City of Johannesburg to join Plastic Pact
A key objective of being part of the Plastic Pact is to gain knowledge, cascade best practices and help identify solutions addressing plastic waste challenges.
The City of Johannesburg recently joined the SA Plastic Pact, becoming the second metropolitan municipality after the City of Cape Town to do so.
A key objective of becoming part of the pact is to gain knowledge, cascade best practices and assist in identifying solutions to address plastic waste challenges.
This also means the city will work closely with the private sector to find solutions and innovative ways to deal with plastic waste.
Makhosazana Baker, the director of waste management and regulation in the Department of Environment and Infrastructure Services, said Joburg is running out of pace for landfilling and joining the pact would help to divert plastic waste away from our landfill sites.
“The City of Johannesburg is committed to world-class service delivery for our customers. This includes a clean and healthy environment devoid of plastic pollution. The transition to a job-creating circular economy is at the forefront of our thinking, and being part of the SA Plastics Pact, a hub of collaboration and innovation, is an intuitive next step for us to take,” said Baker.
Pikitup, the city’s waste management entity, provided sorting facilities for co-operatives involved in recycling in all the city’s regions. It provided work tools, storage containers, trucks and trolleys. The city trained the co-operatives on the by-laws and other environmental issues.
The city hopes businesses will help change how plastic products and packaging are designed, used and reused.
Being part of the pact will assist the city in raising awareness and educating residents to ensure plastics are valued and never become waste and end up in landfill sites. They encourage residents to participate in the Separation@Source programme.
Illegal dumping hotspots have increased in and around the city, and most comprise plastic waste. Even our rivers are polluted by plastic, making the water unfit for human consumption and recreation.
The city has reviewed and approved the Waste Management By-laws to incorporate waste minimisation activities. The enforcement of by-laws will be by the Johannesburg Metropolitan Police Department (JMPD), and its officers are being trained on waste management issues.
Pikitup urges residents and businesses to participate in the Separation@Source programme and will continue to provide education and awareness to enhance the programme.
