Great legislation, terrible landfills

According to the latest statistics, South Africa generates roughly 122 million tonnes of waste per year. Of this waste, a maximum of only 10% is recycled or recovered for other uses, while at least 90% is still landfilled or dumped illegally.

The South African waste management industry plays a vital role in keeping our environment clean and, according to experts, South Africa has some of the best waste management legislation in the world.

However, as Leon Grobbelaar, director at Raalebborg Environmental and former president of the Institute of Waste Management of Southern Africa (IWMSA), states, South Africa has some of the worst landfills. He warns that if we continue at this pace, there will be no unpolluted resources left for the next generation to utilise.

“Our people on the ground experience and witness this every day, we see the mess and the bigger picture with regard to what is really happening. And however grim the truth may seem, we must face the fact that we are running out of landfill airspace – and quickly.

“South African landfills are in a terrible state; the worst they have been in decades,” emphasises Grobbelaar.

“According to my knowledge and my views, Gauteng has never been so dirty. There is an increase in illegal dumping because people just don’t know what to do with their waste, which is not being collected by the municipalities, and our landfill sites have become hiding places for criminals. It has become dangerous for the public to visit landfills for disposal.”

Grobbelaar has 34 years of experience working within the waste management industry, with a special focus on landfill management, construction and rehabilitation.

The Directors of Raalebborg do have four decades of experience of experience within the waste management industry and is dedicated to delivering innovative waste solutions that are environmentally responsible, effective and economically viable.

Landfills nationwide are filling up at an alarming rate, especially in Gauteng, says Grobbelaar.

He states that the City of Johannesburg (CoJ) has a maximum of three years left until its landfills reach capacity – with the City of Tshwane (CoT) and the City of Ekurhuleni (CoE) not far behind.

Grobbelaar asserts the problem mainly lies in Gauteng because the City of Cape Town was able to recognise 15 years ago that it has an airspace crisis as well as the need for alternative materials recovery sites and progressive legislature. It then went on a drive to promote the recycling and reuse of materials.

All this resulted in waste being diverted away from landfills.

“The Western Cape is 5-10 years ahead of us here in Gauteng. Upon realisation that they are running out of airspace, the Western Cape Government started raising their disposal fees by 15% every year, and this started almost 15 years ago. The current disposal costs are around R650/tonne compared to around R280/tonne in Gauteng, and what that has essentially done is force industry to find alternative waste treatment options, so that they don’t have to take their waste to landfill,” says Grobbelaar.

He adds that engineered landfill facilities are also extremely expensive to construct versus open dumps. An increase in the cost of landfilling has proved to be effective in steering industry away from landfilling and making alternative treatment options more attractive and to encourage municipalities and industry to explore alternative waste management options towards saving landfill airspace for residual waste.

The Western Cape Government also instituted a 50% reduction of organic waste to landfill by 2022, with the aim of implementing a full ban by 2027. Through this, the City of Cape Town has seen an increase in investment in composting facilities and materials recovery facilities.

The City actively promotes various recycling initiatives and supports community-based recycling programmes, which have helped to extend the life of their landfills.

When looking at the three biggest aforementioned municipalities in Gauteng, Grobbelaar says that these metros generate an estimated 6 million tonnes of municipal solid waste annually. This includes biomass, building rubble, and municipal solid waste CoE owns five landfill sites – namely, Rietfontein, Rooikraal, Simmer and Jack, Platkop, and Weltevreden.

Four of the sites are classified as GLB-, while Rietfontein is GLB+. This means that all the landfill sites accept domestic waste, non-hazardous business waste, non-infected carcasses, garden greens and builders’ rubble. All of these facilities are located in the central or southern side of Ekurhuleni and no facilities towards the northern suburbs.

Out of 12 landfill sites in Tshwane, only 4 are still active. There are Hatherley (GLB-), Ga-Rankuwa (GMB-), Bronkhorstspruit (GSB-), and Soshanguve (GSB-), which are located in the east and northern suburbs of Tshwane, with no operating facilities towards the south. There are also four landfill sites operating in CoJ currently, namely Goudkoppies, Marie Louise, Ennerdale and Robinson, which are all in the south and south-west of Johannesburg.

“The reality is that all these sites are either not operated properly, closed or are quickly running out of airspace. For example, should CoJ not urgently divert at least 50% of its waste volumes – namely garden greens and builders’ rubble – they will literally only have 18 months left on all four of their existing facilities. However, if they implement this, they will be able to extend the life of their landfills by 30 more months,” emphasises Grobbelaar.

“CoE has ample airspace on some of their facilities – meaning they can last between 15 to 20 years – but their facilities are poorly operated and maintained or closed due to non-awards of contracts to operate and maintain them.”

In CoT, Grobbelaar says most of these landfill facilities have never been equipped with containment barriers as prescribed and are basically non-compliant to legislature.

Legislation for norms and standards for the construction of a landfill site only came into effect in 2014 and all new cell developments needed to be constructed according to the norms and standards guidelines, which is not the case in Tshwane.

“None the sites within the province comply with current legislature, in one way or another.”

According to Grobbelaar, the solution doesn’t lie in the construction and licensing of additional landfill facilities; the focus should rather shift to waste minimisation through the promotion of waste separation, recycling and waste beneficiation.

“It will take at least four to five years to get a landfill facility licensed and up and running, considering the licensing approvals and construction needed to develop a sustainable and compliant site. So, even if CoJ starts now, they will not have enough airspace available in time for when the current ones are running out,” stresses Grobbelaar.

Grobbelaar makes the following suggestions:

01 Prioritise separating waste streams at the point of generation: Grobbelaar suggests that we need to start extending the life of our current landfills by diverting organic waste, builders’ rubble and garden waste to alternative treatment facilities – where this can be beneficiated and put into the secondary market, thus creating a circular economy, with a cradle-to-cradle instead of cradle-to-grave approach.

02 There needs to be enforcement and compliance: South Africa’s waste legislation is among the best worldwide and is a key driver of innovation in the waste management industry. However, Grobbelaar believes that support structures need to be put in place to ensure that there is adherence to legislature and that there are consequences for non-compliance through all spheres of life, public and private sector.

03 Greater investment in infrastructure: Grobbelaar asserts that there are not enough materials recovery facilities that are currently operating and available. He calls for greater collaboration and partnerships between government and private sector, to get these commodities processed and put into secondary markets.

04 Raise disposal fees: This may ensure that there are enough funds to design and construct proper engineered landfills and then to operate these facilities to the required standards. Landfill management is a science and discipline that needs to be practised 365 days of the year, year on year, and not as and when required.

05 Properly educate officials about the business of waste: Grobbelaar believes that municipal officials are not well versed on the science and know-how to operate a landfill during all seasons of the year. “It is a complex operation and skilled staff, as well as the correct equipment, are key to success,” he says. Proper education and skills development are essential for the officials and decision-makers in the waste industry.

06 Curb illegal dumping: Separation at source and investing in public awareness campaigns need to be undertaken.

In conclusion, Grobbelaar asserts that this waste issue is bigger than just one entity; he believes that, by prioritising collaboration and partnerships, the industry can begin to come up with sustainable solutions to a growing problem.

“I don’t think there is one waste management company in South Africa that can handle the influx of waste produced daily. This requires us as an industry to come together, invest in the right infrastructure and divert as much as we can away from landfill.”