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- Is amended by Integrated Waste Management By-law: Amendment
- Is amended by Integrated Waste Management By-law: Amendment
Cape Town
South Africa
South Africa
Integrated Waste Management By-law, 2009
- Published in Western Cape Provincial Gazette 6651 on 21 August 2009
- Assented to on 30 March 2009
- Commenced on 21 August 2009
- [This is the version of this document from 30 June 2016 and includes any amendments published up to 7 March 2025.]
- [Amended by Integrated Waste Management By-law: Amendment on 7 May 2010]
- [Amended by Integrated Waste Management By-law: Amendment on 4 June 2010]
- [Amended by Integrated Waste Management By-law: Amendment on 30 June 2016]
Preamble
WHEREAS the City has under the Constitution, legislative competence in respect of refuse removal, refuse dumps and solid waste disposal;Whereas the City of Cape Town (“the City”) has an obligation to regulate and control waste management so as to ensure a safe, healthy and sustainable environment and to ensure that the rights of individuals are protected;Whereas the City wishes to reduce the generation and the environmental impact of waste to ensure that the socio-economic development, the health of the people within the City’s boundaries and the quality of environmental resources are not unduly adversely affected by waste;Whereas the City wants to ensure that all residents, organisations, institutions, businesses, visitors or tourists and government departments are able to access services from a legitimate waste management service provider; andWhereas the City wishes to regulate waste generation, cleaning, separation, storage, collection, processing, treatment, recycling, re-use and disposal of waste, including littering and illegal dumping and the regulation of facilities used for the management of waste, with the ultimate aim of avoiding or minimising the generation of waste.BE IT ENACTED by the City of Cape Town, as follows:—1. Definitions
In this By-law, unless the context indicates otherwise:“accredited service provider” means a person accredited by the City in terms of this By-law who provides a waste management service in the City and may include waste managers, large and small business, community cooperatives and venture learnerships;[definition of “accredited service provider” substituted by section 1(a) of the Amendment By-law, 2016]“building waste” means waste produced through the construction, alteration, repair or demolition of any structure both manmade and natural,—(a)and includes rubble, earth, wood and rock that is displaced during any construction, alteration, repair or demolition,(b)but excludes garden waste and hazardous waste;[definition of “building waste” substituted by section 1(b) of the Amendment By-law, 2016]“business waste” means waste that emanates from premises that are used, whether lawfully or unlawfully mainly, for commercial, retail, wholesale, entertainment or government administration purposes, and also applies to waste generated by informal traders and residential premises where commercial activities are being conducted;"chemical waste" [definition of “chemical waste” deleted by section 1(c) of the Amendment By-law, 2016]“City” means the City of Cape Town established by Provincial Notice No. 479 of 2000 or its successors in title;“Director” means the Director responsible for solid waste management in the City;“domestic waste” means waste, that emanates from premises used wholly or mainly for residential, educational, healthcare, sport or recreational purposes, and—(a)includes recyclable materials and non-recyclable material,(b)excludes hazardous waste;[definition of “domestic waste” inserted by section 1(d) of the Amendment By-law, 2016]“dump” means to dispose of waste in any manner other than one permitted by law and includes, without derogating from the generality of the aforegoing, to deposit, discharge, spill or release waste, whether or not the waste is in a container or receptacle, in or at any place whatsoever whether publicly or privately owned, including but not limited to vacant land, rivers, waterways, catchments, and sewage and storm water systems, but excludes littering;“event waste” means waste that originates from the activities related to an event that is held in the City;“garden waste” means organic waste which emanates from gardening or landscaping activities at residential, business or industrial properties including but not limited to, soil, grass cuttings, leaves and branches, and includes any biodegradable material and includes such waste emanating from residential, business or industrial properties, but excludes waste products of animal origin;“general waste” is a generic term for waste that, because of its composition and characteristics, does not pose an immediate risk to public health or the environment if managed properly, and includes domestic waste, building waste, business waste, and any waste classified as non-hazardous waste in terms of national legislation;[definition of “general waste” substituted by section 1(i) of the Amendment By-law, 2016]"genotoxic waste" [definition of “genotoxic waste” deleted by section 1(f) of the Amendment By-law, 2016]“hazardous waste” means any waste that contains organic or inorganic elements or compounds that may, owing to the inherent physical, chemical or toxicological characteristics of that waste, have a detrimental impact on health and the environment and includes health care risk waste and the hazardous substances, materials or objects within business waste, residue deposits and residue stockpiles;[definition of “hazardous waste” substituted by section 1(e) of the Amendment By-law, 2016]“health care risk waste” means that portion of health care waste that is hazardous and includes infectious waste, pathological waste, sharp waste, pharmaceutical waste, genotoxic waste, chemical waste, waste with heavy metals, radioactive waste, and any other health care waste which is defined as hazardous in terms of the waste Management Series: Document 1: Minimum Requirements/or the Handling, Classification and Disposal of Hazardous waste, as published by the Department of Water Affairs and Forestry or any other applicable legislation;"health care waste" [definition of “health care waste” deleted by section 1(f) of the Amendment By-law, 2016]“holders of waste” means any person who imports, generates, stores, accumulates, transports, processes, treats, exports or disposes of waste and also includes recyclers and scrap dealers;“industrial waste” means waste that emanates from premises that are used wholly or mainly for industrial purposes and generate waste through manufacturing, industrial or fabricating processes including premises used for agricultural activities, mining activities or the operation of power stations;“infectious agent” means microorganisms including bacteria, mycobacteria, fungi, parasites, or viruses which normally cause or significantly contribute to infectious diseases and result in an increased morbidity or mortality of humans or animals;[definition of “infectious agent” inserted by section 1(g) of the Amendment By-law, 2016]“infectious waste” means waste which contains or may be reasonably presumed to contain infectious agents in sufficient concentrations or quantities to cause disease in susceptible hosts; and includes waste containing discarded materials contaminated with excretion, secretion, other fluids discharged from a body or materials generated in the treatment or diagnosis of humans or animals who or which are isolated from the general population due to the infectiousness or transmissibility of the suspected disease-causing agents;[definition of “infectious waste” substituted by section 1(h) of the Amendment By-law, 2016]“integrated waste management plan” means an integrated waste management plan which is required by the City in terms of this By-law or that is required in terms of any other applicable legislation;“licenced waste disposal facility” means a site, or premises which is licenced by the Province of the Western Cape or the National Government and used for the accumulation or disposal of waste;“litter” means waste, excluding hazardous waste, arising from activities in public areas that has not been disposed of in a public litter container;“owner” includes the registered owner, lessee or occupier of a premises, or the person in charge or control of any premises or part thereof who is over 16 years of age, and any person who obtains a benefit from the premises or is entitled thereto;"pathological waste" [definition of “pathological waste” deleted by section 1(f) of the Amendment By-law, 2016]“person” includes—(a)any divisional council, municipal council, village management board, or like authority;(b)any company incorporated or registered as such under any law;(c)any body of persons corporate or unincorporate;[definition of “person” substituted by section 1(j) of the Amendment By-law, 2016]“pharmaceutical waste” includes expired, unused, spilt and contaminated pharmaceutical products, drugs, vaccines and sera that are no longer required and that need to be disposed of appropriately;"pressurized contatiner waste" [definition of “pressurized container waste” deleted by section 1(f) of the Amendment By-law, 2016]“priority waste” means waste declared to be such by the Director in terms of this By-law or in terms of national or provincial legislation;"radioactive waste" [definition of “radioactive waste” deleted by section 1(f) of the Amendment By-law, 2016]“recovery” means the controlled extraction or retrieval of any substance, material or object from waste;[definition of “recovery” inserted by section 1(k) of the Amendment By-law, 2016]“recyclable materials” means any material that can be converted into raw material that can be re-used to make new products or resources;“recycle” means a process where waste is reclaimed for further use, which process involves the separation of waste from a waste stream for further use and the processing of that separated material as a product or raw material;[definition of “recycle” inserted by section 1(k) of the Amendment By-law, 2016]"residential waste" [definition of “residential waste” deleted by section 1(l) of the Amendment By-law, 2016]“re-use” means to utilise the whole, a portion of or a specific part of any substance, material or object from the waste stream for a similar or different purpose without changing the form or properties of such substance, material or object;[definition of “re-use” inserted by section 1(k) of the Amendment By-law, 2016]“sanitary waste” means tampons, sanitary towels and incontinence pads;[definition of “sanitary waste” inserted by section 1(k) of the Amendment By-law, 2016]“SANS 10234” means the latest edition of the South African National Standard Globally Harmonized System of Classification and Labelling of Chemicals (GHS);[definition of “SANS 10234” inserted by section 1(k) of the Amendment By-law, 2016]"sharp waste" [definition of “sharp waste” deleted by section 1(f) of the Amendment By-law, 2016]“storage” means the accumulation of waste in a manner that does not constitute treatment or disposal of that waste;[definition of “storage” inserted by section 1(k) of the Amendment By-law, 2016]“Tariff Policy and Tariff By-Law” means the Tariff Policy and Tariff By-Law adopted by the Council of the City and published in the Provincial Gazette from time to time;“treatment” means any method, technique or process that is designed to—(i)change the physical, biological or chemical character or composition of waste;(ii)remove, separate, concentrate or recover a hazardous or toxic component of waste; or(iii)destroy or reduce the toxicity of waste,in order to minimise the impact of the waste on the environment prior to further use or disposal;[definition of “treatment” inserted by section 1(m) of the Amendment By-law, 2016]“the Waste Act” means the National Environmental Management: Waste Act, 2008 (Act No. 59 of 2008), and any reference to NEM:WA;[definition of “the Waste Act” inserted by section 1(m) of the Amendment By-law, 2016]“waste” means,—(a)any substance, material or object that is unwanted, rejected, abandoned, discarded or disposed of, or that is intended or required to be discarded or disposed of, by the holder of that substance, material or object, whether such substance, material or object can be re-used, recycled or recovered and includes all wastes as defined in the NEM:WA; or(b)Any other substance, material or object that is not included in the NEM:WA that may be defined as a waste by the Minister by notice in the Gazette,but any waste or portion of waste, referred to in paragraphs (a) and (b) ceases to be a waste—(i)Once an application for its re-use, recycling or recovery has been approved or, after such approval, once it is, or has been re-used, recycled or recovered;(ii)Where approval is not required, once a waste is, or has been re-used, recycled or recovered;(iii)Where the Minister has, in terms of NEM:WA, exempted any waste or a portion of waste generated by a particular process from the definition of waste; or(iv)Where the Minister has, in the prescribed manner, excluded any waste stream or a portion of a waste stream from the definition of waste;[definition of “waste” substituted by section 1 of the Amendment By-law, 2010 (as corrected) and by section 1(n) of the Amendment By-law, 2016]“waste classification” means establishing whether waste is hazardous based on the nature of its physical, health, and environmental hazardous properties; and the level of severity of the hazard posed;[definition of “waste classification” inserted by section 1(o) of the Amendment By-law, 2016]“waste generator” means any person whose actions, production process or activities, including waste management activities, result in the generation of waste;[definition of “waste generator” substituted by section 1(p) of the Amendment By-law, 2016]“waste manager” means any person who re-uses, recycles, recovers, treats or disposes of waste;[definition of “waste manager” inserted by section 1(q) of the Amendment By-law, 2016]“waste management facility” means a place, infrastructure, structure or containment of any kind wherein, upon or at which a waste management activity takes place and includes a waste transfer station, container yard, landfill site, incinerator, a recycling or a composting facility;[definition of “waste management facility” inserted by section 1(r) of the Amendment By-law, 2016]“waste management officer” means the Director: Solid Waste Management, or an officer referred to in section 25 of this By-law;“waste minimisation club” means a group of persons, typically residing in a high density residential or office building, or a multi-property cluster residential or business development, that have an agreement approved by the Director in terms of this By-law to minimise waste in exchange for a lower tariff according to an integrated waste management plan.“waste transporter” means any person who conveys or transfers waste between the waste generator and a waste management facility or between waste management facilities;[definition of “waste transporter” inserted by section 1(s) of the Amendment By-law, 2016]“waste with heavy metals” includes mercury waste from thermometers, blood- pressure gauges, residues from dentistry, cadmium waste from discarded batteries, reinforced wood panels used in radiation proofing, and drugs containing arsenic;2. Application of this by-law
In the event of conflict between this By Law and any other by law of the City dealing with waste management this By Law must prevail.3. Categorisation of waste
4. Obligations of waste generators
4A. Obligations of accredited service providers and waste managers
5. Hazardous waste
6. Event waste
7. Priority waste
8. Emergencies requiring the management of waste
9. Establishment of formal waste minimisation clubs in communities or businesses
10. Integrated waste management plan
11. Exemptions from submitting an integrated waste management plan
12. Storage and transportation of waste
13. Recycling, re-use, sorting and recovery of waste
14. Prohibition of unauthorised disposal of waste
No person may—15. Littering and dumping
16. Licences
Any person who, or entity which, requires a license in terms of national, provincial or municipal legislation will have to prove on request, to the waste management officer that such person or entity has obtained the appropriate license within 30 days or such lesser period as specified by such officer.17. Waste management services, applications and registration for waste collection and removal services
18. Access to private property
19. Premises inaccessible for refuse collection
Should the City be impeded from handling or collecting refuse due to the layout of a person’s premises, and if this impediment imposes a danger to employees of the City, the Director may require the owner to do such alterations or additions to the premises as are necessary to remove such impediment at that persons cost.20. Compliance notices
21. Service of documents and process
Whenever any notice, order, demand or other document is authorised or required to be served on a person in terms of this By-law, it shall be deemed to have been effectively and sufficiently served on such a person—22. Failure to comply with the by-law and enforcement
23. Offences and penalties
23A. Seizure and impounding of vehicles
24. Delegations by the waste management officer
The waste management officer shall be entitled to delegate to any other official of the City any of his or her powers or obligations in terms of this By-law.25. Functions and powers of waste management officer
The waste management officer shall be responsible for regulating, controlling, managing and enforcing the provisions of this By-Law and national and provincial legislation relating to waste management.26. Amendments to waste removal services
The City may amend any existing waste removal or cleansing services once a process of public notification, participation and comment has been completed and provided the amendment is practical, cost effective and has as its objective the prevention of the proliferation of waste, the minimisation of waste or the reduction of waste to be removed.26A. Ownership of waste
27. Transitional provisions
Any approvals given in accordance with previous by-laws will be valid in respect of the premises for which they were granted and in respect of the person to whom they were granted, but cannot be transferred to any other person.28. Guidelines
The Council may make guidelines not inconsistent with other legislation generally for the better carrying out of the objects and purposes of this By-law.29. Repeal of by-laws
The By-laws in Schedule 1 hereto are hereby repealed.30. Interpretation
In the event of a conflict between English, Xhosa and Afrikaans versions of this By-law, the English version shall be decisive.31. Short title
This By-law is called City of Cape Town: Integrated Waste Management By-law, 2009.[section 31 substituted by section 4 of the Amendment By-law, 2010 (as corrected)]History of this document
30 June 2016 this version
Amended by
Integrated Waste Management: Amendment
04 June 2010
07 May 2010
Amended by
Integrated Waste Management: Amendment
21 August 2009
30 March 2009
Assented to
Cited documents 2
Act 2
1. | Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, 1996 | 12573 citations |
2. | National Environmental Management: Waste Act, 2008 | 455 citations |