GROUNDWORK's QUARTERLY NEWSLETTER
Volume 3, No 2
September 2001
IN THIS ISSUE:
Dear friends of groundWork
We are delighted to announce the arrival of three new full-time “groundWorkers”
- Ardiel Soeker, Llewellyn Leonard and Bathoko Sibisi. Ardiel is
the coordinator of our Air quality project, Llewellyn is the coordinator
of our Medical waste and incineration project, and Bathoko is our new
assistant administrator. Meet them all on page 17 of this newsletter.
We have been kept very busy (as always) these past three months.
Highlights have been co-hosting the Environmental Justice Forum Speakout
at the World Conference Against Racism in Durban (see pages 4 - 6) and
a greening hospitals pilot project (see pages 8 - 11). There have
also been several exciting civil society victories over polluting industries
- read about them on pages 18.
This is a jam-packed, exciting newsletter and we hope it inspires you
to keep on working for environmental justice!
Regards, Linda Ambler
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There is no doubt that the NGO sector has to move into a new era seven
years after achieving our hard fought for democracy. In a new democratic
South Africa we have to be vigilant to ensure that the promises made by
our elected leaders are delivered. Civil society organizes itself
to keep a constant guard to make our democracy real. In playing
this watchdog role, NGO's have to be critical of the same politicians
that we have placed in authority.
This does not go down well with many politicians, but groundWork
has not backed down from this challenge. groundWork's focus
on industrial air pollution is a key area where we have been critical
of government and have been calling on government to be accountable to
its citizens.
However, within groundWork, we realise that it is equally important
to proactively and constructively work with government to assist them
in giving meaning to our constitution. The constitution is only
as good as we collectively make it happen.
It is in this spirit that groundWork and our international
partner, Health Care Without Harm, have started working with the Department
of Health in KwaZulu-Natal. We are assisting hospitals to
reduce their medical waste to reduce the risks posed by medical waste
to the public and to health care workers as well as to reduce the costs
of disposing of this waste.
It is by keeping a balance between supporting government and being critical
of government that will determine the success of NGO's in the future.
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Lead Story
United by our common suffering at the World Conference on Racism
By Bobby Peek
During August Durban was a buzz with people from all parts of the globe
attending the World Conference Against Racism (WCAR). There were
people from many cultures organising on many issues. There were
those calling for reparations for past slavery, those speaking of present
slavery, the Dalit (“untouchables”) from India, the Roma (people who travel
and have no borders) and many others from all continents.
The need to get environmental racism recognised was viewed as critical
by groundWork, International Possibilities Unlimited (IPU) and
the South African Exchange Programme on Environmental Justice (SAEPEJ).
Thus on the week-end of August 25-26, we jointly hosted a diverse group
of over 150 people in a two-day gathering where Asians, Blacks, Latinos,
and Indigenous Peoples from Nigeria, Ecuador, Dominica, Australia, South
Africa, Swaziland, Zimbabwe, Argentina, Panama, Canada, and the United
States testified on cases of environmental racism in their communities
and workplaces.
This two-day gathering commenced with an Environmental Justice Speak-Out
on Saturday, August 25. This was the first large gathering of international
Environmental Justice activists in SA since the Earthlife International
Conference in 1992. On Sunday 26th August participants toured South
Durban's residential neighbourhoods where industry has been allowed to
develop to the harm of local residents.
People of colour from South America, Africa, North America and Australia
had painful stories to tell. At the heart of the experience of environmental
injustice and environmental racism is the abuse of power. Poor people,
particularly people of colour, live in damaged environments that damage
their health and their livelihoods. All these stories centred on the suffering
experienced because of skin colour and the abuse by multi-nationals corporations
supported by government's worldwide.
Painful testimonies where delivered by many participants. Nnimmo
Bassey from Nigeria started the day by reminding people of the hardship
suffered by people in Nigeria due to Shell's lack of respect for human
life in Africa. “We are killed but have no right to cry. Our environments
are destroyed and we have no right to complain,” he said.
This struck resonance with the South Durban people who were being gassed
by Shell's leaking petrol pipelines in their neighbourhoods at the very
time the conference was occurring.
Mexicans told stories of the suffering in the Maquiladora (“sweat shops”)
and on farms in the USA, where salaries where five times lower than the
minimum wage in the USA.
Indigenous people from Australia and the USA shared a platform with
the Environmental Justice Networking Forum (EJNF) of South Africa, highlighting
how their governments support environmental racism through omission or
commission, for example, allowing sacred indigenous lands to be desecrated
for mining and toxic waste dumping.
South African participants had their own testimonies that reverberated
with the participants. There were stories of suffering due to asbestos
poisoning in the Northern Cape, forced relocation for dam construction
in KwaZulu-Natal, and ill-health caused by pollution from the Sasol plant
in Secunda. This is all suffering that is happening in a democratic
country.
On Sunday, August 26, participants went on a “toxic tour” to witness
the real face of environmental racism and globalisation as manifested
in South Durban. Participants were taken through areas that were
racially segregated due to past apartheid practices. Here people
live in the same road as a toxic waste dumpsite or an oil refinery.
Leaking petrol pipelines from a refinery travel under community residential
areas. Children's playgrounds neighbour chemical industries.
Many participants said they felt at home on the tour. This could
have been Harlem and the South Bronx where, because the residents are
poor and black, toxic waste has been dumped there.
One participant described what he saw and heard as follows:
“Look left, and one sees the gorgeous Indian Ocean. Look right, and
one sees smoke stacks - large tin cylindrical tanks above ground pipes
crisscrossing the land, funnel-shaped constructions puffing away, and
most disturbingly, a long canal running from the necks of chugging oil
refineries and production plants directly to the ocean. The canal also
passes through many people's backyards. The tour guide's voice choked
as he related how local children, unable to understand the dangers, often
snuck into the canal to swim and play.”
It was here where the talk became a reality, where people recognised
the ugly face of globalisation, which knows no boundaries.
This was the start to the World Conference Against Racism for the many
people. In sharing the experiences and the struggles it is our hope
that we can start taking the theories and values that are so often spoken
about and place them into practice. With the World Summit on Sustainable
Development (WSSD) taking place in South Africa in 2002, one has to ask
whether the industrial practices spoken about during this weekend are
sustainable? They most certainly are not. However, next year,
no doubt, there will be governments trying to defend these practices of
human rights abuse as legitimate and sustainable. This gathering
must be used as a platform to catapult the struggle towards the WSSD and
beyond.
It is time to start talking about reparations for environmental abuse
of peoples of colour, also referred to as ecological debt. And finally,
as Mrs Fatima Meer indicated in her closing address at the Speak Out,
the world needs to return to the values of old and of its indigenous peoples
and its rich and diverse cultures, and move away from the need to globalise
all.
For those of you who want to read more on this Speak Out, visit our
website, or contact the office for a copy of the full report of the Speak
Out.
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More than 750 000 thousand litres of petrol has leaked into the neighbourhoods
of South Durban after a 25 year old Shell and BP petrol pipeline sprung
a leak. Now, two months after the leak was first detected, Shell
and BP have requested that some of the people living in the area relocate.
Three days after the leak was first detected by residents in the area,
hydrocarbons at levels of 3 700 parts per million were recorded next to
a storm water drain. Levels of benzene have also raised concern
and weeks later Benzene levels have been found to be 200 part per billion
in certain houses, a level that is several times higher than WHO outdoor
limits.
One resident adjacent to the leaking pipeline has spent the last two
months of her pregnancy breathing in these benzene, toluene, ethyl benzene
and xylene fumes. Shell and BP have claimed that: “environmental
benzene is not known to cause childhood leukaemia”. However, the
first report of benzene causing leukaemia was published in 1928.
In 1948 the American Petroleum Institute published a toxicological review
of benzene, noting that benzene causes leukaemia and that the only safe
level of exposure to benzene is ZERO ppm”. (www.toxictorts.com/benzene.htm)
Soon after this leak was sprung, further fuel pipelines were tested
and found to be leaking as well. These pipelines have no above-ground
markers indicating exactly where these pipelines are (as is the case in
some overseas countries). Many of these pipelines are placed on
the fence line of houses. In many cases the residents in the area
are unaware that they have fuel pipelines right next to their homes.
In 1998 Shell and BP tested their pipelines and repaired structurally
weak areas. However, just a few years later there are numerous leaks
on their pipelines. Shell and BP do not want to replace their pipelines
over the next few years as proposed by the community. Instead, Shell
and BP are recommending that more tests be done on these pipelines, which
are around three decades old. They have also proposed relocating
local residents. This is against the promise made by Minister of
Environmental Affairs, Minister Moosa that people will not be relocated
in South Durban.
groundWork calls on government to take action against Shell and
BP for this incident and the other incidents that occurred at the Shell
and BP plants this year. In March 2001, 26 tons of tetra-ethyl lead
leaked out of a storage tank adjacent to the community and in June Shell
and BP dumped hydrogen sulphide gas onto the community.
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A spectre is haunting South Africa...the spectre of hospital waste.
Waste from health care is a mounting concern in South Africa, as in many
countries. Proper handling of health care wastes is a complicated issue,
particularly when resources are scarce, as they are in most public hospitals.
So groundWork reached out through its international networks, Health Care
Without Harm and the Global Alliance for Incinerator Alternatives, for
help.
In December 2000, groundWork, together with other international
folk, held a series of meetings with a few hospitals at which a medical
waste skills share visit was proposed. The aim of the skills share would
be to help hospitals reduce the amount of waste generated, thereby saving
costs and increasing worker safety. The skills share would
also work with hospitals to better manage their waste. After months of
planning and preparation, and prior visits to hospitals, the Medical Waste
Skills Share was undertaken between 22 August to 4 September, 2001. The
hospitals where the skills share visits were conducted were Edendale hospital
Pietermarizburg, Ngwelezana hospital, Empangeni and the Good Shepherd
hospital in Swaziland.
I am employed by groundWork as the point person to work on medical
waste issues, and was pleased during the skills share to have the opportunity
of accompanying and working with professionals in the field. Glenn McRae
from CGH Environmental Strategies based in the USA was the consultant
for hospitals because of his expertise as an organizational analyst and
management consultant who has worked with health care institutions around
the world. Neil Tangri, a Field Director of the NGO Essential Action in
USA, was also present during the Medical Waste Skills Share.
According to Neil Tangri: “The skills share represents a new approach
for groundWork, building long term working relationships with waste producers
to jointly explore the possibilities for good management ... Our purpose
was to look for strategies to halt the mass incineration of health care
wastes and develop better management strategies that would protect both
workers and community members.”
Ngwelezana hospital
At Ngwelezana hospital we were warmly greeted by excited staff members
who were eager to start addressing waste issues within and outside the
institution. Our visit to the hospital was conducted over a period of
two and a half days. An initial hospital meeting with staff heads was
conducted in the morning. At the outset, I had anticipated about ten staff
heads to convene with us, however, upon arrival, we were received by more
than 50 hospital staff members, including management cleaners and nursing
assistances, showing that willingness at the hospital to reduce waste
was genuine.
Since I had worked at the Ngwelezana and Edendale hospitals prior to
the skills share, so as to better understand the challenges facing the
institution and to get hands on experience of the operations at the hospitals,
I had become quite familiar with staff members at both the institutions.
The occupational health and safety matron, Sister Ruth Jele, as well as
the infection control nurse, Sister Jabu Nene, had been quite obliging
in helping me to set up the skills share visit to the Ngwelezana hospital.
During our walk through the facility, I was glad to see how the staff
heads at the different wards eagerly awaited our arrival, and when we
did arrive expressed their concerns and issues in a legitimate way. Some
staff members were enthusiastic to ask questions and when Glenn McRae
or Neil Tangri made recommendations, they keenly listened with open anticipation.
One of the most common concerns expressed was the fact that more rigorous
education and training programs would be needed on waste reduction at
the hospital. Reorientation programs were thought to be needed for all
levels of personnel at regular intervals.
Edendale hospital
Like Ngwelezana hospital, the response from the hospital staff at Edendale
was overwhelming. Four days were spent at Edendale, since we felt that
more work needed to be done here considering the fact that medical waste
issues had reached an uncontrollable magnitude with nurses flushing medical
waste down toilets. The agenda, however, was similar to the Ngwelezana
hospital visit, and during our walk through the facility we were accompanied
by the infection control nurse, Sister Jabu Masinga. Also accompanying
us was the occupational health and safety matron, the stores manager
and the hospital grounds man, Mr. Mawisa Nyandu who was responsible for
collecting the hospital waste every day.
During our visit, we had the opportunity of observing how medical waste
was collected and disposed of at the hospital. Although red bags are supposed
to be used only for infectious waste, segregation of the waste was not
being conducted at the hospital with infectious waste being mixed with
non-infectious waste.
Red bags are the most expensive to dispose of. The more red bags, the
greater the costs to the hospital. We were told that the medical waste
collection company, Compass Waste, charged the hospital R18, 19 to collect
a 90 litre red bag. A count of all red bags was conducted everyday by
Compass Waste. Some of the red bag collection records observed showed
figures totalling over 300 bags on some days. After two days of working
with the hospital staff the numbers of red bags had decreased to 76. This
low total was not seen in past records at all.
During the last day of our visit at the hospital, an in servicing for
all staff members was conducted. The response for the in servicing was
awe-inspiring and a total of over ninety staff members were present. Glenn
McRae presented a feedback about the hospital visit as well as an overview
of waste management. As at the in servicing at Ngwelezana hospital, I
reiterated that the skills share visit was just the beginning of a much
larger medical waste reduction and occupational safety agenda and required
a step-by-step process to achieve the overall aim. Setting specific yet
realistic goals and timelines and sticking to them would be essential.
Good Shepherd Hospital
After spending a relaxing Sunday viewing wildlife at Mbuluzi game reserve
in Swaziland, we headed off to Good Shepherd hospital the following morning.
Violet Buluma of Yonge Nawe Environmental Network accompanied us and was
appointed as the lead person to work on medical waste issues in Swaziland.
Unlike South Africa, Swaziland does not have any registered landfills
where the hospitals can send their waste. The hospital therefore had an
on site incinerator, which was used to burn all hospital waste. Everything
from sharps to infectious waste was burnt in the incinerator. Considering
the fact that the ash from the incinerator was highly hazardous to the
community and environment, we were surprised to see that the ash was simply
dumped at the back of the hospital. The grounds man had also dug a hole
next to the ash-dump site, which was used for the disposal of florescent
light bulbs.
I was shocked to see that the hospital lacked resources such as sharps
containers to dispose of their needles and syringes. They were therefore
forced to use paint tins with holes cut on top to dispose of the sharps.
Findings by consultants
According to Glenn McRae, “wastes from health care facilities can pose
a risk to health care workers, patients and local communities. While there
is much concern about the possible spread of disease (especially from
contact with "sharps" such as needles), the treatment of those
wastes, through incineration, can release an array of hazardous pollutants
into the air and water.”
Three findings were particularly significant in examining waste management
practices at the hospitals that were toured.
1. The first was that, the fear of diseases like HIV and hepatitis had
led hospitals to treat most of the waste as if it were potentially infectious.
In fact, most waste in hospitals -- 90% or more, if properly segregated
-- is simply trash, much of it packaging similar to what you would find
in any shop or office. A lack of good segregation meant that a large amount
of non-infectious waste was being sent for incineration. With good segregation
of wastes, less than 10% would need to be treated to disinfect it.
2. The second finding, was the general perception that the best way
to deal with all waste from hospitals was to burn it. This is based on
the erroneous assumption that most wastes in hospitals are somehow contaminated
and represent a threat. The specific danger in hospital waste is related
mostly to the presence of large numbers of sharps such as syringes with
needles. These specific wastes do pose a danger of transmitting disease,
and require special treatment, although not necessarily incineration.
Fortunately, in the hospitals that were visited, there were good programs
to segregate these needles in special containers.
According to Neil Tangri, “groundWork will be looking into alternative
technologies, such as the autoclaving and microwaving systems that are
popular in many other countries.”
3. The third finding concerned the chemical, mercury. Mercury is a highly
potent neurotoxin, especially dangerous to pregnant women and children.
In hospitals, it is found primarily in thermometers and blood pressure
devices (sphygmomanometers). The skills share group was shocked to find
that in each hospital literally kilos of mercury were released into the
hospital environment (and out into the community environment) every year
through accidental equipment breakage. According to Mr. McRae, “mercury
released at hospitals can stay in the hospital, slowly vaporizing and
affecting staff and patients, or it can be carried out in wastes and burnt
sending it out in the air to the community. There was found to be very
little awareness of the dangers of mercury among hospital staff.
The two hospitals in South Africa that participated in the program acknowledged
that they needed to improve their systems and volunteered to work with
groundWork to be part of the initial study. I will now be working
with the staff at these facilities to establish new practices in waste
management that can be used as models for other hospitals throughout South
Africa to improve practices and reduce the threat to communities that
the current system of waste management poses.
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Social investment and job creation are common bartering tools used by
developers and consultants to get community buy in for projects and to
divert attention from the real issues of concern.
In many EIA scoping meetings, communities are often told how many jobs
will be created by the development, and what educational and training
opportunities will be available if the project goes ahead. This leads
to vigorous discussions on how the jobs will be made available to reduce
unemployment, alleviate poverty and stimulate the economy. The actual
project, the technology being proposed and it's health and environmental
impacts are incidental.
The public participation process generally follows a set recipe: send
out as many invites as possible to interested and affected parties, bus
in as many unemployed people to scoping meetings and ensure that participants
get a taste of what benefits the project will bring by organizing a good
lunch or supper, then you have it made.
Throw in an American to confuse participants about the technology and
to emphasize how really good this project will be for us because that
is how America became the greatest and most successful country in the
world and then you've really got it made.
Unfortunately, for such consultants and developers, communities in South
Africa are learning fast that the social investment and job opportunities
can come at a cost that is far greater than the investment itself - people's
health and well-being.
The proposal to develop a hazardous waste incinerator in Sasolburg is
encountering rising opposition from both the local and international community.
The developer is Peacock Bay Environmental Services (PBES), a South African
company. They are working in partnership with an American company,
Roy F. Weston International. They have proposed building an incinerator
(Rotary Kiln Thermal Oxidation System). The deadline to comment on the
scoping phase of the proposal was the 31st August 2001.
groundWork formulated a written comment on the Preliminary EIA
for the proposal. groundWork's submission received written
support from many local councillors, residents, national organisations
and international organisations.
In our submission we state that we do not dispute that there is a need
in SA for technology to decontaminate hazardous wastes, including POPs.
But we dispute that incineration is the appropriate technology.
We argue that incineration is a polluting technology. No incinerator
is able to achieve 100% DRE, and thus all incinerators release toxic emissions.
The air pollution in the Sasolburg area and the greater Vaal Triangle
is a cause of concern and has been for many years. Recent air sampling
undertaken by a number of different agencies, including Sasol and groundWork,
has revealed elevated levels of toxic pollutants in the area. Clinic
reports as well as anecdotal reports from residents and doctors in the
area reveal high levels of pollution related illnesses among residents.
For this reason the siting of yet another polluting technology cannot
be supported until, at the very least, an effective air quality management
plan is in place in the area.
We further argue that the incinerator would produce very toxic fly ash
and bottom ash. If the air pollution control equipment is operating
properly, these ashes will be highly contaminated with heavy metals, PCBs,
dioxins and furans, as well as numerous other toxic byproducts of combustion.
The Department of Water Affairs (DWAF) has recently stated that incinerator
ash is hazardous waste, which must be disposed of in a hazardous waste
landfill site. Furthermore, these toxic chemicals will readily dissolve
into water if landfilled, thus presenting precisely the same problem that
the waste treatment was intended to solve: the residue is too toxic to
bury.
The Sasolburg Environmental Committee (SEC) is one organisation that
has not let the real issues of poverty and unemployment blur their ability
to look at the complete picture. Assisted by groundWork, the SEC
spearheaded an awareness campaign targeting ordinary residents as well
as community leaders and local and provincial politicians. Pamphlets,
workshops and public meetings led to an increasing number of residents
expressing their opposition to the proposal.
Around the country, other communities responded to the call of groundWork
for expressions of support. The Anti Incineration Alliance in Cape Town
registered their support for the SEC. The alliance consists of community
groups in Mitchell's Plain and Khayelitsha who oppose the proposal by
Swartklip products, an ammunitions plant, to develop an ammunitions incinerator.
Organisations in Gauteng and KwaZulu-Natal have also registered their
opposition to the PBES proposal.
International attention has also been drawn to the proposal, led by
the Boston based South African Exchange Programme on Environmental Justice
and the Global Alliance for Incineration Alternatives. Community
groups in the Philippines, in South America and East Asia have also come
out in support of SEC in this campaign.
groundWork, together with a representative of the Metsimaholo
Local Council in Sasolburg and a representative of the SEC, met with the
MEC for Environment in the Free State Province. The MEC is responsible
for making the final decision on whether the project goes ahead or not.
After listening to our concerns, the MEC assured us that he would not
make a decision that would contradict the views and concerns of the Local
Municipality and the Sasolburg community.
groundWork informed the Minister for Environment, Valli Moosa,
about our concerns with regard to the proposal violating the Stockholm
Convention, which South Africa recently signed.
| In groundWork's submission we urge the
Free State government not to grant its approval to PBES and Weston.
Instead we call for the following:
1. A full EIA that would include further, more thorough
investigation of alternative technologies.
2. A halt to all new incineration plants in SA.
3. The government to avail itself of assistance from the Global
Environment Facility for the investigating and development of non-polluting
treatment facilities for the decontamination of organic hazardous
waste.
4. The project to be placed on hold until DEAT has established a
current inventory of the hazardous waste stockpile situation as
well as a PRTR to indicate monthly waste generation quantities.
5. The South African Government to ensure that the existing
stockpiles of hazardous waste are correctly and safely stored, until
appropriate disposal facilities are erected. |
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Aloes
Waste-tech Landfill Site gets further extension
The extension of the Aloes I landfill site, and the development of the
Aloes II landfill site were strongly opposed by several communities surrounding
Aloes in the Nineties. The disregard for community concerns led to the
community seeking assistance from the South African Human Rights Commission.
In a recent agreement between the Nelson Mandela Metropolitan Municipality
and Waste-tech, Waste-tech have been granted a three-year extension of
the lease for the Aloes site. Waste-tech will now apply to the Department
of Water Affairs and Forestry for an extension on its permit for Aloes
II. This is despite the fact that the community have for years been
calling for the dumping of hazardous waste to stop at Aloes.
In terms of the above agreement, Waste-tech have committed themselves
to build a leachate treatment facility on site to deal with the over 75
million litres of leachate presently contained in Aloes I and II.
In the interim, Waste-tech will also construct another leachate holding
dam to help alleviate some of the problems associated with the extraordinarily
huge amount of leachate on the site. The presence of all this leachate
is a terrible nuisance for surrounding communities, as very noxious vapours
are given off by the site.
Waste-tech operations heavily criticised
groundWork has contracted Stass Environmental to review the historical
operating conditions at the Aloes site. The Stass Report will be
forwarded to the SA Human Rights Commission on behalf of the community
shortly. A representative of Stass Environmental visited the site
in September 2001. His observations included the following:
“An area on top of the [closed] Aloes I site has been reopened on the
rehabilitated area, through an excavation and landfilling operation of
approximately 40m by 40 m. The base of this excavation is filled
with black coloured liquid (assumed to be leachate), indicating that there
is also disposal of liquids.”
“The trench access manholes are overgrown with bushes, showing that
no monitoring or maintenance has been occurring for a considerable period
of time. Because of the apparent unmaintained state of this cut-off
system, it is entirely possible that leachate is finding it's way to the
storm water canal running alongside the main road, towards the Swartkops
River estuary.”
“205 litre plastic drums marked as cyanide waste were unattended by
the side of the road. Such materials must be stored in safe conditions
within the encapsulation cell. Only personnel equipped with PPE (personnel
protective equipment) should be allowed to handle such waste. None of
the personnel on the site was observe d to be wearing any PPE.”
It is clear from the site visit that Waste-tech is not taking seriously
the conditions set down by government for operating the landfill site
and that government is not monitoring these conditions appropriately.
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Merriman Gumede is the founder of the Thandulwazi Youth Society, an
environmental focus organisation in rural Ndwedwe, West of Durban.
One of the most regular callers to the groundWork offices is
Mduduzi Merriman Gumede.
Monday mornings to Friday afternoons Merriman is based at Cedara (just
North of Pietermaritzburg) where he works as a senior personnel officer
for the KZN Department of Agriculture and Environmental Affairs.
Friday afternoons he takes off home to Ndwedwe and the rest of the weekend
he “is running all over the show” organising the greater Ndwedwe community
around environmental issues.
Merriman (30) is the youngest of 7 children. Most of his childhood
was spent in rural Ndwedwe. His mother supported the family by growing
and selling vegetables.
Merriman's interest in environmental issues was sparked while he was
at school in Ulundi. There was a very active environmental club
at the school. After school he returned home to Ndwedwe and started the
started the Thandulwazi Youth Society. It is a membership-based
organisation working mainly through the creation of environmental clubs
in schools in the Ndwedwe area.
The main activities of the Society include:
- Promoting recycling (as there is no waste collection
services in the area)
- Restoration of wetlands
- Planting of indigenous trees
- Preservation of river catchments
- Removal of alien vegetation
- Organising field trips to game reserves
- Clean up campaigns
The Society has succeeded in having KZN Wildlife (previously the KZN
Parks Board) post a permanent field ranger in Ndwedwe to promote awareness
and interest in conservation issues in the area. They have also
succeeded in persuading the local chief to set aside the catchment area
of the Umdlothi River as a nature reserve.
He has worked with the Wildlife and Environment Society of South Africa
(WESSA), the Institute of Natural Resources (INR) and various government
departments.
Up until now the Society has operated without funding. This year
the Thandulwazi Youth Society received R100 000 from the National Land
Care Programme from the Department of Agriculture. A very worthy
recipient indeed!!
Back to the top
groundWork welcomes three new staff members onto our team.
Bathoko Sibisi
Our new assistant administrator, “Bathoks” will be familiar to many
of you. She has worked at the Environmental Justice Networking Forum for
the past 5 years. Bathoko is multi-skilled and already in a few
days has helped tremendously in relieving the work pressures on all of
us. She is also completely unflappable, unlike some of us in the
office whose emotions range from hysterical to down right moody!
Bathoko has a 14-year old son.
Llewellyn Leonard
At 24 “Llew” is the youngest in the office, and makes Gill feel positively
decrepit. Llew joined us earlier this year as an intern and impressed
us so much that in August 2001 he was appointed as the coordinator of
our Medical waste and incineration project. He was immediately thrown
in the deep-end and told to organize the visit of two medical waste experts
to South Africa (see story on pages 12- 14). One of his first assignments
was visiting all the wards in Edendale Hospital (Pietermaritzburg) to
observe how the hospital staff dealt with the waste they generated.
He saw some scary sights! Llew has a BSc Honours in Geography from the
University of Durban Westville, and is currently completing his masters
in Water Quality and Environmental Management.
Ardiel Soeker
Ardiel is a stalwart in the environmental justice sector with an unblemished
career in the fields of community organizing and advocacy. Ardiel
is our Air Quality Project coordinator. He relieves Bobby of our
oil refinery and bucket brigade campaigns. He has already had much
success in helping organize residents in Sasolburg, and is also stirring
the pot in Secunda. Ardiel is based in Cape Town, which gives groundWork
easy access to Parliament and the many polluted, poor communities in the
Western Cape.
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Autoclaving proposed to deal with KZN medical waste
Compass Waste Services cc, which has the monopoly on medical waste treatment
and disposal in KwaZulu-Natal, recently decided that they would switch
from incineration to autoclaving. Compass currently incinerates all the
waste it collects at an incinerator in Ixopo. The incinerator is
owned by the Ixopo municipality but is operated under contract by Compass.
This incinerator is not able to meet many of the legally required health
and safety standards and poses a real threat to health and the environment.
What makes this incinerator even more of a concern is that it is located
in the heart of dairy country, which means it is highly likely that it
is contaminating our dairy products. For nearly two years groundWork
has been leaning on the government to take strong action on the incinerator.
Now Compass have decided to develop an autoclave, which is technology
designed to treat medical waste without producing any emissions.
Communities halt development of Military Incinerator
Communities in the Western Cape are fighting a proposal for the development
of a military incinerator between Khayelitsha and Mitchell's Plain.
The communities have been assisted by Angela Andrews of the Legal Resources
Centre. The incinerator is being proposed by Swartklips Products, a subsidiary
of arms manufacturer Denel. To date no permission has been granted
and the authorities have responded to community and legal challenges by
suggesting conflict resolution to look more deeply into the possibility
of alternatives to incineration.
Government puts brakes on self-regulation
The Department of Environmental Affairs and Tourism (DEAT) has released
a draft policy document stating that the development of all Environmental
Management Cooperation Agreements (EMCAs) must be placed on hold.
For the past year groundWork has spearheaded a civil society campaign
calling for a moratorium on the development of these pro-industry, voluntary
agreements. groundWork has argued that EMCAs should only
be introduced in SA after strong laws have been passed which prescribe
legally binding ambient air standards and emission standards, with
accompanying enforcement mechanisms. The DEAT has now done an about-turn
and has decided that EMCAs may only be implemented after the necessary
legislative and regulatory infrastructure is in place.
Waste giant forced to do a full EIA
EnviroServ, South Africa's largest waste company, will have to do a
full environmental impact assessment (EIA) if they want to put up a medical
waste incinerator in Shongweni, West of Durban. Earlier this year
EnviroServ undertook a preliminary EIA for their proposed incinerator.
groundWork called on the provincial government to reject this preliminary
EIA on the grounds that insufficient public scoping had been undertaken,
and that the preliminary EIA contained many inaccuracies about incineration.
The provincial government responded in writing to groundWork stating that
they would direct that EnviroServ go back to the drawing board and undertake
a full-EIA, which would have to include a thorough investigation of alternatives
to incineration.
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“Stormy Weather - 101 Solutions to Global Climate Change”, by Guy Dauncey
with Patrick Mazza, New Society Publishers, 2001 (A5, 271 pages)
“At the beginning of this 21st Century America stands virtually alone
in its denial of the urgency and magnitude of the accelerating pace of
climate change. It is no accident. The reason for this denial lies
in a relentless campaign of deception and disinformation in the US by
the coal and oil industries to persuade the public that the issue is either
non-existent or negligible… The wealth of solutions included in “Stormy
Weather” eliminates forever any excuse to remain passive in the face of
what is perhaps the most profound challenge ever faced by humanity. In
all her anguished expressions, nature is calling on us to save the world.
“Stormy Weather” is telling us how.”
So writes Ross Gelbspan is his foreward to “Stormy Weather - 101 Solutions
to Global Climate Change”.
Each chapter of this book is directed at a different level and sector
of our global society, from the individual, to industries, to nations
and the global society. Thus chapter headings include: “ Ten solutions
for individuals”, “Ten solutions for cities, towns and counties”, “Fifteen
solutions for Energy companies”, Ten solutions for developing economies”,
and “Ten Global Solutions'.
This book can be ordered from New Society Publishers on www.newsociety.com.
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NGO participation
The World Summit on Sustainable Development (WSSD) is taking place in
Sandton from 2 - 11 September 2002. The NGO Summit will take place
simultaneously and will be held at Gallagher Estate. Business will
also be holding a parallel summit to be held at the Nasrec Convention
Centre.
South African Office on World Summit for Sustainable Development
The SA NGO Coalition has appointed the Rural Development Services Network
(RDSN) as the implementing agency for NGO preparations for the WSSD.
The RDSN is facilitating the establishment of an independent secretariat
made up of elected NGO representatives. The NGO WSSD offices have
been opened in Johannesburg.
Their contact details are: Telephone: 011 - 403 4119; Fax: 011
- 403 0790; E-mail: info@worldsummit.org.za; www.worldsummit.org.za
Civil society participation in South Africa: Civil Society Indaba
(CSI)
In order that South Africa's civil society's voice is heard, the SA Secretariat
for the WSSD is developing a Civil Society Indaba. The CSI will
communicate South African issues into the International Steering Committee,
on which the CSI will be represented. These issues will inform the
final themes for the NGO Conference. The CSI will have regional
representatives, one from each province and two representatives from each
sector/major group.
Dates to watch our for:
Southern Summit on the WSSD will be held in Algiers 8 -10 October.
NGO country reports on Agenda 21 and process to WSSD will be submitted
by various country NGO bodies.
An Africa Regional WSSD Prepcom meeting will be held in Nairobi from
15 - 18 October. Content issues on Africa will be discussed here.
A Pan Africa conference organised by the Heinrich
Boell Stichfting will take place in Nairobi in November to bring together
the outcomes for Africa of the above meetings.
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