AfriForum intensifies its focus on landfill sites

AfriForum today launched its national landfill site audit project in terms of which landfill sites are going to be audited where AfriForum has established structures. At the same time, the organisation also submitted its comments on the draft of the national waste management strategy. The Minister of Environmental Affairs published this draft in Government Gazette No. 42879 on 3 December 2019.

AfriForum is conducting these audits in accordance with the minimum requirements landfill sites have to comply with in terms of legislation. The project has been conducted since 2014 in order to keep a record of the way waste is being managed and to call authorities to account in instances of poor waste management.

In the coming four weeks, AfriForum aims to audit 130 landfill sites in the areas where there are established AfriForum branches. The results will be incorporated in a report that will be handed to Barbara Creecy, Minister of Environmental Affairs. “We are grateful for the cooperation of the Department of Environmental Affairs in this regard, and following the audits, AfriForum will try to tackle and improve the worst performing landfill sites together with the Department,” says Lambert de Klerk, AfriForum’s Manager of Environmental Affairs.

The comments submitted today were in response to the Department’s request for public comment on the draft of the national waste management strategy.

AfriForum supports the general aim of the proposed strategy as set out, but feels that identifying and properly addressing the real causes of the problems highlighted in the draft strategy will contribute to improving the strategy.

“The draft of the national waste management strategy is to be welcomed. It is, however, very important for organisations and interested persons to take part in the commenting process so as to ensure that legislation and strategies are not changed merely for political reasons,” De Klerk says.