The Act binds all organs of State. This section sets out types of waste that are exempted from this Act.

Compliance Obligations?

The Act does not apply to radioactive waste or explosives which are regulated by other legislation.

These sections allow the Minister to publish, by notice in the Gazette, national norms and standards for the classification of waste, the planning for and provision of waste management services and for storage, treatment and disposal of waste. The Minister may also set national norms and standards for waste recycling and recovery, extended producer responsibility, remediation of contaminated land and the regionalization of waste management services.

Compliance Obligations?

These national norms and standards guide waste activities throughout South Africa.

The relevant MEC must ensure implantation of the national waste management strategy and national norms and standards within his/her jurisdiction. The MEC may however set provincial norms and standards provided that they do not conflict with national norms and standards.

Compliance Obligations?

Your waste activities will be bound by both national and provincial norms and standards.

If the Minister of Environmental Affairs and Tourism (the “Minister”) reasonably believes that waste poses a threat to health, well-being or the environment, the Minister may declare the waste to be a priority waste.

Compliance Obligations?

If a priority waste has been declared, no person may import, manufacture, process, sell or export such waste (or a product likely to result in the generation of such waste) unless waste management measures such as set out in section 14(4) have been complied with. Further an industrial waste management plan must have been submitted. These requirements also extend to the recycling, recovery, treatment or disposal of priority waste.

This section places a general duty in respect of waste management on any holder of waste. All reasonable measures must be taken to avoid waste generation, and where this cannot be accomplished, the amount and toxicity of the waste generated must be minimized. Recycling and recovery of waste must be attempted and waste must be managed in an environmentally responsible and heath friendly manner.

Compliance Obligations?

You may be required to investigate and assess the impact of your waste on health or the environment. You may have to cease, modify or control any processes that cause pollution or harm to health and/or the environment. You may also have to remedy the effects of any pollution or environmental degradation.

This section requires that if you reduce, recycle, re-use or recover waste you must ensure that these activities uses less natural resources and are less harmful to the environment than waste disposal.

Compliance Obligations?

You will have to assess the impact of waste reduction, recycling, re-use or recovery to ensure that it is less than the impact of waste disposal.

The Minister may identify products or classes of products in respect of which extended producer responsibility applies. The Minister may also identify the person or category of persons who must implement the extended producer responsibility measures.

Compliance Obligations?

The Minister may specify extended producer responsibilities that must be taken in respect of a product or class of products. Before this is done, the Minister will follow a consultation process as required by sections 72 and 73. If affected, you will be bound by these extended producer responsibility requirements. If you are invited to take part in such a consultation process, you should thus avail yourselves of the opportunity to provide input.

This section makes provision for the Minister to publish a list of waste management activities that have or are likely to have a detrimental effect on the environment. It also makes provision for an MEC to publish a similar list applicable in a relevant province. Such a provincial list must include the national list published by the Minister.

Compliance Obligations?

Due to the publication of the listed activities, no person may commence, undertake or conduct a waste managemeDue to the publication of the listed activities, no person may commence, undertake or conduct a waste management activity except in accordance with section 19(3) or if a waste management license has been issued. Note that as part of the licensing application for listed waste management activities, either a full or a basic environmental impact assessment will have to be conducted.

This section sets out the minimum steps that any person who stores waste must take, unless otherwise provided in this Act. Note the definition of “storage” in the definitions section of the Act.

Compliance Obligations?

If you store waste, you must ensure that storage containers are intact and not corroded, measures are in place to prevent accidental spillage or leaking of waste, that waste cannot be blown away, that odour, visual impacts and breeding vectors do not arise and that pollution to the environment and harm to health does not arise.

If you generate general waste that is collected by the municipality, you should place that waste in a container approved by or supplied by the municipality in a location approved or authorised by the municipality.

Compliance Obligations?

The only exemption to this requirement is waste that is reusable, recyclable or recoverable. Ensure that waste areas and general waste disposal procedures are clearly advised to staff, so as to ensure that waste is not placed in the wrong area and in the wrong receptacles.

These sections regulate waste collection services and the duties of persons transporting waste.

Compliance Obligations?

Every municipality must provide, as far as is reasonably possible, containers for the collection of recyclable waste that are accessible to the public. No person may remove waste from premises unless such a person is a municipality or a municipal service provider, is authorised by law to collect such waste or is not prohibited from collecting such waste. If waste is transported for gain, registration as a waste transporter may be required.

Waste may not be disposed of unless authorised by law. Waste may not be disposed of in a manner likely to cause pollution or harm to health and well being. Disposal in terms of section 26(1) does not apply if the waste has been generated as part of normal household activities and there is no municipal collection service and the most environmentally friendly and economical methods of disposal was adopted.

Compliance Obligations?

Ensure that waste disposal is authorised by law and does not cause harm to health or to the environment.

In terms of this section there is a general prohibition on littering.

Compliance Obligations?

As the owner of private land to which the general public has access, you must ensure that there are sufficient containers for litter to be placed and that such litter is disposed of before it becomes a nuisance.

This section requires that where any activity results in the generation of waste that affects more than one province, the Minister may by written notice require a person or category of persons or an industry that generates waste to prepare and submit an industry waste management plan for approval. A similar provision empowers an MEC to require a similar plan for submission to and approval by the MEC.

Compliance Obligations?

If required, you may have to prepare a plan such as this. There is a provision allowing you to prepare such a waste management plan without being required to do so by an MEC or the Minister, although at the moment the commencement date for this section is still to be proclaimed.

This section sets out the information that the Minister or MEC may require in the industry waste management plan.

Compliance Obligations?

If you are required to produce an industry waste management plan, be guided by this section as to the content of the plan and the information that will be required by either the Minister or the MEC.

These sections require that any person who must produce an industry waste management plan must take the appropriate steps to notify relevant stakeholders, including organs of state and interested persons. Upon receipt of the plan, the Minister or MEC must consider it and either approve, or require amendments or reject the plan. If a plan has been rejected more than once the Minister or MEC may specify waste management measures that must be taken. Review of plans takes place in accordance with the specified time periods determined by the Minister or relevant MEC.

Compliance Obligations?

Industry waste management plans may be required of you. If so, ensure that the requirements of this Act and any that the Minister or MEC may impose are followed to avoid falling foul of the law.

These sections deal with matters arising from and incidental to the contamination of land, even if such contamination occurred before the commencement of this Act. Land upon which high risk activities have taken place or which the Minister believes that there may be contamination may be identified and investigated. Site assessment reports must be considered by the Minister or MEC and orders to remediate the contaminated land may be made. Once land has been identified as contaminated, it will be entered onto a contaminated land register, and the transfer of such land may not take place unless the transferee is informed of the contamination.

Compliance Obligations?

If you own or undertake activities on identified contaminated land, you may be required to commission an assessment of the contamination by an independent person at your own cost. If a remediation order is made, you will be required to undertake remediation activities as per the order. If your land is on the contaminated land register, remember your obligations to notify the purchaser of the land of the fact.

This section regulates who the licensing authority is depending on the activity and impact of the activity to be carried out.

Compliance Obligations?

The Minister will be the licensing authority for a waste management activity which involves hazardous waste, international obligations, is performed by the national or provincial sphere of government, affects more than one province or country or if two or more activities take place at one facility.

The Minister responsible for mineral resources is the licensing authority where the waste management activity is a mining activity as defined in the National Management Act.

The MEC of the province in which the waste management activity is taking place is the licensing authority, unless the Minister is the licensing authority.

This section regulates residue stockpiles and residue deposits.

Compliance Obligations?

If your activities result in such stockpiles or deposits, you must ensure they are managed in the prescribed manner on any site demarcated for that purposes in the environmental management plan.

For the purposes of issuing a waste management license the licensing authority must consolidate and co-ordinate the decision making process in accordance with the decision making process in Chapter 5 of the National Environmental Management Act, 107 of 1998.

Compliance Obligations?

Integrated licenses may be jointly issued with other organs of state by the licensing authority in terms of this Act.

This section sets out the procedure for applying for a waste management license.

Compliance Obligations?

If you conduct a waste management activity that requires a license, you must apply by lodging the application with the appropriate licensing authority. The application must be accompanied by the required fee and such documentation as may be required by the licensing authority.

This section sets out the procedure for waste management license applications.

Compliance Obligations?

The applicant may be required (at own cost) to obtain and provide within a specified period such additional information to that contained in the original application as may be necessary.

Written comments will be invited from any organ of state with an interest and the applicant will be afforded an opportunity to make representations on any adverse statements or objections to the application. The application must be brought to the attention of interested parties, organs of state and the public by publication of a notice in at least two local newspapers and in the government gazette.

The sections in this chapter make provision for the establishment of a national waste information system, the objectives of such a system, the establishment of a provincial waste information system, for the provision of information and access to information subject to the terms of the Promotion of Access to Information Act 02 of 2000.

Compliance Obligations?

The National Waste Information Regulations have been published and the South African Waste Information System (“SAWIS”) has been established. If you conduct an activity as set out in Annexure 1 of the regulations you must register with SAWIS or the provincial equivalent (where available). Only some of the provinces have established provincial waste information system (for example Gauteng and the Western Cape).

The sections in this chapter deal with compliance powers of the Minister of Water Affairs and Forestry, waste impact reports, offences and penalties.

Compliance Obligations?

If waste activities impact on a water resource, the Minister of Water Affairs and Forestry may exercise the powers conferred in terms of sections 19, 53 and 155 of the National Water Act 36 of 1998. Environmental Management Inspectors (EMI’s) appointed in terms of the National Environmental Management Act 107 of 1998 as well as waste management officers appointed under this Act may require waste impact reports in circumstance where they believe there have been contraventions with the provisions of this Act or any license issued hereunder. Failure to comply with the various provisions listed in section 67 constitutes an offence. The penalties set out in section 68 can be imposed.

The sections in this Chapter deal with the Minister’s powers to make regulations, the MEC’s powers to make regulations, general regulatory powers. They also deal with the consultative process, public participation, exemptions and appeals.

Compliance Obligations?

One of the main impacts is the ability of any person to apply in writing to the Minister or the MEC for exemption from the provisions of the Act. Reasons must be given and the application should be accompanied by any relevant documentation.

In terms of this, section various sections of the Environment Conservation Act 73 of 1989 (“ECA”) and the Environment Conservation Amendment Act, 79 of 1992 are repealed. In addition a number of Government Notices published in 1990 and in 2003 are repealed. For full details please see Schedule 2 of this Act.

Compliance Obligations?

In general the repeal of the sections of the ECA that deal with waste is affected. These are now dealt with under the provisions of this Act. Note that any regulation or direction made under the ECA and repealed by section 1 and in force immediately before the coming into effect of this Act, remains in force and is considered to have been made under this Act until anything done in this Act overrides it. Similarly, anything lawfully done under the provision repealed by section 1 remains valid until anything in this Act overrides it. If you operated a waste disposal facility established before the coming into effect of the ECA and that is operational on 03 July 2009, you may continue to operate the facility until such time as you are called upon by the Minister to apply for a license.

This section deals with important transitional provisions as a result of the repeal by this Act of various sections of the ECA.

Compliance Obligations?

Despite the repeal of section 20 of the ECA (this section dealt with applications for waste permits), a permit issued in terms of that Act remains valid subject to the sections 81(2) and (3). Section 81(2) states that the ECA permit remains valid until the holder is required by the licensing authority, to apply for a waste management license under this Act. Section 81(3) states that an ECA section 20 permit lapses if a waste management license is issued under this Act, or if the permit holder did not apply for a waste management license within a stipulated period, or if the licensing authority refuses an application for a waste management license under section 81(2).

During the period that the ECA permit remains valid, the provisions of this Act apply in respect of the permit holder as if the person was a holder of a waste management license under this Act. Finally, despite the repeal of section 20 of the ECA, if you lodged an application for a section 20 permit before 03 July 2009 and the application had not been decided upon by that date, the application must be proceeded with under the terms of this Act as if it were an application for a waste management license under this Act.