Global waste generation is expected to grow to 3,4 billion tons per year by 2050. By the same year, or before, worldwide municipal solid waste generation is expected to increase by roughly 70% to 3,4 billion metric tons.
This is according to a recently released report by the World Bank.
The report blames the rapid increase in a range of activities, a lack of education and the inability of municipalities to manage solid waste.
The importance of the global public’s role in safeguarding the environment was highlighted on World Environment Day on 5 June.
The theme for this year was “Only One Earth”. It highlighted the need to live sustainably, in harmony with nature, by enforcing transformative changes – through policies and choices – towards cleaner, greener lifestyles.
Bronwyn Ragavan of the laundry brand Personal Touch said the public should be encouraged to recycle and package waste accordingly.
“Create recycling bins for glass, paper and plastic – you won’t believe how much recyclable waste one household can produce,” said Ragavan.
“We are slowly being forced to adapt our lifestyle choices for the better of the environment. One of the most recent drives was the push to reduce one-time plastic usage, particularly when it comes to plastic straws and plastic bags for groceries.”
In recent years, much focus has been placed on recycling efforts as a way of reducing the damaging impact of waste on the environment. The National Environmental Management Act (Nema) of 1998 states that “. . . waste is to be avoided, or where it cannot be altogether avoided, minimised and reused or recycled where possible or otherwise disposed of in a responsible manner”.
A recent survey revealed 10% of waste in South Africa is recycled and 90% of an estimated 59 million tons of general waste produced in 2011 ended up in landfills.
Add to this the rapid increase in solid waste generation, and it is clear that South Africa is running out of space for waste disposal.
Despite the benefits of and need for recycling, studies report as little as 5,2% of households recycled waste in 2015.
According to the report “Environment, in-depth analysis of the General Household Survey 2002 to 2016”, released by Statistics South Africa, 12,9% of metropolitan households reported that they recycled, followed by 10,8% of urban households and 3% of rural households. When it came to the rural households, recycling was more common in households on farms than in those in traditional areas.
The report indicated citizens recycle less than the National Waste Management Strategy’s (NWMS) goals to divert 25% of recyclables from landfill sites for re-use, recycling or recovery; and for all metropolitan municipalities, secondary cities and large towns to have initiated separation at source programmes by 2016.
According to the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (Unido), South Africa has more than 60 000 waste pickers who play a role in the country’s waste management industry, collecting 80% to 90% of used recyclables annually.
Unido is in the process of working with the South African Waste Pickers Association (Sawpa) at four integration sites in the Free State, KwaZulu-Natal and the Western Cape.
