The government Bill gazette number 29487 of January 2007 clearly stipulates that the separation of refuse/waste is mandatory in both the Commercial and Domestic sectors to facilitate Waste Minimastion and Recycling.

This was stated with the Polokwane Declaration of September 2001 wherein targets / time frame was agreed upon to achieve the above, the proposed targets being:

• 20% by 2010
• 50% by 2015
• 75% by 2020

... and to not stop there, but to attempt 100% by 2022.  ... UPDATE!!

Subsequent to this three Provinces' Department of Environmental Affairs have taken great strides in implimeting their own Legislation, being Guateng, KwaZulu Natal and Western Cape. In it, emphasis is placed upon the fact that the responsibility lies with the Polluter who in turn is accountable for the correct disposal of waste generated including any costs or penalties that may be imposed and furthermore they cannot abdicate that responsilbility.

Gauteng Provincial Integrated Waste Management Policy		KwaZulu-Natal Policy on Waste Management

Every effort is being made to achieve the 2010 goal. To that end, it is expected that Parliament will pass the Bill as an act by the middle of 2008.


UPDATE!

The long awaited National Environmental Management: Waste Act, 2008 (Act No. 59 of 2008) has finally been signed into Law by the State President; honourable Kgalema Mothlante. This is a great milestone for the waste management sector which has long been legislated under various pieces of legislation. The Waste Act seeks to encourage the prevention and minimisation of waste generation, whilst promoting reuse and recycling of the waste and only consider disposal of waste as a last resort.
Basically this Legislation enforces the separation of Refuse in both the Commercial and Domestic areas. The reason for this Act is that our current system has been polluting our underground Water resources and to avoid this in the future our refuse has to be put into a 'Geotechnically built Landfill site', which will cost approx. 5 times more than we currently pay for refuse removal.

Therefore the public can help themselves to reduce the increase in charges by reducing the amount being sent to Landfill by Re-cycling their Paper & Board, Glass, Cans and Plastics, all of which are needed. It was reported in 2008 that there was a shortfall of 2,4 million Ton of Waste Paper in S.A.