South Africa’s National Waste Management Strategy (NWMS), which Cabinet last week approved for implementation, would generate and sustain jobs, as well as formalise existing jobs in the waste economy, Water and Environmental Affairs Minister Edna Molewa said on Monday.

The NWMS aims to create 69 000 new jobs in the waste sector and have 2 600 additional small and medium-sized enterprises and cooperatives participating in waste service delivery and recycling by 2015.

The NWMS is structured against a framework of eight goals with set targets for 2016.

The eight goals included promoting waste minimisation, reuse, recycling and recovery of waste; ensuring effective and efficient delivery of waste service and growing the contribution of the waste sector to the green economy.

With regard to ensuring an effective and efficient delivery of waste services, 95% of urban households and 75% of rural households must have access to adequate levels of waste collection services and 80% of waste disposal sites must have permits by 2016.

Some of the tools identified for the implementation of the NWMS include a waste classification and management system, norms and standards, licensing, industry waste management plans, extended producer responsibility, priority wastes and economic instruments.

Further, the strategy seeks to extend the current environmental management inspectorate’s capacity to enforce the National Environmental Management: Waste Act.

Molewa has welcomed the approval of NWMS, adding that it was important, particularly with regard to the process of implementing the Act and in establishing an integrated approach to waste management across government and broader society.

“South Africa faces particular challenges in relation to waste management that require a coordinated effort by government and stakeholders.

“Addressing these challenges will not be easy, given the capacity and resource constraints we face as a developing country with large income inequalities and competing development priorities,” Molewa said.

Implementing the waste management hierarchy and achieving the objects of the Waste Act, she said, would require coordinated action by households, businesses, community organisations, nongovernmental organisations, parastatals and the three spheres of government.

Partnerships around effective waste management, Molewa believed, must have concrete expression in local collaboration around initiatives to improve waste management.

Other goals of the NWMS include ensuring that people are aware of the impact of waste on their health, well-being and the environment; achieving integrated waste management planning and ensuring sound budgeting and financial management for waste services.

Further, it must also provide measures to remediate contaminated land and establish effective compliance with and enforcement of the Waste Act.