Housing in Southern Africa July 2016

News

CSIR model supports municipalities waste recycling The Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) has developed a recycling waste model to assist municipalities assess the costs and benefits of different options for waste separation at source.

W aste recycling at source is an important way to develop job creation, a cleaner envi- ronment and economic growth. The model currently focuses on separate collection of recyclable packaging waste from the residential sector. Anton Nahman, a CSIR senior re- source economist, says that future plans will incorporate other waste streams including organics and in- dustry waste, as well as incorporating the informal sector in the collection and alternative options for process- ing waste. Nahman adds, “The model cur- rently has a spreadsheet-interface, although a more user-friendly web- based one is being developed. The next step includes one-on-one test- ing with a number of municipalities participating in case studies, in order to obtain an understanding of the ef- fectiveness of the model in practice and the accuracy of the results. Separation at source is critical to the growth of the recycling industry, and development of a ‘green econo- my’ in South Africa. The National Waste Management Strategy sets targets for all metropoli- tan municipalities, secondary cities and large towns to initiate separation at source programmes. These pro- grammes require a collection system that is able to keep the separated re- cyclables separate from other waste. However, current collection systems are often unable to separate collec- tion of recyclables, and need to be adapted.

country, thereby allowing for detailed suburb-specific costing of kerbside collection of separated waste mate- rial. “The model also allows users to override the default data and input their own information,” says Nahman. It compares these separate collec- tionmethods with a ‘post-separation’ option, in which households do not need to separate their waste at all. Instead, the waste is collected as normal and then separated at a ‘dirty’ materials recovery facility. Themodel also takes into account the costs of this type of facility, as opposed to a ‘clean’ facility, which would be used in the case where recyclables are pre- separated by households. The model is being expanded to take into account the social and en- vironmental implications of each op- tion, in addition to financial costs and benefits. Municipalities will be able to identify the most appropriate option from an integrated social, economic and environmental perspective. Nahman concludes, “We hope that this model will also provide use- ful information to other industries who have partial or full financial and operational responsibility for source separation, under the planned new Extended Producer Responsibility schemes. ■

Nahman says there are a number of different options for implementing separation at source, and accompany- ing collection systems. “These range from relatively low tech inexpensive options such as using a truck and trailer, to a more costly, high tech approach such as using separate ve- hicles or split-compartment vehicles. Each option differs in terms of the financial, social and environmental implications. Options also differ from one mu- nicipality to another, depending on the volumes and types of waste gen- erated; the current waste collection system; the size of the municipality; and a number of other factors. It may even differ in other areas within the same municipality.” Working out the costs and benefits of each option can be complicated. The CSIRmodel assists municipalities to identify the most appropriate op- tion in their particular context. “And, calculates the costs and ben- efits of each option, for all municipali- ties in South Africa,” says Nahman. “It provides guidance on how separated recyclables should be collected, for example, should themunicipality use separate vehicles, split-compartment vehicles, or truck-and-trailers.” The model contains data on each suburb for every municipality in the

July 2016