She said the strategy was geared towards moving away from the traditional waste hierarchy whereby 93 percent of waste is disposed at landfill sites towards a new paradigm whereby only 7 percent of waste will be disposed at landfills by 2040.
She said the management of waste disposal was of great concern to both the country and the city. “According to data from the Department of Environmental Affairs, South Africans disposed of 41 683 249 tons of waste in 2013,” she said.
“The city has its own unique challenges in managing the disposal of waste from our homes, schools, office complexes, informal trading centres. Notwithstanding the fact that Johannesburg is the beacon for local and foreign nationals for economic opportunities, this movement of people into the city has added an extra burden on the capacity of our landfill airspace.”
She said there was evidence that landfills, if not managed properly, could be a public health and environmental hazard.
Gases emitted could also result in climate change.
“The presence of waste is an indication of over-consumption and that materials are not being used efficiently. The capacity of the natural environment to absorb and process these materials is also under stress. It cannot be business as usual. We had to look at new ways of managing waste from source until it reaches the landfill sites. I am happy to announce that as the City we have embarked on new interventions to address these new challenges posed by irresponsible disposal of waste,” Clr Mfikoe said.
“The City and Pikitup were partnering with communities and the private sector to address waste management challenges, “she said.
Different waste management streams include raising awareness around recycling through the Separation at Source Programme.
14 000 tons of recycled waste was diverted away from landfills during this financial year.
Though the current participation rate was only 25 percent, CoJ hopes to raise it to 70 percent by 2016.
This will be done through Jozi@Work initiatives. Alternative waste treatment is a project that will use technology to treat residual waste. Pikitup is awaiting delivery of mobile Builders’ Rubble Machinery to tackle the growing problem of rubble disposal. Food waste has also been identified as a growing problem.
Clr Mfikoe reassured residents that services would not be affected during the holidays, except on Christmas Day and New Year’s Eve. “I urge all residents to become active participants in preserving and protecting the environment by applying the basic principles of waste management: reduce, reuse and recycle when disposing waste during the festive period,” she said.
