NATIONAL WASTE MANAGEMENT STRATEGY

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NATIONAL WASTE MANAGEMENT STRATEGY Parliamentar
y Portfolio Committee on Water and Environmental
Affairs 30th May 2012 Dr Dhiraj Rama
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NATIONAL WASTE MANAGEMENT STRATEGY - ACMP comments

• CONTENTS
• Introduction ACMP
• National waste management strategy( NWMS)- an
  overview
• Cleaner production in the context of waste
  management
• Cement Sector Case Study
• Recommendations
• Conclusions

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NWMS Context

• National Environmental Management Act
• National Strategy on sustainable development
• White Paper on Climate change
• Cleaner Production http//www.environment.gov.za
  /projprog/wastemgmt/cleanproduction_pamphlet.htm
• 1999NWMS action plan for Integrated Waste
  Management Planning
• 2000 Clean Town Competitions
  www.environment.gov.za
• 2001 The Polokwane declaration on waste
  management
• The Waste Act
• Interpretation waste definition
  http//www.sawic.org.za/documents/561.pdf
• Current Regulatory framework
• Permits issued under Environmental Conservation
  Act recognised
• Waste from mining and power generation excluded
  form Waste definition GN 1986-24 Aug 1990
• Transitional arrangement recognises this
  exclusion clause

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UNDERSTANNDING HIERARCHY OF WASTE PRINCIPLES
Supporting outcomes of the Waste Act
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NWMS Contextualising Prevention / Minimisation
understanding when a material assumes waste status

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NWMS Contextualising Prevention / Minimisation

• What is Cleaner Production? http//www.environmen
  t.gov.za/projprog/wastemgmt/cleanproduction_pamphl
  et.htm
• It is a continuous application of an integrated
  preventative environmental strategy applied to
  processes, and services to increase
  eco-efficiency and reduce risks to humans and the
  environment
• The focus of CP is on prevention rather than on
  treatment requires a change in process
  management, to
• Reduce excess inputs
• Better utilisation of non-product output ("waste"
  and by-products).
• What are the benefits?
• Reduces ecological damage from raw material
  extraction, refining operations and the risk of
  emissions during processes
• What are the NWMS targets?
• Some examples
• Reduced ecological damage
• Reduction of waste/landfilling
• Utilisation of secondary products
• Energy efficiency optimisation

Objective 1 Promote waste minimisation in the design, composition, and manufacturing of products
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OVERVIEW OF NWMS Table 6 Goals, objectives,
indicators and targets

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Recommendation 1

• Review Goals and targets in the context of
  current status quo

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CEMENT SECTOR A CASE STUDY
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NGO PERSPECTIVE Campaign Guide to the Waste
Framework Directive transposition opportunities
and actions for NGOs. -EEB 
Illustration of factors to take into account in
life cycle analysis (LCA)
EEB is the environmental voice of European
citizens standing for environmental justice,
sustainable development and participatory
democracy They want the EU to ensure all people
a healthy environment and rich biodiversity. 
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INTERNATIONAL PRACTICE

• TRADED AS PRODUCTS AND NOT WASTE
• European Union
• Waste, Byproduct and recovery definition
• Adopted from EU directive
• Appropriate criteria established to inform when a
  substance or object assumes waste status
• Appropriate criteria established to confirm when
  a waste ceases to be waste

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Consequences Waste definition

• Sources of raw materials for cement production
• Mining
• Secondary products from mining/industrial process
• Challenges to sustainable development
• Secondary products from mining/industrial process
  considered as waste in terms of current definition

UNINTENTIONAL CONSEQUENCE CEMENT CLASSIFIED AS WASTE
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OVERVIEW OF NWMS

• Definition of Waste
• DEA has published its intended interpretation of
  the definition of waste and by-product as used in
  the Waste Act to help stakeholders understand the
  Departments intentions.
• BUT
• Still poses a challenge

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WASTE DEFINITION CONSEQUENCES OF
MISINTERPRETATION

Industry Primary Product Co-Products Natural Resource conserved Equivalent Product / Material
Steel GBFS Ore
Electricity Fly Ash Limestone / Pozzolan
Steel Coal Char Low Grade Coal
Electricity Boiler Ash Kaolin / Shale
Ferro Vanadium Magnetite Iron Ore
Gas Purification Synthetic Gypsum Natural Gypsum
Steel Furnace Dust Granules(FDG) Iron Ore
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Recommendation 2

• Remove legislative barriers that are
  counter-productive to implementation of the
  hierarchy of waste principles

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BUILDING THE PILLARS TO ENABLE IMPLEMENTATION OF
NWMS

• The waste definition must allow recognition for
• implementing cleaner production, innovation and
  other EIA approved technologies to confirm end of
  waste status and an improved understanding on
  when a product assumes waste status.
•  
• The ACMP further recommends that the Department
  reconsider the following definitions to enable
  implementation of the waste hierarchy in the
  context of international developments
• Waste
• By product
• Prevention and
• Recovery.
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• The current interpretation of the definition (in
  the interim) should be revised.
• Many countries in the world have agreed sectoral
  interpretations to ensure that there is a sound
  understanding of when a product assumes waste
  status and when a product ceases to be a waste.
• South Africa has embraced the GHS (Global
  harmonizing system) and direction can be sought
  from the global approach to inform the revised
  definition.
• Key criteria that must be included to inform an
  approach (can be adopted form EU for example)
• Substances cease to be a waste when they meet all
  the criteria specified.
• Examples for cement raw materials stated above
  are currently deemed to be a waste in South
  Africa BUT are not managed as waste
  internationally as they meet all the criteria.
• It is abundantly evident that the materials are
  managed through environment best practice and in
  fact have a positive impact as they reduce mining
  of non renewal resources as well as energy
  consumption. Their use also has positive
  mitigating outcomes to GHG emissions.

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INTERNATIONAL APPROACH
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UNDERSTANDING PRODUCT VS WASTE STATUS
Table reflecting examples of valuable resource
supply chain for cement production
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Recommendation 3

•  Amendments to the Waste Act to address
• Waste related definitions
• Proposed additional definitions
• General matters for Regulations

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PROPOSED DEFINITIONS

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• It is recommended that the Waste Act be amended
  as a matter of urgency to along the lines set out
  below
• "waste" means any substance, whether or not that
  substance can be reduced, re-used, recycled and
  recovered-
• (a)for which no-one has further use for the
  purposes of production or
• (c) that must be disposed of or
• (d) that is identified as a waste by the Minister
  by notice in the Gazette, and includes waste
  generated by the mining, medical or other sector,
  but-
•  (i) a by-product is not considered waste
• (ii) any substance that was not classified as
  waste in terms of the ECA retains its non-waste
  status and
• (iii) any portion of waste, once re-used,
  recycled or recovered, ceases to be waste
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• "by-product" means a substance or object,
  resulting from a production process, the primary
  aim of which is not the production of that item,
  may be regarded as not being waste but as being a
  by-product only if the following conditions are
  met
• (a) further use of the substance or object is
  certain
• (b) the substance or object can be used directly
  without any further processing other than normal
  industrial practice
• (c) the substance or object is produced as an
  integral part of a production process and
• (d) further use is lawful, i.e. the substance or
  object fulfils all relevant product,
  environmental and health protection requirements
  for the specific use and will not lead to overall
  adverse environmental or human health impacts
•  
• recovery means any operation the principal
  result of which is waste serving a useful purpose
  by replacing other materials which would
  otherwise have been used to fulfill a particular
  function, or waste being prepared to fulfill that
  function, in the plant or in the wider economy

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ADDITIONAL DEFINITIONS FOR INCLUSION IN THE WASTE
ACT

•   
• prevention means measures taken before a
  substance, material or product has become waste
  that reduce
• the quantity of waste, including through the
  re-use of products or the extension of the life
  span of products
• the adverse impacts of the generated waste on the
  environment and human health or
• the content of harmful substances in materials
  and products
•  
• ready and intended for imminent use Waste will
  remain waste until it can be demonstrated that it
  constitutes a product that is ready and intended
  for imminent use without the need for further
  treatment to prevent any environmental harm.
•  
• co product material generated by a
  manufacturing or production process, or an
  expended material, of a physical character and 
  chemical composition that is consistently
  equivalent to the physical character and chemical
  composition of an intentionally manufactured
  product or produced raw material, if the use of
  the material presents no greater threat of harm
  to human health and the environment than the use
  of the product or raw material  And/or?
• Is this as a result of applied mitigation or
  chemical characters?

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ADDITIONAL ITEM FOR INCLUSION IN CHAPTER
8,GENERAL MATTERS, PART 1 REGULATIONS
  69. (1) The Minister may make regulations
regarding (a) a waste protocol that confirms an
end of waste status for materials, objects or
substances that have a beneficial use.  
International harmonisation The Department take note of the European definition of waste and related products as it has been subjected to a robust public participation process as well as subsequent court actions.
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CONSEQUENCES OF NOT AMENDING THE
DEFINITIONINFRASTRUCTURE END OF WASTE STATUS
COMPROMISED
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CONSEQUENCES OF NOT AMENDING THE DEFINITION

•  Unforeseen negative consequences to
• Green economy strategy
• Construction All concrete products are rendered
  as waste buildings, dams, roads, etc
• Agriculture Many products currently deemed as
  waste and hence application of these substances
  to agricultural land deemed to be waste receptors
  and hence the land can be considered a waste site
• Mining
• Discourage use of products classified as waste
  resulting in increased use of non-renewable
  resources (eg. Coal combustion products replacing
  shale and clinker in cement)
• Many Coal combustion products can be used
  effectively to remediate old mines, but this is
  now considered as depositing waste in mines
• Possible constraints to
• Beneficiation strategy
• Industrial policy and action plan
• Job creation
• Innovation as the current definitions allow for
  only recycling and recovery processes to
  influence the status of waste
• Biofuel strategy

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CONSEQUENCES OF AMENDING THE WASTE ACT

•  Align to International Environmental best
  practice
• Adopt the Global harmonizing system
• Harmonization of international trade
• Avoid regulatory administrative barriers without
  compromising already existing environmental
  regulatory obligations.
• Retaining these substances as waste will not
  render a different approach to management
  thereof. The current EIA regulations suffice to
  ensure management of these substances both in
  terms of protecting the environment as well as
  managing our non-renewable natural resources.
• Retaining these substances as waste cannot be
  justified and adds no value in both terms of
• Environmental protection and/or improvement of
  the environment, or
• Sustainable development.
• Barrier to the efficient implementation of
  various national programmes. Examples
• Industrial policy and action plan (IPAP)
• Green economy
• Biodiesel strategy
• Climate change strategy
• Sustainable development strategy
• Transboundary movement as product in line with
  International practice

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CONCLUSION

• The Department of Environment consider
  amendments to the Waste Act to ensure guidance
  to
• when a substance assumes waste status and
  conversely
• When a substance ceases to be a waste
• In the interim, the interpretation of the
  definition of waste and by products be revised
  sectorally to allow for sustainable use of
  secondary products.
• Consider a sectoral approach to fast track
  implementation in terms of the hierarchy of waste
  principles
• The purpose of amendments is not to avoid
  regulating these products
• The EIA regulatory framework is adequate to
  manage these substances
• Classifying the substances as waste will not add
  value but will merely add administrative burden
  without any positive impact to the environment.
• In the case of cement sector, all products comply
  with SABS/EU specifications

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Thank you!