New compulsory law for all households
The biggest challenge the City of Johannesburg faces is getting people to understand the effect the waste that they dump has on the environment.
The City of Johannesburg is going to roll out a phased approach to separating certain recyclable materials from other waste (separation at source) from 1 July.
The separation of these items at source will become mandatory for households in an effort to reduce pollution and safeguard the environment.
In a statement released on Friday, 8 June, the City of Johannesburg’s Member of the Mayoral Committee for Environment and Infrastructure Services, councillor Nico de Jager, said,“The biggest challenge the City of Johannesburg faces is to change human behaviour and get people to understand how they impact the environment by the way they deal with plastic.”
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Separating recyclable materials such as glass, paper, metals and certain plastics out of the waste stream reduces the amount of waste going to landfills, eases the strain on South Africa’s natural resources, and helps to create employment in both the informal and formalised waste reclamation sectors. Twenty-four co-operatives have been set up and over 1 000 jobs opportunities created, representing a significant contribution to the City of Johannesburg’s job creation targets.
The Managing Director of Pikitup, Lungile Dhlamini, said illegal dumping and littering cost the City about R60 million a year. He went on to say that Pikitup was trying to eradicate illegal dumping spots around Joburg. “We have nearly 2 000 known illegal dumping spots within the City, but between July 2017 and now, we have managed to eradicate 110 of them,” he added.
Pikitup stated that they started with the ‘Separation@Source’ programme in September 2009. The programme has encouraged residents to separate their waste at their homes utilising a ‘three-receptacle model’. In addition to the regular black bin, each household that forms part of the programme is issued with a reusable bag for paper and a clear bag for other types of recyclables. This means that only waste that cannot be recycled ends up in the black bins. Piloted by Pikitup at the Waterval Depot, the programme now covers about 490 000 households.
Nico said that more details of the programme will be communicated soon. “During the initial stages of the roll-out we will conduct education campaigns and issue warning letters to get residents to participate.There are no penalties in place at the moment,” he added.
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