailed

development underway prior to success from

such financial sectors.

Job creation is a significant plus with AD

projects. To provide a ‘clean fuel’ to the

AD plant, food wastes (for example) are to

be separated by hand at source (shopping

centres, restaurants and others). SLR’s

current estimates in South Africa are that

approximately four to six permanent jobs are

created per tonne of waste provided to the

AD plant.

Thermal EfW bankability: Financially viable

mass burn EfW plants are usually large

centralised plants with CAPEX costs in excess

of R1 billion. Financial viability for EfW plants

can be demonstrated where the financials

employ an electrical sales tariff in line with

current Eskom and municipal charges, a

reasonable gate-fee and possible bolstering

with carbon credits, and donor funding. The

latter donor funding is generally accepted by

banks and is arguably the most opportune

catalyst to the financial viability of EfW plants

in South Africa. Recently in South Africa,

commercial organisations are considering

the viability of smaller-scale (<1.0 tph)

decentralised EfW plants, where gasification

and pyrolysis technologies can economically

come into play. Developmental costs for EfW

plants by and large involve:

• a FEED study (Front End Engineering

Design)

• project feasibility studies

• environmental planning and permitting

costs

• detailed emissions studies.

Similar to AD selection, the most important

criterion for technology selection is the

scalability of the plant and the scale of

operations. Additionally, feedstock preparation

requirements and flexibility in potential

feedstock variability are considered.

*Technical director and discipline manager at

SLR Consulting.

Energy from waste is an attractive concept for South Africa and although the advantages may appear ubiquitous, fi nancial duty presents a wakeup call to the waste and energy industries. by Lindsay Strachan*

EFW TECHNOLOGIES VIABLE BUT TOUGH

Energy-strapped SA

FIGURE 1: Waste hierarchy


MINE WATER BALANCE

Engineers and investors alike are increasing their risk margins to incorporate the risk of climate change, where the potential change in rainfall patterns and events could be more threatening to project viability and sustainability. by Peter Shepherd*

Air pollution /CDM

Project risk rising with climate change uncertainties

As part of a pre-feasibility study for a

mine (a new mine or an existing mine

that is being expanded) there is a

risk portion included in the capital portion of

the feasibility study to encompass areas that

may need additional capital. Typical capital

risk portions in a prefeasibility study could

be the inclusion of a liner under a tailings

dam because of the unknown potential for

seepage under the tailings dam. All aspects of

planning and implementation must be taken

into account when assessing the financial

risk faced by any new mining operation or

expansion project, and climate change has

definitely been introducing more uncertainty

into future scenarios for these projects.

In South Africa, for instance, climate change could make the eastern parts of the country significantly wetter and

western regions drier, according to studies by researchers TG Lumsden and RE Shulze. They predict that in the eastern areas of the country, mines will experience a disproportionate increase in the amount of water that is spilled into the environment. On the other hand, mines in the western parts will need to manage their water supply with greater care.Using the Lumsden and Shulze research, SRK scientists, Phillip Hull and

Hediyih Ghassai, predicted that a 40% increase in rainfall could more than double the amount of contaminated water spilled by a mine into the environment.

The risk of spillage is directly related to the rainfall expectations for a particular area – and not just the amount of rain, but also the way in which the rain falls. Looking into the future, we are anticipating that the intensity of precipitation in a particular area could be more intense meaning that the same amount of rainfall

could fall in a much shorter period. This has implications for the amount of run-off that a mine site will need to deal with and could mean that additional stormwater controls that are much bigger than under present conditions will need to be constructed and additional equipment may be needed to manage the silt that flows from the mine site.

BaselineGreenfield projects need data to be gathered over the entire year to incorporate the dry and wet seasons, combined with historical rainfall data, to establish a baseline for how water issues are best incorporated into the design of a new operation. Monitoring systems are put in place to gather primary data over a 12-month period on precipitation, run-off and water quality. The historical data from the various government departments are also collected but usually these records from national water authorities are collected on a regional scale and the local site hydrology and meteology data needs to be collected at the site.

This baseline gives engineers the parameters in which to optimise their designs and make cost-effective proposals to clients about how to manage the various elements of risk. The data collection is relatively small from a hydrological perspective. Clearly, a baseline cannot give a risk-free prediction for what conditions need to be accommodated by site infrastructure, so a risk margin is then built into the future scenarios that need to be considered.

A risk workshop – held with the client – is a good forum for considering the cost implications of the various risk scenarios, and for deciding on strategies that are

Will the flow in this river still be able to sustain a mine with sufficient water if the area becomes drier?


Air pollution /CDM

cost-effective while adequately mitigating against any mission-critical failures.

The new unknownThis is where climate change has emerged as a factor that consulting engineers need to flag to clients as a further uncertainty. Given the evidence of changing weather patterns in various parts of the world, we can no longer assume that our baseline reflects a static picture that can be relied upon in the short- to medium-term future.

So we need to ask questions like: • What if rainfall intensity increases –

how much bigger will we need to build our stormwater controls?

• What if rainfall increases – how much bigger will we need to build our dirty water containment facilities?

• Will the yield from our water storage facilities still be sufficient to adequately supply the mine with water if there is a significantly drier period of rainfall than the historical dataset?

• Will an increase in rainfall increase the excess water that the mines will need to deal with?

The risks posed by these uncertainties might be operational, environmental or reputational, but they all affect the sustainability of the operation and therefore need careful consideration in advance of final design and imple-mentation decisions. At an operational level, a relatively small shift in the intensity and length of a downpour could lead to the flooding of an open pit, leading to cessation of mining operations and possible damage to in-pit facilities. If such a precipitation event can be built into the risk profile, however, then the appropriate design could accommodate this.

A relatively simple up-front design solution such as increased pipe diameter and pump capacity could be proposed with only minor impact on the capital expenditure incurred. The solution, even if more expensive, would certainly be substantially less costly than trying to introduce these specifications on an already-operating site experiencing extraordinary precipitation levels.

Regulating impactThere is hardly a country that has not tightened up its environmental laws in recent years, and mines have in many instances been pioneers in mitigating and avoiding environmental impact. The area

remains a significant risk for developers and managers, however, especially as climate change threatens to ‘move the goalposts’. In areas that are likely to experience less rainfall going forward, better reuse strategies will be required to manage the on-mine water balance. Continued improvement is required in the design and implementation of ways to keep dirty water within the mine boundary, and to limit the amount of clean water that mines procure from municipal or other sources. In South

Africa, the Water Act of 1998 has also forced mines to focus on floodlines on or near their properties; in the context of climate change, mines also need to proactively anticipate more frequent flood occurrences, which may even exceed previous record levels.

Reputational riskAny negative impact on surrounding communities is a risk to the reputation of the owners and financiers of a project. Flooding of Return Water Dams is a particular risk in this regard; here in South Africa, it is strictly enforced by the Department of Water Affairs Dam Safety Office. A new dam safety regulation has been promulgated in South Africa that now requires dams to be classified in terms of the size as well as its hazard potential. From a mining perspective all polluted water dams will need to apply for the services of an Approved Professional Person to do the design as well as apply for a licence. Many of the documents that the regulation requires are being prepared by the mines such as design reports (details of dam, hydrology, structural, hydraulic components) plus a flood handling procedure, engineering drawings (locality, layout sections) and dam safety aspects (if inundation of development may occur). The impact of hydrology on the dams is an important aspect for the design of these dams.

Increased daytime temperatures associated with climate change also bring their own risks to the efficient running of a mine and its plant. As mines

pursue water-conserving technologies that rely on reuse of stored water, there may be a higher risk of treatment plants having to deal with more polluted water due to the evaporation increasing the salinity in the water. So the overall impact of climate change on the water risks associated with greenfields and brownfields mining projects is undoubtedly adding more risk – and hence more cost – to the planning and building of new mines and their infrastructure.

But equally, the science behind climate change is improving continuously as we make more detailed studies of shifting weather patterns and their impacts around the world. These are all feeding into a growing body of knowledge that will gradually erode some of the uncertainties we currently face in the management of projects’ water risk. The data, of course, will still need to be modelled for the purposes of prediction, and there will always be a variety of modelling methodologies and results to be considered. But the joint endeavours of on-site professionals, contracted consulting engineers, researchers, academics and other stakeholders will keep us at the cutting edge of technologies to manage water in ways that our enterprises and our environment demand.

* ABOUT THE AUTHORPeter Shepherd is a partner, director and principal hydrologist in the SRK Johannesburg office. Having completed his BSc (Honours) in hydrology at the University of Natal, he has been with SRK since 1992. His specialisations include flood lines, dam hydrology, mine water management, river hydrology, water supply, strategic water assessments and flood management.

Given the evidence of changing weather patterns in various parts of the world, we can no longer assume that our baseline reflects a static picture that can be relied upon

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Air pollution /CDM

We live in an era where it is

generally accepted that future

generations may never lay eyes

on many of the species we have taken for

granted in our lifetime. This is why Food &

Trees for Africa’s founder, Jeunesse Park,

gathered a group of concerned individuals

in 1990 to address climate change, with

the realisation that the real environmental

crisis in this country centred on people.

Twenty-two years later, Food & Trees for

Africa (FTFA) sees the effects of climate

change impacting on more people across

the globe. The importance of education and

awareness about environmental issues could

not be more needed and this underpins all

of FTFA’s work. This green work now includes

the distribution of over 4.1 million trees,

the facilitation of thousands of organic food

gardens for the poor, the world-first verified

bamboo carbon offset programme, organic

farm support and training, and the initiation

of the first carbon calculator and mobile site

calculator in South Africa.

World Forestry Day has been celebrated for

over 40 years now – the concept originating

from the 23rd General Assembly of the

European Confederation of Agriculture in

1971. That same year, the United Nations

Food and Agriculture Organisation gave

support to the idea, hoping that it would

raise awareness of the importance of

forests. World Forestry Day stands as

an annual reminder of the importance of

forests and the numerous benefits we gain

from them.“In a world where people know

more yet understand less about natural

resource extraction and what we are doing

to ourselves by destroying the lungs of the

planet, it is unfortunate World Forestry Day

does not happen everyday,” says Lucky

Xaba, FTFA ecopreneur.

African forestsAccording to a paper by Barbara Unmüßig

and Stefan Cramer¹ on climate change in

Africa, African ecosystems and people will be

the major victims of global climate change.

The small amount of carbon dioxide (CO2)

emissions from technical sources contrasts

with the larger net emissions of CO2, which

result from rapid deforestation. This is true

for the twelve densely wooded countries

of equatorial Africa whose corresponding

annual (2005) emissions are estimated at

approximately 1.1 billion tonnes (FAO 2007;

UNDP 2007). The stock of CO2 stored by

African forests amounts to approximately

60 billion tonnes, about as much as that

of all OECD (Organisation for Economic

Cooperation and Development) countries

put together, including densely wooded

members such as Russia and the United

States of America. A higher quantity of

CO2 is only stored in the forests of the

Amazon Basin. The biomass stored in the

forests is decreasing – and therefore the

emission of CO2 from forests is increasing

– a disastrous development for both Africa

and the global climate. Rain forests are

on the one hand a huge storehouse for

atmospheric carbon, while on the other hand

deforestation sets free huge quantities of

CO2. With proper protection of the African

forests, the continent’s emissions would

be compensated for many times over and,

an important contribution to the fixation of

carbon in forests at the global level would

be made.

As deforestation continues at an alarming

rate, FTFA hopes that society will learn

from the mistakes of the past, and future

generations will get to see what our great

forests look like in real life and not just as

pictures in a book. The United Nations’ data

shows that half of the world’s forests were

destroyed in the last century.

¹Download Barbara Unmüßig and Stefan

Cramer’s full paper on http://www.boell.org.

za/web/publications-431.htm

Approximately 50 000 plant and animal species become extinct every year and just over one hectare of forest is cleared every second due to deforestation.

CLIMATE CHANGE LINKED TO DEFORESTATION

Africa’s forests in dire straits

ABOVE AND RIGHT Deforestation – before and after

Rain forests are a huge storehouse for atmospheric carbon, while on the other hand deforestation sets free huge quantities of CO

2


ISO 14001: 2004 CERTIFIED

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Serious about your Risk and the Environment

ISO

14001 : 2004 CE

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EVOLUTION 3

Frogs are a good indicator of pollution.Where you find pollution ...You will not find frogs.

When choosing your service provider,look out for the Environmental Seal Approval.

A member of the

Waste Management

Institute ForA member of theRoad Freight Association

A member of the

Wildlife and EnvironmentSociety of South Africa

‘n lid van die

Afrikaanse HandelsInstituut

Certified by SwissCertification AG


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086 110 1961

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Serious about your Risk and the Environment

ISO

14001 : 2004 CE

RT

IFIE

D

EVOLUTION 3

Frogs are a good indicator of pollution.Where you find pollution ...You will not find frogs.

When choosing your service provider,look out for the Environmental Seal Approval.

A member of the

Waste ManagementInstitute ForA member of the

Road Freight Association

A member of theWildlife and EnvironmentSociety of South Africa

‘n lid van die

Afrikaanse HandelsInstituut

Certified by SwissCertification AG


O LI KOE LHT

303030years

Email: [email protected]

EVOLUTION 4

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EVOLUTION 5

Read the August 2012 Issue of Resource Magazine.


Hazardous waste

Environmentally conscious building

contractors in South Africa can now

enjoy the full benefits of PVC piping

products, following the announcement by

the Green Building Council of South Africa

(GBCSA) in October 2011 that it will remove

the MAT-7 PVC minimisation clause from

its Green Star rating system. The GBCSA

developed the Green Star SA rating tool to

provide the local property industry with an

objective measurement for green buildings,

and to recognise and reward environmental

leadership in the industry. A green building

rating tool sets standards and benchmarks

for green building and enables an objective

assessment to be made as to how ‘green’

a building is. The rating system sets out

a menu of all the green measures that

can be incorporated into a building to

make it green. Points are awarded to a

building according to which measures have

been incorporated and, after appropriate

weighting, a total score is arrived at, which

determines the rating.

The council initially introduced the

clause in 2007 to minimise the use

of PVC products in buildings, due to

environmental concerns regarding the

formulation, manufacturing process and end-

of-life disposal of PVC products. Following

negotiations with the South African Vinyls

Association (SAVA), the GBCSA agreed to

adopt recommendations to remove the

MAT-7 PVC minimisation credit in its rating

system, provided that PVC manufacturers

adhere to best practice conditions.

Initially, a PVC expert reference panel

(ERP) was formed, which acted as an

advisory group to the GBCSA and assisted

with technical matters on domestic and

international best environmental practice

initiatives related to the manufacture, use

and end-of-life of PVC building products.

In particular, the panel advised on the

applicability of the revised Australian Green

Star PVC credit to the South African context.

Commitment from SAVAThe 24 members of SAVA have committed

themselves to the responsible and

sustainable use of

PVC with the signing

of the industry’s

Product Stewardship

Programme (PSP) at

the association’s AGM

earlier this year. “Our

Product Stewardship

Programme is a

series of achievable

commitments that address the industry’s

environmental issues and forms the

cornerstones of the association’s focus and

activities,” explains Delanie Bezuidenhout,

CEO of SAVA. “PVC has, in recent years,

received a bad rap from environmentalists,

the public and the media who are, in many

cases, unaware of the hard work being done

behind the scenes to ensure that vinyls are

environmentally safe and sustainable.”

The association therefore aims to raise

awareness of the good qualities of PVC by

assisting its members, relevant authorities

and experts to understand, characterise

and address product stewardship issues

associated with the life cycle of PVC products.

SAVA is ideally positioned within the local

plastics industry and has representation

on the Recovery Action Group (RAG), the

Packaging Council of South Africa (PACSA)

and the Plastics SA Sustainability Council.

Pipe industry welcomes changeDPI Plastics product manager for pressure

pipe systems, Renier Snyman, says that

the MAT-7 minimisation clause impacted

negatively on plastics sales, as contractors

and architects would avoid the use of

PVC pipes in order to obtain a four or five

star green rating for their building. “In the

past, any projects that used PVC would be

penalised, significantly affecting their rating

in an industry that is becoming increasingly

environment-conscious,” he explains.

GBCSA CEO, Brian Wilkinson, adds:

“In late 2011, the GBCSA completed a

comprehensive credit review process for the

Mat-7 PVC minimisation credit, which is one

out of 69 total credits in the Green Star SA

green building rating system. The GBCSA

Technical Steering Committee resolved to

withdraw the credit after considering the

outcomes of the credit review, which involved

stakeholder engagement through a PVC

Expert Reference Panel and precedents

set by other green building councils

surrounding the treatment of PVC in green

building rating tools.”

Snyman points out that the removal of

the clause now means that the use of PVC

products has a neutral impact on the green

star rating of a building in South Africa. The

neutral rating does, however, only apply to

PVC manufacturers that meet best practice

conditions based on the manufacture and

recycling of the product. Due to its light

weight, high strength, low reactivity and

corrosion resistance, Snyman notes that PVC

is the material best-suited for piping.

After the local PVC industry suffered a huge knock in sales following its bad environmental rap, the Green Building Council of South Africa has offi cially declared that the use of PVC products in eco-friendly projects will no longer be penalised.

MAT-7 PVC MINIMISATION CLAUSE REMOVED

PVC products given the green light

PVC is an excellent choice for applications where energy efficiency ranks high, and where economy, low maintenance, long-term

durability and environmental compatibility are important


HAZARDOUS CHEMICAL SUBSTANCES AND DISEASES

Statistics presented by the Department of Labour at the end of 2011 indicated that hazardous chemical substances are the most common cause of occupational diseases and chemical related incidents in the chemical and metallurgical industries.

Hazardous waste

Understanding environmental health risks in the workplace

Environmental, occupational health,

hygiene and safety involve dealing

with environmental, health and safety

hazards and risk within the micro (work

environment) and macro environments

(communities and external environments)

by applying risk management concepts.

These are regulated in terms of the

National Environmental Management

Act, the Environmental Conservation

Act, the Hazardous Substances Act, the

Health Act, the Occupational Health and

Safety Act 85 of 1993 and incorporated

regulations and standards such as

SANS. Non-compliance to these statutory

requirements can lead to environmental

pollution, accidents, incidents, disabling

injuries and the prevalence of occupational

diseases, which can cost the country

billions in compensation claims a year.

Non-compliance with legislation may

result in prohibition notices (stop work),

contravention notices, penalties and fines.

Health and safety in the workplaceIncreased global awareness of hygiene

in the workplace prompted the formation

of the human impact environmental

testing specialist company, Specialised

Environmental Services. The company is one

of 29 fully accredited Approved Inspectorate

Authority (AIA) companies in Southern Africa,

focusing on people and the impact of the

environment on their health and safety

by ensuring a comprehensive solution for

ensuring employees and clients are exposed

to a healthy and safe environment, compliant

with the Occupational Health and Safety Act

No 85 of 1993, says managing director, Dr

Dave Bernhardi.

Bernhardi says today occupational health and

safety is not only on noise and lights, but the

environment itself. “This is evidenced by the

return of tuberculosis and the advent of swine

and avian flu, as well as diseases such as

legionella, which many have heard about but

don’t understand the implications of. Testing

for hazardous biological agents through swab,


Hazardous waste

air, water sampling and hard surface testing is

becoming important,” he says. The company

also provides an integrated health risk

assessment service for health risks associated

with the exposure to hazardous chemical

substances (HCSs). This assessment forms an

integral part of any employer’s human resource

protection strategy and drives operational

readiness to ensure the health, safety and

well-being of employees.

The risk assessment processIn many companies, the responsibilities for

Environmental Hygiene and Occupational

Health and Safety are segmented, resulting in

a lack of communication and therefore poor

hygiene and safety standards. Specialised

Environmental Services enters into strategic

partnerships with its clients to implement

project management and support at their

sites. Full risk assessments are conducted

by occupational hygienists and environmental

practitioners, and services include: hard

surface swabs, air quality monitoring

(ventilation and gas), water sampling, sound

testing, light testing, solutions consulting,

staff training and education, and the

management of the testing and solution

process. State-of-the- art equipment is used

to conduct assessments and all procedures

undertaken are done as per standard

legislation.

The first logical step is hazard identification

whereby hazards and risks are identified

and anticipated. Secondly, the risks need to

be evaluated by scientifically quantifying the

occupational and environmental hazards and

risks; and thirdly, to decide on the tolerability

of the risks by applying a risk rating, decide

on the effectiveness of current control

measures in place, and also decide on the

appropriate controls for the risk.

On implementation of the mentioned

controls, their efficacy must be monitored

regularly by conducting control measure

efficacy assessments and routine

occupational hygiene monitoring as prescribed

by methods, standards and legislation.

Findings are documented and a report with

recommendations and corrective actions is

presented by the action committee. These

can highlight the need for increased health

and safety in the work environment, to comply

with hygiene standards or to measure up to

ISO requirements. Training and education

ensures knowledge transfer and buy-in

from all employees, from shop-floor level to

senior management.

The ongoing working relationship offers a

cost effective alternative to annual hygiene

surveys and ensures that regular re-evaluation

and monitoring of the corrective procedures

take place. “Companies will be put under

increasing pressure to present accredited

test results when confronted by charges from

consumers, who have becoming increasingly

aware of their rights since the introduction

of the Consumer Protection Act,” Bernhardi

explains. “The Department of Labour is

also aggressively pushing to ensure hygiene

standards are adhered to. Although certain

commercial and industrial sectors will be

under the spotlight, any company employing

staff and providing services to clients or

consumers is liable to maintain health and

safety standards.”

UNDERSTANDING THE REGULATIONS

The Occupational Health and Safety Act Section 8

Establishing, as far as is reasonably practicable, what hazards and risks to the health or safety of persons are attached to any work which is performed, any article or substance which is produced, processed, used, handled, stored or transported, and any plant or machinery which is used in his business, and he shall further establish what precautionary measures should be taken with respect to such work, article, substance, plant or machinery in order to protect the health and safety of persons, and he shall provide the necessary means to apply such precautionary measures.

HCS Regulation 5Assessment of potential exposure:

(1) An employer or self-employed person shall after consultation with the relevant health and safety representative or relevant health and safety committee, cause an immediate assessment to be made and thereafter at intervals not exceeding two years, to determine if any employee may be exposed by any route of intake.

(2) An employer shall inform the relevant health and safety representative or relevant health and safety committee in writing of the arrangements made for the assessment contemplated in sub Regulation (1), give them reasonable time to comment and ensure that the results of the assessment are made available to the relevant representative or committee who may comment thereon.

(3) When making the assessment, the employer or self-employed person shall keep a record of the assessment and take into account such matters as:

(a) the HCS to which an employee may be exposed(b) what effects the HCS may have on an employee(c) where the HCS may be present and in what physical form it is likely to be(d) the route of intake by which and the extent to which an employee can be exposed; and(e) the nature of the work, process and any reasonable deterioration in, or failure of, any

control measures.

Asbestos Regulation 7

(1) An employer or self-employed person shall cause:(a) their undertaking to be assessed within six months after the commencement of these

regulations, and thereafter at intervals not exceeding two years, to determine if any person may be exposed to asbestos

(b) the assessment results contemplated in paragraph (a) to be recorded as required by Regulation 16.

Lead Regulation 6

(1) An employer or self-employed person shall cause:(a) their undertaking to be assessed within six months after the commencement of these

regulations and thereafter at intervals not exceeding two years, to determine if any person may be exposed to lead

(b) their undertaking to be assessed within six months after the commencement of these regulations and thereafter at intervals not exceeding two years, to determine if any person may be exposed to lead.


GLOBAL TRENDS, LNG AND HIGH OIL PRICES

China’s economy eclipsing Japan as the world’s second largest economy has long-lasting impact on global energy production, consumption and prices. These macro changes are not fl eeting but structural, shifting the cyclical rhythm of the global oil and gas market. by Adi Karev*

Hazardous waste

Oil and gas – a balancing act

It used to be sufficient to view global

oil and gas trends in the typical cyclical

rhythms the industry moves in. But,

in the last 5-10 years, significant macro

changes caused spikes in the usual metrics

we evaluate, that is production, consumption

and price. For example, China’s economy

eclipsing Japan as the world’s second largest

economy has long-lasting impact on global

energy production, consumption and prices.

The shift that is occurring is a new balancing

of the geographic flow of petroleum supply

and demand, a balancing of fuel types, and of

the types of players involved. To explain this

balancing trend, here are some examples:

• resurgence of the global LNG trade

• development of unconventional natural gas

• sustainment of high crude prices driving

riskier energy and petroleum (E&P)

investments

• the rising cost of doing business.

Global LNG developments In the early 2000s, about 10 countries

exported liquefied natural gas (LNG), trade

was based on long-term sales agreements

and flowed from producers in South-east

Asia and the Middle East to consumers in

East Asia and Europe. Today LNG is slightly

looking more like a globally traded commodity

with greater spot trading (prices ranging

from $US4 to $US17 (R31.50-R134.30)

per MBTU), new exporters in Latin America

and West Africa, and new importers such as

China and India. In five more years, there

will be more exporters in North America,

Eastern Mediterranean, and East Africa.

And by 2035, LNG could account for 50%

of the international gas trade, increasing

from 26% in 2002. The emergence of new

LNG exporters and importers changes the

dynamic of energy geopolitics. A potential

scenario of Europe buying gas from Israel’s

Leviathan field or from the United States Gulf

Coast, and less from Russia, could change

the supply security in the region. The growth

of LNG also signals a shift in fuel mix as

countries such as the United States, China,

Australia and Japan see a future more reliant

on natural gas than coal in the United States

and China, and nuclear in Japan.

Currently, the tight supply of LNG and high

demand from Japan in the aftermath of

the Fukushima disaster has created a wide

price spread. In 2011, Japan paid as high

as $US18 per MBTU for spot cargoes of

LNG to meet domestic demand, while North

America gas prices remained at around

$US4 per MBTU. According to economics,

the law-of-one-price means global LNG prices

will equalise in the long-term. Though, in the

near-future, we may continue to see a high

price spread considering that ship orders will

be fulfilled around 2015, final investment

decisions for major LNG projects in Australia

will also be made by this time and, post-

2015, we may see significant LNG volumes

exported from North America.

The upward trend of LNG prices creates

opportunities in further developing the

global market. National Oil Companies

(NOCs) and major international players

are forming partnerships in LNG projects,

which include E&P and downstream

infrastructure development. Chinese NOCs

offer much needed cash for expensive

projects, especially in Australia, and in

exchange the NOCs secure future supply

and can potentially play the price arbitrage

opportunity. The price spread, diversified

market of producers and consumers, and

infrastructure development creates conditions

for players to exploit price differences and

divert LNG cargoes to higher-paying buyers.

This development is notable because it

drives innovation in contract clauses, trading

models, and price information sharing, which

are the seeds to grow LNG into a globally

traded commodity.

The global LNG market outlook appears

to be bright, which is good news for sub-

Saharan Africa. Nigeria as a top producer

of LNG will soon be joined by Angola, and

possibly Mozambique and Tanzania, bringing

Angola LNG is on track to deliver its first liquified natural gas exports in 2012

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Just Ask Golder.

Hazardous waste

much-needed production capacity to the market. There are

significant challenges throughout the LNG project lifecycle, first

of which is developing natural gas fields, especially offshore. The

capital intensity of liquefaction infrastructure is compounded by

costs related to labour and regulatory processes.

Unconventional gas Part of the LNG equation is unconventional gas. Shale gas and

coal-bed methane resources make it possible for the United States

and Australia, respectively, to be top LNG exporters by 2020. The

theme of rebalancing is clearly seen in the case of the United

States where the shale gas potential could reverse the country’s

trade flow and make it a net exporter. Indeed, plans have been

approved in the United States Gulf Coast to retrofit LNG import

facilities into exporting ones.

The trend of unconventional gas development is a global one.

Countries that seemed to be destined as net importers of energy

face the prospect of self-sufficiency. Shale gas exploration projects

are occurring in China, India, Poland, Argentina, Germany, and

South Africa. The major impediments to shale gas development

include cost, labour, drilling complexities, and above all, the

controversy surrounding fracking, which has been felt in South

Africa given the government moratorium.

Rising cost of doing business Although capital expenditures and petroleum discoveries are on

the rise, so too are operating costs. One of the main drivers of

increased Opex is higher wages, and this could be a long-term

problem with a perceived shortage of skilled labour. In a recent

survey of petroleum executives conducted by The Economist,

shortage of skilled labour was listed as the second major barrier

to growth. The labour factor is an acute challenge in Canada and

Australia where unconventional exploration is more labour-intensive,

the shortage of skilled workers drives up wage rates, and locations

are remote requiring additional costs. For Australia, the labour

rates are compounded by rising construction costs causing LNG

projects to be delayed and over budget. Ultimately these costs

drive up the price of LNG and may impact the competitiveness of

Australian LNG once other production comes online.

In the same survey, 82% of the petroleum executives agreed

that government regulation has become more important. Increased

regulation also impacts operating costs. Related to government

regulation is the revision of petroleum fiscal policies. High crude

prices amid slumped GDP growth are prompting governments to

re-examine profit-sharing agreements, and governments with new

petroleum sectors are carefully crafting their petroleum policies.

Governments revising such policies struggle to balance increasing

revenue with encouraging investment. Using Brazil as an example,

the government last year amended production-sharing agreements

to mandate a 30% stake for Petrobras on strategic blocks and an

oil outtake for the government. The oil and gas industry in sub-

Saharan Africa, with its long petroleum history and bright future in

offshore and unconventional resources, stands squarely in these

balancing dynamics. Understanding this balancing trend offers

a framework to uncover potential risks, and opportunities for

investments, partnerships and cooperation.

*Global Head, Oil & Gas and Asia Pacific Energy Leader at Deloitte –

article delivered at the Oil and Gas Africa 2012 conference.



The Responsible Packaging Management Association of Southern Africa celebrates ten years of success within the hazardous waste industry. RéSource chats to the association’s executive director and president, Liz Anderson, on its inception and what the next 10 years might hold.

RPMASA feature

A decade of responsible packaging

Q. What is the core function of the RPMASA? A. To be the leading authority in Southern Africa on industrial and chemical packaging, provide information and training to assist organisations with knowledge and tools to be legally compliant, and implement best global practices for sustainable use of resources, protection of people and the environment. The Responsible Packaging Management Association of Southern Africa (RPMASA) is a Section 21 and registered non-profit organisation for everyone involved in the life cycle of industrial and chemical packaging.

Q. When was the RPMASA established and what reason(s) were behind this formation?A. The RPMASA was started by a group of proactive reconditioners who approached me in late 2001 to establish an independent, professional, value chain body to bring together packaging manufacturers, users and reconditioners, to improve cooperation and recovery for

reuse and compliance. It was formally launched in May 2002 as RCMASA – Responsible Container Management Association of Southern Africa to replace the former SADRA – South Africa Drum Re-conditioners – which was formed and run by reconditioners in 1996 but became defunct in 1999. The strategic objectives of the newly formed RCMASA were: • to establish good relations with

international organisations • to adopt the international principles of

responsible packaging management and work with international organisations on best practice and regulations

• to establish codes of practice and national standards

• to establish a national audit and registration scheme to uplift standards and level the playing fields

• to establish training and regional workshops to inform and educate members, users and local authorities

• to work with government on packaging, transport, environmental and waste legislation

• to establish a national collection system for higher recovery to clean for sustainable reuse. Excellent international relations were

quickly established, with the other objectives in place by May 2004.

Q. Who were the founding members? A. The founder members include Adrian Goods, Alan Firmani, Lewis Page-Lee, George Subramoney, Liz Anderson, Chocky Moodley and Derek Cheesman, who is chairman. Other founding members are Ishmael Kunene, Bhizini Kekana, Joseph Malatjiall, Bibi Avivi, Arnand Moodley and Gal Agoustatas.

Q. What have been the RPMASA’s top five achievements?1. Acceptance by international packaging

bodies and assistance to develop the SANS 10406 Standard, Audit Protocol, Training, Southern African Auditor and Training Certification Association Auditor Registration Scheme and Reconditioner Registration Scheme.

2. Approval of application to the United Nations (UN) Committee of Experts for Transport of Dangerous Goods and the Globally Harmonised System (GHS), participation in Geneva meetings and providing information and a wealth of International Expert contacts and network to local Industry.

3. Partnering with eThekwini and working with the street traders for the City Safe drum Policy and provision of new safe “Happy drums” for the poor.

4. RPMASA 2009 and 2011 International Conferences and International Maritime Dangerous Goods and the UN Institute for Training and Research GHS training – bringing knowledge to our country. Looking to the 2013 Conference – we are in planning process with the South African Maritime Safety Authority, and invite companies to contact us to partner, sponsor and exhibit.

5. Providing members the opportunity to participate in Cleaner Production programmes with the National Cleaner Production Centre to improve their operations, save resources and money.

Q. With regard to hazardous packaging, what has been the single worst experience that you have encountered?A. Lack of support and indifference to stewardship and record keeping, especially by large industry for their used packaging resulting in dumping

Liz Anderson


RPMASA feature

and poisoning of children through contaminated drums containing heavy residues being sold to traders:• Durban 1997 – 36 children were

hospitalised after using a white chalky residue from a drum (identified as organophosphate), which they licked to chalk the pavement to play hopscotch – two children died.

• Soweto 2004 – 3 children who drank water from a 25 ℓ drum died a painful death from an acrid chemical residue.Also, unacceptable reconditioner sites

(and practices) used and condoned by large business as well as various spills and accidents caused by use of incorrect or non UN certified packaging for chemicals.

Q. What awareness campaigns are currently being run by the RPMASA?A. Safe Happy drums to improve recovery, reduce pollution and protect poor families and communities.• Safe and proper methods for drum

emptying to reduce waste, save money and reduce burden to reconditioners and recyclers – posters in partnership with KwaZulu-Natal Department of Agriculture, Environmental Affairs and Rural Development.

• Duty of Care – EPR Stewardship by companies to record where their waste packaging goes to and ensure safe collection.

Q. Has the RPMASA been involved with government on any projects? A. Yes, at national, provincial and local level:• Happy drum – eThekwini since 2005• Department of Transport – packaging

and transport standards and regulations since 2002

• Departments of environment, health and agriculture – on safe handling of correct specification packaging to reduce risks to people and environmental pollution

• Department of Environment – Waste Act and regulations, as well as request for Sector Integrated Waste Management Plan for industrial and chemical packaging

• Provincial departments – KwaZulu-Natal, Gauteng, Western Cape and Free State on environmental and waste minimisation and pollution prevention

• Department of Labour – safe handling

of chemicals and packaging and GHS of classification and labeling of chemicals and dangerous products for sale and use, that is, workplace and consumers

• Department of Trade and Industry – Environmental Goods and Services sector for the Industrial Policy Action Plan funding to assist members improve their business and job creation for service providers

• Consumer Protection Act and participation in National Standards and International Mirror Standards through the SABS

• International: UN Committee of Experts for Transportation of Dangerous Goods and GHS as well as input to work groups and through our sister organisations.

Q. Where do you see the association in the next ten years?A. Ideally looking back with satisfaction to see: • industry embracing Responsible

Packaging Management

• manufacturing and service companies compliant and implementing Duty of Care and EPR

• that all large packaging is accounted for and recovered for reuse or responsible recycle/use in a sustainable process.

In reality focusing on: • education – technical and regulatory

through participation in international and national committees

• assisting industry with packaging compliance, cleaner technologies, recovery, reuse and recycling of all packagings

• awareness raising and capacity building for communities and seeing the roll out of Responsible Packaging Management and Happy drum across South Africa, SADC and Africa as well as other developing countries

• audit and registration of organisations processing packaging for legal reuse with chemicals and liquids for safe transportation and reduced risks.

ABOVE: Educating the public on the proper reuse of plastic drumsLEFT: RPMASA’S Pink Drum Campaign


Environmental awareness in industry

has come a long way in the 10 years

that RPMASA (Responsible Packaging

Management Association of Southern Africa)

has been championing an environmentally-

friendly, safe and responsible approach to

packaging, manufacturing, transport and

disposal. It is towards this mission that the

National Cleaner Production Centre of South

Africa (NCPC-SA) has also been working for

the past decade.

Established in 2002, the NCPC-SA is a key

industrial sustainability programme of the

Department of Trade and Industry. It assists

industry in preventing waste at source and

in managing resources more efficiently along

the value delivery chain, utilising resource

efficiency and cleaner production (RECP)

methodologies and services.

RECP has become the preferred strategy

in reconciling the dual needs of economic

growth (through competitiveness) and

environmental protection (through waste

minimisation and efficient resource use).

Examples of RECP practices include

the following:

• improved housekeeping, especially around

material flows and maintenance practices

• process modification that may include

surface coatings and filtration

systems

• product redesign that may include

natural material use

• changes to technology that may

combine operations that reduce

wasteful practices

• input material substitution, for

example, substituting a water-based

ink for a solvent-based one in printing

processes

• on-site recycling, which could mean

the recovery of a nickel-plating

solution using an ion-exchange unit.

The NCPC-SA currently focuses on eight

key industrial sectors, which are: agro-

processing; clothing, textiles, footwear and

leather; chemicals, plastics fabrication,

cosmetics and pharmaceuticals; metals

fabrication, capital and transport equipment;

automotives; pulp and paper; tourism and

hospitality; and green industries, including

waste recycling/remanufacturing. Audits

undertaken in companies in these sectors

over two years yielded potential savings

opportunities of more than R78 million

in terms of energy, water and materials

usage (including waste minimisation), and

process improvements.

The NCPC-SA also manages the Industrial

Energy Efficiency Improvement project,

which was launched in 2010 in response

to the growing need to improve energy

efficiency in South Africa. The objective

is to involve companies to demonstrate

the impact of energy efficiency practices

as a means of increasing profitability.

In addition, the centre contributes to

capacity building in the country through

RECP and energy-related training events

presented by international experts, a

studentship programme and an SMME

accelerator programme.

For more information on the NCPC-SA’s

services and training events as well as

participation opportunities, visit the

following websites: www.ncpc.co.za and

www.iee-sa.co.za.

PREVENTING WASTE, MANAGING RESOURCES

Cleaner production – more than just a noble idea“The NCPC-SA’s network of expertise is invaluable in demonstrating successes and assisting companies in exploring new technologies for waste prevention and reuse,” says Liz Anderson, executive director and president of the RPMASA.

ECONOMIC AND ENVIRONMENTAL BENEFITS OF RECP

Reduced operating costs

Improved environmental solutions

Increased competitive advantage

Improved workplace quality

More economical flows of materials

Productivity improvement

Better compliance with environmental regulations

A more positive public profile

RPMASA feature

roununddd

ticiceses

ee

g

Some members of the NCPC-SA RECP team

Commitment makes the best chemistry.

AFRICA

Congratulations to RPMASA on their 10 year Anniversary!


Representatives from 24 countries,

OTIF, IAEA, ICAO, IMO and the

WHO together with 29 industry

associations attended the 40th United

Nations (UN) session on the transportation

of dangerous goods. Many corresponding

work groups will continue to work to firm

up formal documents for submission and

approval in the June or December 2012

sessions, so as to be included in the 18th

Orange Book revision due in 2013.

Eva Molnar, director, UN Economic

Commission (UNECE) transport division,

addressed committee delegates at the

December 2011 meetings, thanking all,

especially industry, for their continuing

efforts and inputs from experiences and

technology, to improving the safety in

transportation of dangerous goods (TDG)

across all modes.

Molnar informed members that budget

cuts would impact on the UNECE transport

division in the 2012/13 programme budget

but assured that the secretariat of TDG

and Globally Harmonised System (GHS)

sub-committees would not be affected due

the importance of their work, which has

a significant effect on the entire world’s

transport systems, particularly now with the

launch of the Decade of Road Safety: 2011

to 2020. She encouraged countries that are

not yet embracing the UN Model Regulations

to ensure implementation in their national

legislation and for members to promote

implementation. Molnar further encouraged

participation in the Decade of Road Safety

Programmes across the five main regions:

• Asia and the Pacific

• Africa

• Middle East

• North America

• Latin America and the Caribbean

Ed de Jong, chairman of the Explosive

Working Group, reported on inter-session

progress made and difficulties experienced

with some tests including oxidisers. He

advised that he was expecting a large

number of documents especially on tests,

desensitised explosives and explosion

risks of unstable substances for a parallel

explosives work group session in June 2012.

Applications from two new industry

associations were reviewed and accepted

as NGO (non-governmental organisation)

consultative members, namely, the

Dangerous Goods Trainers Association

(DGTA) and the Global Lighting Forum (GLF),

which addresses the growing concerns on

e-waste. The packaging industry was well

represented with several papers addressing

issues such as marking of manufacture

dates on plastic packaging, preconditioning of

plastic packaging and IBCs for compatibility to

vibration tests, GHS classification of corrosion

sensitivity, and regulations for the transport of

uncleaned waste packaging which contained

dangerous goods – all of which could have far

reaching impacts for the packaging industry.

The Responsible Packaging Management

Association of Southern Africa (RPMASA) is

participating in local working groups for the

above, as well as addressing other issues of

importance within the packaging industry, and

all input is welcome.

Other serious concerns arising at the

meetings included:

• harmonisation of transport classification

criteria with GHS classification criteria for

substances and mixtures corrosive to skin

• IBC packaging instruction requirements for

solids that may become liquid

• packaging with capacities exceeding 450 ℓ• large salvage packaging

• proposal to amend and extend the

transitional period for UN portable tanks

• electronic data interchange

• decade of Action for Road Safety.

Items of general interest included:

• report back from lithium batteries working

group, which included proposals on the

transportation of damaged or defective

goods, and the transportation of waste

such as used batteries

• Lithium battery markings

• fumigation warning mark and coolant/

conditioning unit warning mark to prevent

asphyxiation on opening of containers

• light bulbs containing small quantities of

dangerous substances

• classification and packing of asbestos

• ‘Torch’ cigarette lighters that contain

lithium batteries.

Until the regulations and laws are strictly adhered to, packaging and transport of dangerous goods will continue to rank as important agendas on the global ‘safety list’.

OVERVIEW AND INDUSTRY CONCERNS

40th UN session on dangerous goods

Many corresponding work groups will continue to work to firm up formal documents for submission and approval in the June or December 2012 sessions

RPMASA feature


SHARPS DISPOSAL PRACTICES

Medical waste

Case study of diabetic patients using insulinWentworth Hospital is a district-level hospital in Durban that sees almost 12 000 outpatients per month. The hospital pharmacy dispenses about 5 000 insulin pensets monthly, each with a needle, to patients. There is no record of any sharps being returned to the hospital for disposal. by D Govender and A Ross

Insulin-dependent diabetic patients are

not educated on safe sharps disposal

methods, leading to unsafe disposal

of needles. Appropriate education on the

correct disposal of sharps should be an

integral part of their diabetic counseling.

Patients should be advised to either discard

sharps into puncture-resistant containers

placed into their household refuse, or return

them in secure containers for disposal by

the dispensing institutions. Patients should

also be educated regarding health risks

associated with used needles.

We investigated current methods of sharps

disposal by diabetic patients attending

Wentworth Hospital’s (WWH) outpatient

department (OPD), to compare these

practices with the education received by

patients about correct sharps disposal, and

to make recommendations regarding the safe

disposal of sharps by diabetic patients.

MethodsThe study at WWH included insulin-dependent

diabetic patients over the age of 18 attending

WWH OPD who consented to participate. In

consultation with a biostatistician, a sample

of 132 diabetic patients using insulin was

chosen. The sample size was based on the

assumption that the population prevalence of

incorrect needle disposal was 90% and was

calculated to give a precision level of 5%. To

ensure representation of all the racial groups

treated at WWH, the sample was stratified

into 45 Indian, 44 Black, 36 Coloured and

7 White patients. The study took place from

October to December 2010. Questionnaires

on current practices regarding insulin needle

disposal and on education received regarding

sharps disposal were administered to each

participant by the principal investigator. Data

was entered onto an Excel spreadsheet and

the SPSS computer software package used

to analyse the data. Factors associated

with correct disposal methods were

analysed using Pearson’s chi-square tests.

A p-value of <0.05 was considered to be

statistically significant.

ResultsThe ages of the study population ranged from

18 to 86 years; most had type 2 diabetes;

29% were male and 71% female; 4 (3%)

were younger than 25 years, 3 (2.2%) were

between 25 and 39 years old, 64 (48%)

were between 40 and 59 years old, and

62 (46.2%) were over 60 years old. Nine

patients had received no formal education;

31 had only attended primary school, 84

attended secondary school, and 8 had

tertiary education.

Each month, 850 needles were generated

by the 132 patients. Needles were reused

2 to 20 times by patients; 117 (88%)

patients disposed of used needles directly

into their household rubbish bins, 8 (6%)

flushed used needles down the toilet into

the sewage system and 4 (3%) used other

methods such as burying the needles. Only

3 (2.2%) patients returned their needles in

puncture-resistant containers to the hospital

for disposal. No associations were found

between race, gender, education levels and

correct disposal of used sharps. Forty-six

(35%) patients were aware of the potential

health risks associated with injury caused by

the incorrect disposal of used needles.

Of the participants, 91% (120/132) had

received diabetic education and counseling

regarding insulin use, storage and adminis-

tration; 68% (89) rated the diabetic education

as good, 22.7% rated it average and 9.7%

as poor. Despite the positive response to

the education provided on use and storage

of insulin, only 5 (3.8%) patients stated that

they had received education and counseling

regarding correct methods of sharps disposal.

All three patients who were correctly disposing

of their needles had been educated about

how to do so. There was a highly significant

association between education received by

patients and correct needle disposal methods

(p<0.001). Of the five who were educated

in disposal, 60% correctly disposed of the

needles whereas, of the 127 who were not

educated in disposal, none correctly disposed

of the needles.

DiscussionThe race groups recruited for the study are

representative of the patient population with

diabetes seen at WWH. The data showed

that over 97% of the study population

discarded their sharps inappropriately.

No recent studies were found on safe

disposal of sharps by diabetic patients.

However, our findings are consistent with

studies in the early 1990s in Europe and the

United States of America, highlighting the

fact that needle disposal is a global problem

in the developed and developing world.


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Medical waste

The large number of patients who dispose

of their needles incorrectly is of concern.

The National Environmental Management

Act of 1998 states that the duty of care

principle requires the generator of hazardous

waste, under all circumstances, to carry

the responsibility of the ultimate fate of

the generated waste. Patients, healthcare

workers or healthcare facilities could be

liable for costs associated with treating

garbage collectors who can prove that they

were infected from contaminated needles.

This serious issue requires urgent attention

from health professionals, who have a

responsibility to provide information to

patients about safe disposal of needles. It is

disappointing to note that since 2009, when

disposal of needles and other hazardous

material was identified as a serious issue at

the Health Care Summit, more emphasis has

not been placed on safe needle disposal.

Despite much work on needle-free products

for the administration of insulin, progress

has been slow and inconsistent, and no

significant needle-free alternative method

of insulin administration is available. As

needles will continue to be part of diabetic

care by all patients requiring insulin for

some time to come in South Africa and other

countries, their safe disposal must therefore

form an integral part of diabetic education.

Although this study’s numbers are small

and the results must be treated with caution,

they suggest that appropriate education

and knowledge on sharps disposal is the

most important determining factor in correct

disposal methods.

Published with permission from the South

African Medical Journal: Vol 102, No. 3 (2012)

SHARPS CONTAMINATION – THE FACTS

Diabetes is conservatively estimated to occur in 4 million South Africans; all type 1 and up to 40% of type 2 diabetic patients require insulin therapy.

Used sharps are a biomedical hazard as incorrect disposal could lead to needle-stick injuries (NSIs), posing the risk of contracting HIV, hepatitis B or C, and other blood-borne diseases.

An individual not protected by prior hepatitis vaccination who sustains an NSI from a needle used by an individual testing positive for hepatitis B surface antigen has a 6 to 30% chance of infection by the virus.

Sharps disposal is a problem in South Africa because of accidental NSI to garbage removers or other persons handling domestic waste.

The 2009 Health Care Waste Summit recognised the problems with sharps disposal in South Africa. The safe disposal of needles and lancets used by insulin-dependent diabetic patients is not only a problem in South Africa; in 1989, 109 NSIs were formally reported by garbage collectors in the Atlanta (United States) metropolitan area, and other studies in Atlanta and European countries have highlighted the problem of incorrect sharps disposal practices by patients at home.


IMPROVING ACCESS TO CLEAN WATER

South Africa is one of the many countries faced with the serious issues of water scarcity and the high cost of potable water. Research has shown that by using rainwater tanks, the need for expensive systems such as recycled wastewater can be delayed.


Two rainwater harvesting projects revealed

According to authorities and research

organisations in Australia, by using

rainwater tanks for non-potable

applications, the need for expensive

systems such as desalination and recycled

wastewater can be delayed. In leveraging

this, many developers and municipalities are

changing legislations and building codes to

require the installation of rainwater tanks for

toilet flushing, irrigation and laundry uses.

Rocla Southern Africa, in collaboration with

Rocla Australia, launched the Rocla ecoRain

and ecoRain plus water harvesting systems

in a bid to encourage rainwater harvesting,

retention and re-usage. According to Justin

Kretzmer, sales engineer at Rocla, South

Africa is one of the many countries today

faced with water problems, including the

high cost of potable water to consumers.

“In Australia there has been a shift towards

water sustainable cities and integrated

watercycle management. These systems aim

to conserve potable supply by implementing

the rainwater capture and re-use aspects of

water sensitive urban design,” he explains.

With South Africa facing sanitation and

water challenges, the ecoRain system, that

is designed to capture clean rainwater, which

is then stored underground for further use,

is a step in the right direction. As the source

and quality of any captured water cannot be

assured, this system is intended to deliver

stored rainwater for non-potable applications,

helping to save costs and address some

sanitation challenges, while conserving

potable water.

How the system works“The captured water is conveyed through

numerous roof gutter down-pipes to the

ecoRain filter, which removes all debris

and waste greater than 0.5 mm diameter

in particle size. Only clean water is then

transferred to the system’s concrete tank,

while coarse litter is continuously removed

from the filter and discharged through the

overflow to the stormwater drainage system,”

Kretzmer describes.

Since the tank is installed underground,

it will not take up valuable land and the

load-bearing capacity allows it to be located

almost anywhere on site. While common

rainwater harvesting systems are in plastic

form and traditionally placed above ground

exposing the tank to heat and sunlight, these

underground concrete tanks are an ideal

method of storing water, proving an almost

germ-free environment away from light and

heat. “Concrete cisterns are strong, durable,

last indefinitely and help to neutralise

rainwater,” he adds. The concrete tank

capacities range from 3 000 ℓ up to over



1 000 000ℓ, and the harvested water can

be used for everyday applications such as

toilets, laundry, car washing and irrigation.

The RAIN project In a bid to preserve every drop of water,

the Replenish Africa Initiative (RAIN) Water

for Schools, aims to improve access to

clean water for over 2 million Africans by

2015 through a $US30 million (R228.83

million) investment in programmes such

as the one at Homba Primary School in

Khayelitsha, Cape Town. Working together

with government, Coca-Cola South Africa is

providing schools in disadvantaged areas

across the country with basic water and

sanitation infrastructure such as working

toilets and urinals, taps with drinking water

in and around the school area, drainage

systems and new basins and taps.

The infrastructure upgrades implemented in

schools varies according to individual needs

as assessed by the Department of Basic

Education.“We started the RAIN Water for

Schools project in 2010, with nine schools

as our legacy project for the 2010 FIFA World

Cup,” says Sammy Mohlaoli, senior manager

of Community Affairs at Coca-Cola South

Africa. “Since then we have identified a total

of 100 schools in all nine provinces of the

country that are in dire need of basic water

and sanitation.”

The lack of running water presents an

obvious set of challenges, in particular,

health risks. The project is a three-year

initiative that will be funded and implemented

by The Coca-Cola Africa Foundation

working with a number of co-finance and

implementing partners, including the Global

Environment and Technical Foundation,

Re-Solve Consulting, the Mvula Trust and the

South African Department of Education.

In line with this year’s World Water Day

theme, which focused on water and food

security, and as part of the Homba Primary

RAIN Water for Schools project, rain water

is collected by the school and used to water

a vegetable garden, which is maintained

by women from the local community. The

produce grown in this garden is sold,

providing economic empowerment for

the women.

BELOW Learners from Homba Primary School in Khayelitsha can now enjoy cool water between classes thanks to the RAIN Water for Schools project. Homba Primary is one of a growing number of schools that has benefited from the project in South Africa

RIGHT An underground concrete storage tank of Rocla’s ecoRain system

The captured water is conveyed through numerous roof gutter down-pipes to the filter, which removes all debris and waste greater than 0.5 mm in particle size

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REDUCING YOUR TRUCK’S FOOTPRINT

With today’s increasing focus on waste footprint reduction, proper route optimisation provides a substantial opportunity for waste collection companies to reduce their footprint in kilometres travelled, fuel used, vehicle maintenance costs and labour cost. by Terry Daley* and Matthew McCarthy**

Waste equipment

Rebalancing residential collections

While normal city council terrain may be relatively flat, population densities can vary considerably

with satellite pockets of suburb shopping centre clusters, dispersed along main road arteries from rural fringes into denser city dwellings. Differing terrain divided by geographic features such as rivers, mountains, rail lines or main roads and the variable distance of run areas from depots to and from nearest disposal sites on different days of service means widely different sets of time and workload capacity go into the balancing mix for route optimisation. This case study shows how Townsville City Council, Australia, went about capturing bin lift data automatically for balancing and reducing travel and time across disparate population density areas and different waste streams.

Merging of council runsThis project started with the merging of two separate councils’ waste services into

one consolidated council, which resulted in the need to re-balance residential collection areas within days of service boundaries. There was no packaged software that we could find available at the time, so the resulting innovative approach was developed as an iterative method of applying available technology to assist with the computerised mapping analysis in a study of how travel, time and workload could be optimised and balanced across disparate population density areas and different waste streams using actual presentation (lifts) from onboard automated data capture.

This real-world review project involved the use of cadastral map data that served as a background for plotting the dots of where different residential services (bins) were located and then overlaying data from GPS devices that could automatically capture actual travel data and each bin-lift arm movement. This enabled review of actual travel time, distance and number of lifts (real presentation rates) against number of potential property services on the map. We were then able to project the likely travel time, collection (lifting) time and distance in these areas bound by

different trucks capacities and diversions to nearest disposal sites.

Project objectivesThe project in Townsville started with the following objectives:• to review and equalise existing

collection runs from the amalgamated councils

• to resolve the large disparity in the time vehicles are operating daily (some operators finishing early and some being paid overtime)

• to optimise small teams by geographic area under the control of a leading hand

• disruption to commercial and domestic collection days must be kept to a minimum

• incorporate capacity for growth in developing areas

• drivers and supervisors to be involved in design/testing process

• produce revised run areas in electronic and printed format.

Residential route optimisationThis is usually the most technology neglected segment of the wasteindustry and could well do with a

BELOW LEFFT The Strand and tourist beach swimming areaBELOW RIGHT Townsville featuring Castle Hill and the boat harbour


Waste equipment

major make-over. Too many council waste collection companies sit back and accept the timeworn path their drivers weave.

Planning relies on old driver road knowledge and out-dated yellow-marked wall-maps and the experience and intuition of depot managers, rather than on any empirical calculations or projections based on readily available hard data.

Manual planning approaches have been using figure eights (8s) or ever-diminishing circles or flower patterns for gated-property-estates under an iterative trial and error approach to gauge any impact on total kilometres travelled. Yet variable terrain factors can make this difficult.

Major express ways also act as geographic dividers with restricted access and egress points and city centre peak

traffic times add occasional traffic snarls as they slow travel times to parking-lot speeds after accidents hem in trapped trash transporters.

Geographic Information System (GIS) is a key enabling technology combined with new on-board, automated data gathering devices (GPS) for giving visibility to management on current travel times and distance.

Data required for route optimisationStart by gathering what you are doing now. A typical list of the data you will most likely need to pull together for a residential mapping route optimisation project is as follows:GIS geographical map data• street map centre lines and ability to

section these into cross streets• street map network and any road

section restrictions• speed limits, maximum weight

restrictions, one way sections, turn limitations

• time restrictions – noise restriction hours, school zones, traffic time restrictions

• house numbers alongside of street sections or cadastre property boundaries

• size of properties and property type for example parks, industrial estates, apartments, high rise buildings).

Ratepayer data• ratepayer addresses and property

classifications (these address records can be used with a lot number to cross-check for correct spelling and suburb classification and valid house number ranges against the mapping data)

• Townsville is a coastal city in Queensland (Australia) with a population of 170 000 residents, and has a major port for the export of mining materials as well as a large military air force defence base.

• Townsville Waste Services has a staff of 82 for covering waste collection, transport and disposal using 19 side lift vehicles, three overhead lift trucks, three rear-loaders and one hook-lift truck and there are two landfills servicing the area.

• There are approximately 18 000 wheelie bins, 12 000 waste bins and 6 000 recycling bins collected each day as well as some 200 bulk bins and 150 litter bins emptied per day.

• the number and type (size) of bins allocated to properties (either by property type or individually)

• special properties classifications (for example infirm or walk-in servicing required) – this has an impact on how many bins are likely to be at which properties (often this can be extracted from combinations of ratepayer service records linked to lot numbers).

Other useful statistics and data• projected population growth by suburb expected over life

of contract• the waste streams involved per bin type and average

weight/volume per stream/bin size • likely presentation rates for each waste stream/service type• depot locations and which vehicles work from what depots• fuel locations and truck range between fuel stops• the number and type of available vehicles and their weight

and volume capacity• local labour and operational time limits• how long a typical driver day is expected to be• what driver fatigue rest breaks are required at what

intervals• truck start-up pre-check time allowance (they can’t all get

out the gate at once)• likely truck unload times at landfills• end of shift truck wash and refuel time allowances• landfill or transfer station disposal site addresses for

geographic locations • site operating hours if these are likely to be restrictions.

Challenges facedMain operational challenges• quantifying existing bin collection runs• getting the unions onside• changes to start and finish times/overtime• some drivers fear technology• getting internal departments onside (fleet, IT, GIS).

Geographical challengesWhile in a normal city council the terrain may be relatively flat, population density in areas can still vary considerably. Satellite pockets of suburbs around shopping centre clusters, dispersed along main road arteries from rural fringes don’t tend to follow any regular geometric pattern. Denser city dwelling areas and smaller properties means more lifts per kilometre compared to sparser coastal stretches meaning longer travel for less bins. Also the distance of different run areas away from depots or disposal sites means differing transit times and less available pickup time in a run area if you have more travel time getting to and from the area or to and from the disposal points.

Putting the dots on the mapPlotting residential services within day of service run boundariesGeo-coding is a process that involves translating a street address to a dot on the map. If the address is wrong, the dots can’t be plotted correctly so this process of correcting addresses – although a simple task, it can be very time

Waste equipment



Waste equipment

consuming. Geo-coding utilises property and street centreline data. Property geo-coding should provide a match rate better than 95%, but relies on up-to-date cadastre (geo reference property data layers). Data quality is usually not an issue where you can use a single property identifier field (a second property identifier such as lot plan may also be utilised during geo-coding). Adequate data currency might require a property table update periodically for high growth areas.

For properties which don’t match to property identifier, a street address geo-code is attempted. This attempts exact address, street name only, suburb and finally postcode matching.

Geo-coding processes are usually able to match based on aliases for street type and to correct for ‘vanity’ suburb allocation (not likely to be an issue with rateable property addresses). New subdivisions with no property or address information may not match with either geo-coding method.

Drawing route boundaries Drawing route boundaries with modern GIS mapping systems is also an easy process – as simple as clicking lines on a map – and you can often scan in a picture of your old paper maps to use as an underlying guideline or look at aerial photos or satellite views to check property features so you know lines are in the right place. This is where we found you could get great driver involvement as they could relate to the picture and aerial views; they also felt important being consulted for advice. This ensures driver buy-in at an early stage.

Check your run area maps Using GPS tracking you can validate where trucks are actually travelling as well as see what actual pick-up vehicles are doing on the run. Simple integration to PTO gear or electronic piezo switches linked to lift arm activation can give you such presentation rate data.

Let the computer do the countingThe next step is to get the computer to count the dots within the day of service plots. This helps to summarise key statistics like kilometres in each collection area and number of lifts or bins in the area. Once you have these

counts summed up based on the number of services within the run boundary, you can go back to moving the boundaries and have the computer count up the bins within the borders.

Multi-vehicle route planningOur experience from this project found that the trickiest technical processes to master were what the mapping gurus called Multi-Vehicle Capacitated Route Planning (MVCRP) algorithms.

These took into account the wide range of factors from depot start times, shift duration limits, driver vehicle checks, service point locations, disposal tip locations, vehicle capacities, ideal shift lengths, vehicle refuelling time, truck wash times and lift rates by area type (city, urban, rural), and were used in formulae to suggest how to break a day of service area up into roughly equal workloads in time, travel and number of lifts for the nominated truck capacity (multi-vehicle capacitated planning).

In simple terms, this means the computer mapping technology can help to auto-divide a designated day of service area into even workloads for the number

of trucks you have within nominated lift, time and volume or tonnage capacities.

All that then needs to be done is to road-test the result and override with manual boundary adjustments where necessary. For this again you can use live GPS data to validate assumptions made in optimising factors.

Side of street route optimisingThe next step is to get the computer to suggest which way the trucks should travel within any nominated single truck area to get the least amount of travel. In addition to this, you may also want to add counts for items you want to minimise – such as cross traffic turns or number of reversing points or U-turns – all of which can be occupational health and safety risks to people on the street, as well as to minimise risk of vehicle damage.

ConclusionAt the completion of our project we had achieved the following:

We’d reviewed and equalised existing collection runs from the amalgamated councils. This resolved the large disparity in the length of time vehicles are operating per day, with some operators finishing early and some being paid overtime.

Disruption to collection days were kept to a minimum, with only a need to change collection day of service for some 3 000 residents (this can be one of the most

costly areas and complaints contributors if you have to change people’s habits for getting bins out on the right day of the week). After automated mail-outs to affected residents, there were only 12 calls from the public. Given that we now have a technical mapping data base to do calculations on, it is easy to project and balance service counts factored by population growth projections per year as well as being able to adjust for population migrations from one area of concentration to another. We also managed to streamline commercial collection schedules with site access time restrictions and litter bin collection schedules. Projected cost savings for the year (based on 10% labour and fuel savings) amounted to over US$250 000 (R 1.9 million).

ASPsoftware, Sydney, Australia*

Townsville City Council, Townsville, Australia**

Capturing GPS trail and lift points

Drawing route boundaries with modern GIS mapping systems is also an easy process – as simple as clicking lines on a map


Legal

The Consumer Protection Act (CPA) lays

down general principles, as opposed

to the details provided by the Waste

Act and other laws in this field.

Supply chain – strict liability

One of the main differences between the

CPA and the Waste Act is that in terms of

the CPA, any supplier within the supply chain

can be held liable in full for the negligence

of any of the others in that chain, regardless

of whether that supplier (held liable) is

negligent or not. There does not have to be

a monetary aspect for a supply to be created

in this chain. This is in contrast with the

Waste Act in terms of which the liability is

interrupted when the goods/containers are

handed over to responsible people, such

as those who specialise in waste disposal.

Therefore, theoretically, the initial supplier in

the chain can be held liable in terms of the

CPA for the people poisoned by its drums

that eventually end up on a refuse site.

Know the harmScope of harm suffered in terms of the CPA

Suppliers will only be held liable for harm

suffered by the consumer if the harm

relates to the supply of unsafe goods: a

product failure, defect or hazard in goods,

or insufficient instructions or warnings given

to the consumer relating to any hazard

arising from the use of those goods. But,

as above, negligence is not required to

establish liability.

Types of harm covered by the CPA

The harm for which a supplier can be

held liable includes death or injury of

a consumer; an illness of a consumer;

any loss of, or physical damage to any

property, whether movable or immovable;

The Consumer Protection Act diverges from most other legislation as it benefi ts the consumer more on almost every occasion. On this basis, it is the third most important statute in South Africa, behind the Constitution and the Public Financial Affairs Legislation. by Gavin Gow*

BEWARE THE CONSUMER PROTECTION ACT

The CPA has massive impact on waste management

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Vol 13, No 2, May 2011

Solid waste collection just got a facelift

Promoting integrated resources managgement

Vol 13, No 2, May 2011

Waste generation Vissershok LandfillRising concerns versus economic growth

The effects of poor operation and management

Not just the environment – people matter too!OILKOL

A service delivery issue

Solar power versus coal-based electricity

Less smoke, more mirrors


Vol 13, No 3, August 2011

www.3smedia.co.za ISSN 1680-4902 R35.00 (incl VAT)The official journal of the Institute ofWaste Management of Southern Africa


Vol 13, No 3, August 2011

Privatisation of waste management

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ReSource magazine is dedicated to integrated resources and waste management. It also deals with solid waste and wastewater enviro-legal issues and cleaner production. It is the offi cial publication of the Institute of Waste Management of Southern Africa (IWMSA).

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Legal

as well as any economic loss that results

from the abovementioned harm – that is,

consequential damages. The CPA contains

important definitions of ‘unsafe’, ‘defect’

and ‘hazard’. It is important that suppliers

of chemicals and hazardous substances

familiarise themselves with these definitions

and take reasonable steps to avoid liability

in terms of the Act.

If there are reasonable grounds to believe

that any goods may be unsafe, or that there

is a potential risk to the public of exposure

to those goods, the National Consumer Com-

mission may require the producer undergo an

investigation as to the nature, causes, extent

and degree of the risk to the public and to

carry out a recall programme on any terms

required by the commission. The Act also

deals with the recovery and safe disposal of

designated products or components.

CPA compliance It is important to ensure that all the

suppliers within your supply chain are CPA

compliant. Besides civil liability through

the courts, the CPA imposes a maximum

sanction of 10% of the annual turnover of

the entire group.

Relevant sections of the CPAWith regard to waste disposal, there are

various very serious sections of the CPA

that have to be complied with. Some of

these are:

• Warnings and instructions: warning of risks

for hazardous goods, for example.

• Safety monitoring and recall (industry

codes).

• Recovery and safe disposal.

• Packaging: This should

enable consumers to

understand the goods

supplied to them and

to see what they are

buying. This should avoid

many returns in the first

instance, to which the

consumer is entitled in

terms of the CPA, due to

implied warranty of quality in terms of

the CPA.

• Product labelling: The CPA also sets

standards for product labels and marketing

of goods and services. A supplier must

not apply a trade description to a product

that could mislead a consumer as to

that product. The supplier must not, by

words or conduct, directly or indirectly

imply a false, misleading or deceptive

representation to a consumer in relation to

the marketing of any goods or services.

• Displaying of prices.

Waste management plan for the packaging and paper industry The Waste Management Plan (WMP) for any

industry must comply fully with the CPA.

There are two key components to the plan –

the waste supply chain and the development

of markets – to absorb the extra waste

collected. There is a specific section of the

CPA that states that where the industry and

WMP, or regulations, have provided for a

goods collection facility for specific waste

types, consumers may dispose or deposit

such goods at such facilities.

No exemption clauses are allowed in terms

of which the consumer waives any rights

accruing to them terms of the CPA. Further,

the original supplier cannot delegate any

responsibilities to the end supplier or

anyone else.

*Gavin Gow is an attorney and convey-

ancer with over 30 years of practice

experience. He is director of Gavin

Gow Inc. Attorneys & Conveyancers in

Umhlanga, KwaZulu-Natal.

If there are reasonable grounds to believe that any goods may be unsafe, the National Consumer Commission may require the producer undergo an investigation


FIVE-YEAR INDUSTRY PLAN

Municipal service delivery in terms of domestic household waste collection and disposal currently varies from very poor to good in South African cities and towns. The Institute of Waste Management of Southern Africa (IWMSA) has identifi ed a few key issues, which require resolution over the next fi ve years so that signifi cant progress can be achieved within this critical fi eld.

IWMSA news

Committed to send waste packing

With the new Waste Act (Act 59 of

2008) now in place, as well as a

new National Waste Management

Strategy, new standards for waste collection

have been gazetted for comment, aiming

to provide the necessary levels of service

delivery required for all citizens. IWMSA

president, Stan Jewaskiewitz says: “In

terms of the new Waste Act, all relevant

waste management facilities will need to be

licensed and appoint waste management

officers who will have significant legal

responsibilities with regard to compliance.

These new and improved standards include

providing more stringent requirements for

landfills, while simultaneously reducing and

limiting the amount of waste that arrives

at landfill, especially hazardous industrial

liquid wastes. Many landfill sites are not

presently licensed and of those that are,

some are poorly run or managed, causing a

detrimental impact on the environment and

local communities. Government recognises

that at local government level, there is a

significant lack of capacity and expertise.

To this end they have initiated a number of

interventions such as training and assisting

with the financing of various initiatives, all of

which entail investing funds into training and

capacity building.” Jewaskiewitz continues:

“We at the IWMSA are proud of our

involvement in municipal training workshops

and are delighted to now offer accredited

basic Waste Management training courses.”

The Department of Environmental Affairs

has been running an annual Waste Khoro

for the past two years, aimed at informing

and up-skilling municipalities to meet

the requirements of the new legislation.

However, many municipalities do not

have the necessary skills, capacity or

management experience to run effective

waste collection and disposal systems. They

also do not have any planning processes in

place and as a result do not have sufficient

financial budgets to implement such

systems. Industrial and commercial waste

are therefore generally handled by private

sector waste companies whose service,

while not excellent, is adequate in respect of

both general and hazardous wastes.

According to Jewaskiewitz, companies in

this sector have already begun a process

of looking into and implementing waste

recycling and waste treatment systems

especially for industry and are gearing up

in anticipation of the implementation of the

new standards.

The IWMSA focuses on providing education

and training for its members, as well as

other interested parties, whether private

individuals or government entities. For more

information, visit www.iwmsa.co.za.

INDEX TO ADVERTISERSAfrisam South Africa 40

Amandus Kahl 15

Buckman Laboratories 54

Collect a Can 24

Desco Electronic Recyclers 22

Duncanmec 66

Enviroserv Waste Management 16

Envitech Solutions 31

Gast International IFC

Golder Associates Africa 49

Howden Africa 57

Interwaste 8 & 9

Jan Palm Consulting Engineers 21

Kaytech 20

Mercedes Benz SA OFC

Mills & Otten 35

Mpact Plastic Containers 2

MTM Bodies 64

National Cleaner Production Centre 52

Oilkol 42 - 44

Otto Waste Systems IBC

Pikitup Johannesburg 12

Pilot Crushtec

Plastics SA LI

PTN Parts & Equipment 11

Remade Holdings 26

Rose Foundation 4

SLR Consulting 36

Tetra Pak 28

The Waste Group OBC

Vermeer Equipment Suppliers 65

Worley Parsons 33

12 Tungsten Road, Isando, Gauteng, South Africa • P.O.Box 746, Isando 1600, South Africa Tel:(011) 974-5660 • Fax: (011) 974-5143 • Email:[email protected]

Ottowaste.indd 1 2010/07/05 11:29:45 AM

Call C

entre: 086 12 waste (92783)

Email: m

arketing@w

astegroup.co.za

Web: w

ww

.wastegroup.co.za

Documents

ReSource May 2012