THE South Durban Community Environmental Alliance (SCEA) was quick to react to the news that the City had won an honorary Climate and Clean Air Award. In a media statement shortly after the announcement that the award had been conferred on Durban for its Durban Landfill Conservancies project by the Climate and Clean Air Coalition in Bonn, Germany on Sunday, the alliance’s Desmond D’sa said it was a shame that Durban had been granted the award.
“Durban’s recent history is one of decomposition, with the most sophisticated air quality monitoring equipment in the world that costs over R30 million. These units were installed at a severe cost to taxpayers of Durban and South Africa. Five of the fourteen have been operational while the other nine, due to lack of maintenance are not being used. This sophisticated equipment was providing online raw data on air quality to interested and affected stakeholders,” he said.
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The Durban Landfill Conservancies project is a landfill that reduces emissions of methane, provides safe waste disposal, employs workers from surrounding communities and produces electricity for the local grid. Its landfill gas project was the first in Africa and is still one of the most successful in the world. The project has also provided assistance to several other countries and cities within and outside Africa.
Mayor Zandile Gumede said: “Durban’s recent winning streak is indicative of the world class city that we are. Our officials are experts in the field and our global partnerships and networks mean that there is continuous sharing and learning of best practise. Being bestowed this award, shows that Durban is serious about climate change and cares about the impacts it has on the community. By making changes to the way we operate and by reducing our carbon footprint, we are leading by example and building a new resilient city. By employing and empowering nearby communities the city is not only creating employment but developing an army of green warriors that will spread the message at grassroots level.”
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In Durban methane is extracted from the landfill and used to run generators that produce electricity for the local grid reducing its impact on the climate and providing a cleaner energy source. To date Durban’s landfills have avoided approximately 2.5 million tons of CO2 equivalent emissions. It has also benefitted local air quality by reducing emissions of harmful gases.
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