South Africa

Context

Statistics such as gross domestic product (GDP) and per capita income suggest that South Africa is a middle-income or emerging economy but this view hides the inequalities that, for many, define the country. Instead, South Africa may best be considered as part of both the developed and developing world simultaneously, and this perspective is particularly appropriate when considering South Africa's waste. Here, as is typical in developing countries, one can find people whose livelihoods come from the use and sale of materials collected on landfills or from waste bins, called “waste pickers.” At the same time, the signs of conspicuous consumption are evident in large quantities of packaging waste, food waste, and goods tossed out because they are replaced by the latest fashion. The types of mining, industrial, agricultural, hazardous, and nuclear waste suggest an active, industrialized economy, while human waste—feces and urine from large impoverished settlements lacking adequate sanitation—are a major concern in water treatment. Efforts to manage waste are faced not only with the challenges resulting from scarcity and surfeit but also the opportunities that this juxtaposition provides, such as economically viable, laborintensive recycling. Similarly, the South African [Page 842]environmental movement contains two historically distinct streams: green advocates concerned with conservation, and anti-apartheid struggle activists concerned with human rights and environmental health, or so-called brown issues. While these movements are increasingly merging, their separate histories and priorities are evident.

Taking in the view from Table Mountain in Cape Town, which is thought to be the most green South African city. Its WasteWise program implements a national policy of minimization that is well regarded for its positive impacts.

Waste Management and Statistics

Municipalities are responsible for the collection of domestic waste, and the success of these efforts varies significantly across the country and within municipalities. Cape Town, which has a reputation for being South Africa's most green city, has carried out a Waste Wise program, which seeks to implement existing national policy—including the priority of minimization—and is well regarded for its positive impacts. In contrast, waste management in Pietermaritzburg, the capital of KwaZulu-Natal Province, has worsened in the early 21st century. The municipal landfill under new management frequently catches fire, and waste management is notoriously inefficient and corrupt.

Recycling is a growing phenomenon nationally, in part because of economic incentives. For waste pickers, as well as schools and other charity organizations, recycling provides much-needed income. The high amounts of waste produced by the wealthy—combined with relatively low wages—result in a fairly unique situation internationally: high volumes of waste and low wages, enabling relatively cheap recycling. Experiments in electronic waste (e-waste) recycling, in particular, are seeking to take advantage of this.

Reliable statistics on waste are difficult to find, although efforts are being made as of 2010 to remedy this shortcoming. The South African Waste Information Centre has been tasked with improving national data and provides capacity for self-reporting. A commonly cited figure for national waste production is 13.5–15 million tons in 1998, although there is recognition that this figure has increased. Most of this goes to landfill, although there is increasing pressure—both for and against—incineration. By 2007, 61 percent of households had household refuse removal services. Some 80 percent of all national waste results from mining. Recycling rates vary significantly for different materials: around two-thirds for cans (made of steel, not aluminum, although there is a large aluminum smelter that exports what is produced), one-fifth for glass, and almost half for paper—although obtaining reliable data remains a challenge.

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