Pretoria - In a bid to sort out the unpleasantries sometimes experienced in household waste removal, South Africa will finally put into effect the long-awaited National Domestic Waste Collection tomorrow.
This follows the publication of the National Domestic Waste Collection Standards by Water and Environmental Affairs Minister, Edna Molewa, under the National Environmental Management: Waste Act (Act No. 59 of 2008) after consultations were held in the provinces.
The standards aim to set out rules and regulations for how domestic waste should be collected in South Africa, as well as a guide for municipalities on how to provide acceptable, affordable and sustainable waste collection services.
The standards make provision for the various elements involved in waste management such as separating recyclable and non-recyclable materials, waste collection vehicles, containers, collection of waste at communal points and most importantly, the frequency of collection.
Non-recyclable material such as perishable food waste must be collected at least once a week and recyclable material such as paper, plastic and glass must be collected once every two weeks.
Municipalities have a choice to provide different types of bins, taking into consideration the type of vehicles they use. These vehicles must, however, meet certain health and safety standards.
The standards also seek to build on what has already been achieved in waste recycling, while emphasizing the need to protect human health and the environment.
