The quality of Integrated Waste Management Plans for Metropolitan Municipalities in South Africa

Abstract

Waste management is a concern in both developed and developing countries. Rapid growth in industrialization and urbanization is resulting in the increase of waste generation and volumes in metropolitian cities. Poor waste management has a detrimental impact on the environment and public health. Therefore, these detrimental impacts and concerns have resulted in waste management receiving attention both locally and internationally. South Africa's waste management practices are similar to other developing countries but are in some areas more advanced when compared to other African countries. There is still a lot to be done to achieve a sustainable state of waste management. Waste management policy and legislation is available and currently being implemented to a certain extent, however enforcement is a challenge. The implementation of a proper waste management system faces challenges such as an insufficient budget; lack of organizational capacity; lack of public awareness and political influence; and inadequate technology. The preferred waste management option in South Africa is landfilling, and it remains a preferred option in many developing countries, despite detrimental impacts associated with it. The South African government published the National Waste Management Strategy in xxxx which introduced the Integrated Waste Management Plan (IWMP) as a tool that will give effect to the its National Environmental Management: Waste Act, 59 of 2008 and sustainable waste management strategies. IWMP is a tool that developed to shape and guide waste management practices that affects the environment and people's heath. The aim of the study is to assess the quality of the IWMP which has been specifically developed for metropolitan municipalities in South Africa. The research objectives are to develop and adapt a review package to review the quality of IWMPs; to review the quality of sampled IWMPs from eight metropolitan municipalities in South Africa, and to analyse and interpret the results and draw conclusions regarding the quality of IWMPs in the metropolitan municipalities in South Africa. A quality review package was designed to fit the waste management legislation requirements and the approach was adopted from the Lee and Colley methodology. The results of the quality review of the IWMP revealed that the overall quality of the sampled IWMPs was satisfactory with minor omissions. However, there are areas of concern that require attention, that once addressed has the potential to improve the quality of the IWMPs.