The waste management industry in South Africa is technologically sound, and a number of local landfill site operations are able to compete with First World operations, says Institute of Waste Management of Southern Africa (IWMSA) president Shirleigh Strydom.

Strydom points to the Electronic Waste (e-Waste) Association of South Africa, materials recovery facilities, and numerous clean development mechanism projects throughout the country, as examples of enhancing sustainable waste management practices. Strydom notes that an e-waste association has been formed to tackle issues regarding the responsible handling and disposal of electronic waste in South Africa. Strydom says that the IWMSA continues to run seminars, workshops and conferences throughout Southern Africa as information-sharing platforms in the waste management industry. He adds that local waste management training material is in the process of being completed by consultants in the training field by the IWMSA in collaboration with the Local Government Sector Education and Training Authority (Sefa).

Despite local collection operations, landfills and recycling initiatives having improved significantly, the South African waste management industry is still facing financial difficulties, especially at local government level, says Strydom. He adds that South Africa is a water-deficit country, and, therefore, needs to ensure that the risk of ground water contamination continues to be minimised.

Strydom says that incompetent waste management has an impact not only on the environment, but also on other sectors, such as the healthcare system of South Africa, as poor waste-management-related illnesses could affect the country's healthcare system, including impacting on ground water, the healthcare system, the economy, the natural environment and humans. The global trends in waste management, Strydom notes, include waste avoidance, cleaner technology, materials-recovery facilities, carbon reduction initiatives, and international agreements. Strydom maintains that South Africa has waste management expertise, which allows the country, in some instances, to be on a par with global efforts, but cautions that, in other instances, the country is faced with budgetary constraints. To assist in alleviating the national skills shortage, the IWMSA, in conjunction with the Seta, has produced training materials for national qualifications framework (NQF) 1 and 4, and is in the process of producing NQF Levels 2 and 3, which will assist in building capacity in local government and the private sector, says Strydom.

Strydom notes that the Department of Environ-mental Affairs and Tourism has also introduced several initiatives to improve waste manage-ment in South Africa, including the Indalo Yethu initiative, which promotes greening and ecofriendly practices as a way of life; Buyisa e-Bag, which is a company tasked with job creation in waste collection and in educating people about littering; and the New Waste Management Bill, which emphasises the importance of preventing pollution and waste, and avoiding environmental degradation.

The main challenges facing the local waste industry, says Strydom, relate to illegal dumping, appropriate waste collection strategies in informal settlements, the education of communities regarding illegal dumping, enforcement of appropriate legislation, the costs of establishing waste treatment and disposal facilities, and the costs associated with waste collection. He adds that the recent trends in the waste industry are associated with materials-recovery facilities, responsible management of e-waste, clean development mechanism projects for landfill sites, and inte-grated waste management plans for business.

As is the case with most industries in South Africa, the IWMSA has transformed in relation to its black economic-empowerment (BEE) practices, and there are now BEE companies in the waste management industry. However, these are mostly high-profile companies, and Strydom says that he would like to see smaller BEE companies expand, and have a larger share of the market.

Strydom says that the vision of the IWMSA is ‘"a clean and healthy environment", adding that the IWMSA is committed to protecting the environment and the people of Southern Africa through sustainable best practice environmental options.

The IWMSA was established in 1976, to create a platform for waste management practitioners to exchange ideas and information and to improve waste management practices in South Africa. Its members consist of national, provincial, and local government, general industry, consultants, national government organisations, community-based organisations, waste companies, and students.