Keynote address by Gauteng MEC for Agriculture, Conservation and Environment, Khabisi Mosunkutu at the launch of Litter-Free Day

Programme director, Dr Makwarela
Members of the Mayoral Committee and Councillors present
Representative of Public Utility Transport Corporation, our partner in this specific project
Senior officials and employees of government present
Representatives of various organisations present here
People of Marabastad
Invited guests
Ladies and gentlemen:

It is a pleasure and an honour to be here today and to participate in the launch of this important campaign.

Confronted with the daunting challenges, government confronts challenges of building a better life for all our people the significance of this litter-free campaign may easily be lost. The reality, however, is that litter has everything to do with our quest to develop healthy, productive and sustainable communities. Studies have shown that there is a reciprocal relationship between waste and poor human health, epidemic diseases and, in instance, with poor social and economic infrastructure.

The carelessly discarded newspapers, plastics and other domestic rubbish results not only in the development of reeking and poisonous pools that negatively impact on our health, as an example. Social infrastructure also gets clogged and laid to waste. Because of this anti-social behaviour we are at times forced to tread carefully in our own backyards lest we wade through sewer. Our children are daily exposed to the rubbish, including carcasses of dead animals that we carelessly toss out. It may be a fact that rubbish removal services by local municipality may not always operate at its optimal. We, however, may not always be able to use this as an excuse to threaten our own wellbeing.

It is also quite true that social and economic activities do produce waste which is but a by-product of socio-economic activities that we all have a right to engage in. Studies by the United Nations confirm that population density, socio-economic development, or higher gross domestic product and the ever changing household consumption patterns are amongst the key drivers of waste. We have these drivers and more.

Gauteng is the smallest province in the country, constituting only 1,4 percent of the country's land surface. Second to KwaZulu-Natal, we are second in terms of population density. We consume 28 percent of the nation's fuel sources and the province is the most industrialised province in the country. The other reality is that the volumes of waste that we currently generate outstrip the environment's capacity to accommodate it.

This being the case, we cannot afford to simply exonerate ourselves. I must also quickly scupper the idea that it is only the industry that contributes to waste, pollution and environmental degradation. The plastic containers and bags that litter our streets are not tossed into the streets by industrialist, but by ourselves. In addition to presenting challenges to our social infrastructure and to our immediate health, the waste and pollution that we generate place additional enormous pressure on the ecosystem and unless we change the way we think about waste, we shall continue fast-tracking environmental degradation.

It is our generation that will be held liable for precipitating avoidable ferocious storms and decreased rainfall patterns that are as a result of avoidable environmental mismanagement. Increased demand for resources, generation of pollution and waste, rapid urbanisation and unsustainable resource use practices will further complicate the untenable situation.

Friends and colleagues, we obviously are here not to mourn the damage that we continue to inflict on the environment, rather we are here to commit ourselves to practically take steps to reduce waste and protect our environment. In partnership with the private sector, our municipalities and other community organisations, we need to ensure that this launch is sustained beyond this launch.

I thank you.

Issued by: Department of Agriculture, Conservation and Environment, Gauteng Provincial Government
29 October 2007