With a population estimated at 61 million and increasing by 1% annually, and each individual producing about 2 kg of waste per day, South Africa is reportedly on the verge of a waste disaster.
According to Kate Stubbs, Marketing Director at Interwaste landfill, airspace is diminishing across the country at a rapid pace, and it needs to start creating effective waste management solutions.
It was reported in 2022 that the City of Cape Town may run out of landfill airspace by 2032 if no effective waste management interventions are implemented. However, the City recently said that there is no immediate risk of running out of landfill space before establishing another landfill site.
It said it is working on various waste diversion and waste minimisation opportunities to secure additional airspace within the existing operations so that airspace can be banked up to 2040.
"Further to this, the City intends on establishing a new regional integrated waste management facility to ensure we implement waste treatment solutions with land filling as a last resort," said Racine Edwardes, Communications Officer at the City’s Future Planning and Resilience Directorate.
Stubbs stated that the City's estimated landfill airspace capacity of 10 years indicates the importance of government interventions to create additional landfill airspace and capacity.
"While many don’t like the idea of landfills, the reality is that we have to consider the vital importance of creating more space to deal with the waste generated by South African citizens," said Stubbs.
She stated that the challenge is large, but so are the solutions: the country needs to foster strong industry collaboration and investment projects that are supported by communities in order to truly change the country's waste status quo.
"Collectively, we need to look at where our economic and socio-economic issues lie and identify how we can use waste to combat some of these issues.
"For example, in South Africa, we generate an estimated 122 million tons of waste per year, with 90% of this waste ending up in landfills. Much of this waste, if managed effectively, could be re-used as alternative resources, which could make a significant contribution to our energy crisis as well as alleviate pressure on our natural resources and ecosystems," said Subbs.
Edwardes stated that the transformation of waste into economic opportunities and job creation, it must be noted that the city’s tariffs associated with waste are calculated to be cost-reflective, that the city does not aim to generate a profit, and that all revenue is used to cover the costs of safe and sanitary waste management.
"Unemployment is a national challenge in terms of job creation, and labour-intensive strategies for service provision must be considered where feasible and affordable to the ratepayer," Edwardes said.
Commenting about unlawful rubbish disposal, particularly in the city's townships, Edwardes claimed that during the past few years, media responses and communication initiatives had pushed citizens to utilise the services offered by workers working in these areas.
“The City is also working in line with national strategies to promote a circular economy where communities are enabled to extract value from waste, such as selling recyclables or using waste to create consumer products. This will have a knock-on effect on levels of litter and dumping,” said Edwardes.