There is no ‘away’ to send our waste to. If it’s not biodegradable and it’s not being recycled, re-used or converted into energy (and most of it isn’t), then it goes to landfill or becomes litter.
In 1987, a barge carrying over three thousand tonnes of trash destined for North Carolina from New York became a floating symbol of America’s waste problem as it travelled along the country’s East Coast with no place to offload. The vessel was turned away at every port over concerns it was carrying hazardous waste.
The spectacle attracted not only flies and journalists but stood as a reminder to Americans that they were producing too much waste. Within several years of the incident, many American states passed laws requiring some kind of municipal recycling.
This story has been retold numerous times, reaching almost folklore status as having a profound impact on recycling in the US.
It’s a cautionary tale that there is no “away” to send our collective waste to if it’s not biodegradable and recyclable, or converted into energy — and most of it isn’t.
In South Africa, if you are lucky enough to live in a neighbourhood where waste is collected at least once a week, you are among six out of 10 households that benefit from this public service nationally — a service that has suffered a sharp decline over the past decade. When the rumbling garbage truck tips your wheelie bin into its mechanical bowels and leaves, there is little social or economic incentive to think about where it’s headed.
Since nine out of 10 metropolitan households do not separate their waste at home for recycling, most of our waste is headed to landfill — and this has consequences for all of us.
More than 90 000 waste reclaimers are estimated to be working in the informal waste economy. In 2014, these waste reclaimers were reported to have saved municipalities between R309 million and R748 million in landfill airspace just by diverting recyclables from landfills.
Clearly, we have assets in place (in legislation, regulations, and a massive informal sector) to create change around South Africa’s waste problem.
We also have a vibrant civil society sector that incentivises recycling, zero-waste initiatives, and projects that divert organic and other waste from landfills.
To create change around our waste problem, we need a groundswell of individual and collective action from governments and producers to consumers.
We need to reframe our approach to waste, from a mindset of waste removal to thinking about it as a problem of generation. If we want less waste, we need to make less waste. Because there is no “away” for the stuff we discard.
If you want to learn more about how you can create change, visit changewaste.dgmt.co.za, a new digital resource to inspire collective action and advocacy.
This article was first published by the Daily Maverick on 16 April 2024. Read it here.
