Programme Director
Ministers and Deputy Ministers
Members of Executive Councils
Members of the Portfolio Committee and Select Committee
Mayors and councillors
Distinguished delegates and participants

Allow me to thank Executive Mayor Duma Nkosi for his words of welcome. I am sure we will all enjoy our stay in Ekurhuleni. We meet here today just a day after we celebrated Human Rights Day. It is therefore befitting that I reflect on measures that we have taken to give effect to Section 24 of the Constitution which guarantees the right of all South Africans to an environment that is not harmful to their health and wellbeing.

Globally, our environment experiences unprecedented stress and millions of people struggle in poverty while relentless degradation of ecosystems continues. It is always said that we need to think globally and act locally. The 2002 World Summit on Sustainable Development was convened to map-out a detailed plan of implementation at all levels including community initiatives.

We have a profound responsibility to enhance our plan of implementation to eradicate poverty and change unsustainable patterns of production and consumption. It is always important to address the three pillars of sustainable development, which are economic, social and environment in order to achieve our environmental goals.

Having recognised the devastating effects of poor waste management practices of the past on the majority of South Africans, especially the poor, we set out to reform the policy and regulatory framework governing waste management in South Africa. South Africa had to join the rest of the international community by becoming a signatory to conventions on waste management such as the Basel Convention on Transboundary Movement of Hazardous Waste and others.

The policy and law reform process which we have embarked on has certainly improved our compliance with the provisions of these conventions and strengthens our position to influence waste management decisions at an international level. At a national level, this reform process led to the development of the policy on integrated pollution and waste management in 2000. The policy emphasises the importance of preventing pollution and waste, and avoiding environmental degradation, as opposed to the focus on end-of-pipe treatment of previous policies." It espouses government's vision to develop, implement and maintain an integrated pollution and waste management system that contributes to sustainable development and a measurable improvement in the quality of life of all South Africans.

Central to the achievement of this vision was the development of new pollution and waste legislation that would, amongst other things, address current legislative gaps, and clarify and allocate responsibilities within government and other stakeholders for pollution and waste management.

The department has over the past few years been engaged in a law reform process that has led to, among other things, the development of the National Environmental Management: Waste Management Bill. For us, the Waste Management Bill represents an important instrument in our efforts to secure ecologically sustainable development while promoting sound economic and social development.

We recognise that, due to its crosscutting nature, pollution and waste management is neither the exclusive preserve of the Department of Environmental Affairs and Tourism, nor of government. The private sector and civil society have important roles to play in promoting integrated pollution and waste management.

The fostering of partnerships across all spheres of government, and between governments, the private sector and civil society is necessary for sustainable and effective pollution and waste management to take place. It is in this spirit of co-operative governance and partnership building that we are gathered here today to deliberate on the draft legislation.

Notwithstanding these developments at a policy and legislative level, we are acutely aware of the many challenges that we still face in our efforts to secure an environment that is not harmful to the health and wellbeing of our people. The provision of a basic waste removal service to all sectors of our society remains a challenge, particularly in rural areas and urban informal settlements.

Recent studies indicate that, much as there have been some commendable improvements in the provision of basic waste services in recent years, some 40% of all households in the country remain without access to a basic level of waste removal services.

Moreover, we, as a nation, are generating increasing volumes of waste each year. Much of the responsibility of dealing with this escalating waste problem is borne by local government. Evidently, we need to do much more as a collective. Primarily, we need to encourage behavioural change and promote the reducing, re-using and recycling our waste through community-based approaches for awareness-raising and capacity-building.

I am aware that there are a number of community-based initiatives that are attempting to provide a basic infrastructure to facilitate recycling. We need to support these initiatives and enable them to grow from being survivalist schemes to being sustainable enterprises.

In 2002, when we hosted the World summit on Sustainable Development, we successfully demonstrated, albeit on a small scale, the potential contribution of waste separation and recycling to sustainable development. "The 2010 FIFA World Cup presents an even bigger opportunity for us to promote sustainable development and establish a lasting legacy through the Greening 2010 initiative.

I would like to use this opportunity to encourage our hosting and support cities, as you move forward into what will be an intensive phase of infrastructural planning and development, to place sustainable development and waste management in particular, high on your agenda.

We cannot allow ourselves and the nation to drown in waste while we can use it to create employment and eradicate poverty. We have a responsibility to free all humanity and generations to come from the threat of living on a planet irredeemably spoilt by human activities with scarce resources that will no longer sustain us.

This conference presents a rare opportunity for all of us across the public and private sector to discuss the challenges that face the waste sector and, through the Waste Management Bill, to begin to chart a new path for waste management in South Africa. I trust that you will all make the best use of this opportunity. Remember we cannot buy another planet; our lives and those of future generations will depend on this planet.

I thank you.

Issued by: Department of Environmental Affairs and Tourism
22 March 2007