MINIMUM REQUIREMENTS FOR WASTE DISPOSAL BY …

1 MINIMUM REQUIREMENTSFOR WASTE DISPOSAL BY LANDFILLDEPARTMENT OF WATER AFFAIRS AND FORESTRYS econd Edition 1998 MINIMUM REQUIREMENTS FOR WASTE DISPOSALBY LANDFILLD epartment of Water Affairs and ForestryRepublic of South AfricaSecond Edition 1998_____iPublished byDepartment of Water Affairs & ForestryPrivate Bag X313 PRETORIA0001 Republic of South AfricaTel: (012) 338 7500 Printed and bound byCTP Book Printers, CapeFirst Edition 1994 Second Edition 1998 ISBN 0620-22993-4 Copyright reservedNo part of this publication may bereproduced in any mannerwithout full acknowledgementof the source_____This document should be cited as:Department of Water Affairs & Forestry, Second Edition, 1998.

2 WASTE Management REQUIREMENTS for WASTE DISPOSAL by Leader:L. Bredenhann, Department of Water Affairs & ForestryProject Co- Ball, Jarrod Ball & Associates cc, Johannesburg, South AfricaEditor:K. Langmore, Jarrod Ball & Associates cc, Johannesburg, South AfricaiiThis document forms part of the WASTE Management Series, produced by the Department of WaterAffairs & Forestry. Thus far, the series comprises:Document 1: MINIMUM REQUIREMENTS for the Handling, Classification and DISPOSAL of Hazardous 2: MINIMUM REQUIREMENTS for WASTE DISPOSAL by 3: MINIMUM REQUIREMENTS for Monitoring at WASTE Management 1, MINIMUM REQUIREMENTS for the Handling, Classification and DISPOSAL of HazardousWaste, sets out the WASTE classification system.

3 In this, wastes are placed in two classes,General or Hazardous, according to their inherent toxicological properties. Hazardous wastesare further subdivided, according to the risk that they may pose at DISPOSAL , using a hazardrating. In this way, a less hazardous WASTE is distinguished from an extremely hazardouswaste. Wastes with a hazard rating of 1 or 2 are very or extremely hazardous, while wasteswith a hazardous, while wastes with a hazard rating of 3 or 4 are of moderate or low hazard. The REQUIREMENTS for pretreatment and DISPOSAL are approximately set in accordance with thewaste classification. Hazardous WASTE prevention and minimisation are briefly addressed,because of their importance, as is handling, transportation and 2, MINIMUM REQUIREMENTS for WASTE DISPOSAL by Landfill, addresses landfill classification,and the siting, investigation, design operation and monitoring of landfill sites.

4 In the landfillclassification system, a landfill is classified in terms of WASTE class, size of operation, andpotential for significant leachate generation, all of which influence the risk it poses to theenvironment. Graded REQUIREMENTS are then set for all aspects of landfilling, including 3, MINIMUM REQUIREMENTS for Monitoring at WASTE Management Facilities, addresses themonitoring of water quality at and around WASTE DISPOSAL Department of Water Affairs & Forestry intends extending the WASTE Management Series. At the time ofwriting, the National WASTE Management Strategy was being formulated, as a joint venture between theDepartment of Water Affairs & Forestry, the Department of Environment and Tourism, and the Danish Co-operation for Environment and Development (DANCED).

5 Initially, three baseline study documents weredrafted by South African consultants to provide data regarding WASTE generation, community WASTE and litter,and WASTE DISPOSAL sites in South Africa. These will form part of the series. Further work being carried out byDanish and South African Consultants, assisted by Departmental staff, will generate strategy documents whichwill also form part of the documents envisaged for the series in future include MINIMUM REQUIREMENTS for WASTE DISPOSAL siteauditing, and the training of operators and managers of WASTE management document was first published for comment andapplication in the field in September 1994. Initially,very little comment was received and so, in 1995 and1997, workshops were organised to involveInterested and Affected Parties (IAPs).

6 All thefeedback received from the workshops and othersources was then carefully considered by theDepartment of Water Affairs and Forestry (hereaftertermed the Department ) and the document wasadapted accordingly. The Second Edition of thedocument thus supersedes the First response to the First Edition was mixed andtended to vary in accordance with the viewpoints ofthe respondents. Some felt that standards were toohigh while others felt they were not sufficientlystringent to protect the environment and publichealth. There were also those who appeared tooppose both the document and its implementation on had problems with the public participationprocess associated with the development of thedocument.

7 It was therefore pointed out that this wasprimarily a technical document. In the early stages,its content had been developed by a team ofspecialists. Thereafter, throughout the developmentof the document, presentations had been made atlocal and international conferences to facilitatestakeholder input and peer review. When thought tobe technically acceptable and sufficiently userfriendly, the document had been launched andcomment actively area of concern was that the document doesnot deal sufficiently with the first three componentsof Integrated WASTE Management, wasteminimisation, recycling and treatment. Although theDepartment fully subscribes to all four componentsof Integrated WASTE Management, this document onlydeals with the fourth step, DISPOSAL .

8 The reasons for this are:!Regardless of how well the first three stepsare undertaken, some WASTE will always have to be disposed of on landfills.!Historically, many landfills in South Africahave been badly sited, designed andoperated. They therefore representsignificant point sources of pollution, whichrequire priority control.!By improving the standards of wastedisposal, the cost of landfilling willincrease. This will make WASTE DISPOSAL lessattractive, which will in turn promote wasteminimisation, recycling and much of the comment given at the workshopswas valid, it was clear that in many instancesrespondents had not read the document to the extentthat they were familiar with the content or underlyingprinciples, many of which are complex.

9 In otherinstances, it was clear that portions of the documentneeded to be rewritten or expanded to ensure easierunderstanding. Examples of issues requiringexplanation included the use of size of operationrather than the physical size of a landfill for the sizeclass (Section ) and the use of the Climatic WaterBalance as an initial means of differentiatingbetween sporadic and significant leachate generation(Section ).A major area of confusion was caused by amisunderstanding of the principle of addressing therule rather than the exception. The aim of theMinimum REQUIREMENTS is to ensure that the sameenvironmental standards and objectives are appliedacross South Africa, whilst at the same time notsimply applying an indiscriminate, one size fits all approach.

10 The MINIMUM REQUIREMENTS thereforeaddress the rule, while still making provision fordefensible deviation where site specific factors aresuch that the rule cannot or need not be applied. Suchdeviation could involve either an increase instandards or a relaxation, and would have to beproperly, researched, motivated and recorded, so thatit is indeed defensible. If in practice it is found thatthe exception proves to be the rule, consideration will be given to amending the document accordingly. Itshould be noted that other mechanisms used to ensure both consistency in standards and yet PREFACEivMinimum REQUIREMENTS for WASTE DISPOSAL by Landfill, Second Edition 1998flexibility include the landfill classification system,graded REQUIREMENTS , and, wherever possible,objective driven MINIMUM certain instances, the document did requireamendment.