GROUNDWORK's QUARTERLY
NEWSLETTER
Volume 6, No 2
June 2004
IN THIS ISSUE:
From the Smokestack
Lead Story - Managing health care waste:
Hospital workers unite
Corporate Accountability – A
common background
Sting award for Burmese refugee and
environmental rights activist
Corporate Accountability - World
Bank told to back out of oil, coal
Air Quality Project - International
community exchange on industrial pollution
SA government disappoints all in its
apathy towards renewable energy
Waste Project - Planting the
seeds of sustainability within Africa
Community News – Linbro
Park
Cynics Corner
News from groundWork USA
Publications
In the pipeline
by groundWork Director, Bobby Peek
Dear Mr Minister
Congratulations on your appointment as Minister of Environmental
Affairs and Tourism. Some see this as less important than
others or as a glorified public relations position for South
Africa's spectacular natural environment and tourism. We at
groundWork do not agree. We see the portfolio as
one that deals with life and death issues for people that
are impacted by inappropriate development.
Since democracy, we have made significant progress in getting
environment redefined in South Africa - from its narrow colonial
focus on conservation to people-centred environmental justice.
Our Constitution, and the objectives and principles that guide
our environmental policy and legislation, are noble and we
cannot but endorse them. Our lived experience tells us another
story where these objectives and principles are regularly
violated, resulting in communities being harmed and polluted
by industry.
Given our experience, we recognise the importance of your
Ministry and thus we will not accept:
- toothless environmental legislation;
- impunity for industies that flaunt the law by polluting
our environments thus endangering the health of people and
not being held to account by government, which is tantamount
to lawlessness;
- the incineration of waste and its lethal consequences
in whatever guise it comes, be it shiny European plants,
cement kilns or converted 44 gallon drums;
- obsolete first world technology being dumped upon us in
the name of economic development or foreign aid;
- trans-national corporations being allowed to operate here
at standards less than those they would have to adhere to
in their country of origin;
- voluntary or self-regulatory measures that are proposed
in the absence of industry meeting the legislated minimum
standards;
- the notion of profits before people, and we will not relinquish
an inch of the hard won democratic space achieved in 1994;
and finally,
- tough talk about enforcement while polluters continue
to transgress the law with the acceptance of government.
Your task is indeed a complex one. In order for you to get
a clearer understanding of the environmental justice challenges
we all face, we invite you to meet with us to learn from our
perspective and become informed of the realities that face
us daily.
We will support and applaud government in any real effort
to realise the constitutional right of the people in this
country to an environment that is not harmful to our health
and well-being.
We look forward to a construtive relationship with you and
your department.
Yours sincerely
groundWork
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Managing health care waste: Hospital workers unite
By Llewellyn Leonard
"All things are possible once enough human beings
realise that everything is at stake."
Norman Cousins
A recent, highly successful three-day workshop organised
by groundWork at the Edendale Hospital climaxed with the launch
of groundWork’s latest publication: Managing hospital
waste – A guide for Southern African Health Care Institutions.
This manual, which aims to assist health care workers in managing
their waste in a safer, more sustainable manner, takes groundWork’s
health care waste campaign to a new level. [1]
The three-day national health care waste and incineration
workshop was held in May. The intention of this gathering
was not only to highlight the problems regarding health care
waste and incineration, but also to launch the new manual.
Over 130 participants, mostly representatives from government
hospitals around the KwaZulu-Natal province, attended the
practical, hands-on workshop. This excellent turnout was not
only an indication of the serious concerns that health care
waste poses to hospital staff and their surrounding communities,
but also that health care institutions (HCIs) are committed
to reducing the potentially harmful impact that this waste
can have on our quest for a sustainable, healthy society.
During the workshop I noticed that most participants generally
lacked an understanding of the management approach to health
care waste - that is, they lacked an understanding of waste
segregation techniques, occupational health and safety, and
methods of safe waste disposal. They also indicated that their
institutions were not taking waste management seriously. Although
the participants understood the difference between infectious
and non-infectious waste, most of them did not seem to know
how to apply the principles of reduce, reuse and recycling
of waste so as to minimise costs, minimise wastage and generate
income.
The common voice expressed by delegates was that support
from top management would be essential if a successful waste
reduction plan were to be implemented at their institutions.
They also indicated that they thought that top management
needed to attend similar such workshops on health care waste.
During the first day there were various presentations on
health care waste and incineration. Delegates also had the
opportunity to tour Edendale Hospital as a model institution
in terms of waste disposal. Since 2001 groundWork has been
working with Edendale Hospital in Pietermaritzburg and Ngwelezane
Hospital near Empangeni to provide insights into proper waste
management. The aim is to make these institutions model hospitals
for others to follow. Delegates were amazed at the tremendous
cost savings that had been achieved at both institutions,
with cost reductions of up to 50% being achieved through simply
segregating the various waste streams.
On the second day, participants had the opportunity to visit
the incinerator at Ixopo. The incinerator is owned by the
local municipality but is operated by Compass Waste Services,
which has the tender from the KZN Department of Health to
dispose of health care waste generated at government hospitals
and clinics. The Ixopo incinerator is currently used to burn
human tissue waste from hospitals and clinics as well as municipal
waste. Participants expressed shock that government had allowed
such a poorly managed incinerator to continue operating illegally
for several years without a permit. It was also atrocious
to see that workers did not have the required protective gear
and were being exposed to dangerous working conditions. Some
workers spoke of wearing the same clothing at work that they
used at home. Participants, however, did applaud the KZN Department
of Health for its move to phase out incinerators in the province
and noted that government needed to ‘walk the talk’.
During the presentation on alternatives to incineration,
participants were glad to hear that affordable alternatives
to incineration exist for rural areas, but did acknowledge
that the implementation of a non-burn disposal technology
was just one part of a much wider solution to waste management.
In this regard it was acknowledged that any waste disposal
that does occur needs to happen after a proper waste reduction
and segregation program has been implemented. Much interest
was expressed in low cost treatment technologies and the pilot
projects being conducted in India, Swaziland and Kenya (for
more information see www.medwastecontest.org).
On the final day of the workshop, groundWork launched its
new manual entitled Managing hospital waste: A guide for Southern
African health care institutions. The manual is the culmination
of work conducted at the two model institutions as well as
several international exchanges at home and abroad on health
care waste. It was explained to delegates that, with the help
of the manual, HCIs would be able to install an appropriate
waste management system that could provide benefits such as:
• improved regulatory compliance
• protection of human health by reducing people’s
exposure to hazardous waste
• enhancing community relations by demonstrating a commitment
to environmental protection
• economic benefits resulting from pollution prevention,
such as products that reduce and recycle waste and the avoidance
of long term liability
• increased employee confidence resulting from a healthier
and safer work environment, and
• cost savings arising from reducing the amount of waste
needing to be disposed of and/or treated.
The workshop proved to be a major success. It is hoped that
this manual will assist many institutions in Southern Africa
in establishing improved health care waste management practices,
which will ultimately contribute towards sustainable development
for future generations. This manual must, however, not be
seen as an end in itself, since each hospital’s waste
management plan will not be identical to another hospital’s
plan and will need to be implemented accordingly.
NOTES [1] This manual is reviewed on page 20 of this newsletter.
CORPORATE ACCOUNTABILITY – A COMMON BATTLEGROUND!
By Ferrial Adam
“If the greens junk their past and the reds grasp
their future, the new aristocracy will find itself in serious
trouble.” George Monbiot [1]
In March 2004, groundWork held a ‘Corporate Accountability
Think-tank’ to discuss our corporate accountability
project with various community people and organisations. A
significant part of this ‘think-tank’ was dedicated
to finding out in which key areas of focus and research the
participants were involved. Issues raised covered the full
development spectrum in South Africa, from labour issues,
privatisation and pollution to nuclear energy, waste incineration,
and GMOs. groundWork hopes that through our corporate accountability
campaign it will be possible to challenge corporations on
all these fronts, and thus challenge the “new aristocracy”.
groundWork has been involved in campaigning against corporations
since 2000, but it was only in 2002 that we launched our Corporate
Accountability Project by hosting an international Corporate
Accountability Week (CAW) prior to the World Summit on Sustainable
Development (WSSD). groundWork’s corporate accountability
project takes its mandate from the joint statement which came
out of the CAW in which the organisations present called for
corporate accountability to be included in the WSSD’s
final resolutions. Another important outcome of this week
was the recognition of the need for a corporate accountability
movement in South and Southern Africa. groundWork took this
challenge forward and developed our project around the outcomes
of the CAW. In brief the project includes:
• A website – a central gathering of information
that will bring together corporate information and develop
profiles of corporations. It should be up and running in the
next few months.
• ‘Corpse’ Awards in April 2005 –
a good way of getting information on corporations to the public.
Organisations and communities will be given the opportunity
to nominate companies that they believe deserve to be exposed
for their irresponsible behaviour.
• Linkages between community organisations – creating
links between different campaigns against corporations, communities
fighting at the industrial fence line and corporate headquarters.
• A gathering of local organisations – a national
conference to reflect and strategise after the ‘corpse’
awards to take what happens at these awards forward.
• International linkages – host an international
gathering on corporations in SA in 2005. At the international
level it seeks to strengthen southern voices and south-south
as well as south-north solidarity in campaigns for corporate
accountability.
THE COMMON BATTLEGROUND
For centuries we have witnessed parallel struggles being waged
by the ‘left’ against the ‘powers that be’
- in the form of unions and civil society organisations on
the one hand and environmentalists on the other. These struggles
have never been seen as common, even though there has always
been a common enemy in the form of governments and multinational
companies.
Multinational corporations (MNCs) have become the true wielders
of power in the 21st century, and it is no wonder that George
Monbiot refers to corporations as the “new aristocracy”.
It has been reported that the hundred largest MNCs now control
20% of global foreign assets, and 51 of the 100 biggest economies
are now corporations.
This power has given MNCs the leeway to influence policy
and legislation almost everywhere they operate. This has not
only affected labour laws but has also led to increased appropriation
of land, resources and people’s livelihoods. As a result,
the pressure for change in corporate behaviour does not only
come from the workforce but also from protest action and campaigns
by civil and environmental justice organisers. Corporate accountability
gives us the opportunity to campaign on a common battleground
where MNCs can be attacked from all sides. The key, though,
is for these parallel struggles to be consolidated and united.
Organisers and campaigners still have a long way to go to
achieving this in South Africa.
IT IS NOT PIE IN THE SKY!
An excellent example of attacking MNCs from all sides is the
struggle being waged against Dow Chemicals. Almost twenty
years ago, a deadly gas leaked from the Union Carbide (now
owned by Dow Chemicals) pesticide factory in Bhopal, India,
killing 8,000 people within three days. Since then another
20,000 people have died and over 500,000 suffered illnesses
as a result of their exposure or their parents’ exposure
to the deadly gas. Civil society organisations and environmental
justice activists have been challenging Dow Chemicals as a
united front and have demanded that Dow must be accountable
to the people of Bhopal.
On April 12, 2004 survivors from Bhopal, India began a month
long tour of the United States to share their experiences
and to expose Dow Chemicals. The tour culminated in Midland,
Michigan, at the Dow Chemical shareholders’ meeting,
where the company was pressured to entertain a shareholder
resolution asking Dow to own up to its ongoing responsibilities
and liabilities in Bhopal. The final shareholder vote in favour
of the resolution for justice in Bhopal saw 6.14% of the shares
- or 40,416,085 shares - in favour of the proposal. Although
some believe this is average for first year social resolutions,
it is impressive when you consider that it represents over
$1.5 billion dollars. It should be remembered that shareholder
activism was perceived as nearly impossible twenty years ago.
The campaign for justice in Bhopal may not have been as successful
in this round but it proves that combined struggles will be
victorious.
It also proves that victories can be achieved “by small
groups of local people and roving campaigners, armed with
a tiny fraction of their opponent’s budgets. They haven’t
liberated the working class from oppression, but they have
restrained the power of the oppressors. These are victories
for the common people against the new aristocracy.”[2]
George Monbiot states that those who view environmentalism
as someone else’s struggle are missing a massive opportunity
to bring down big business. Environmentalists must also realise
that they have to link their campaigns to everyday struggles.
AND THE VICTORIES WILL NOT GO UNNOTICED…
The Goldman Environmental Prize is the world's largest prize
program honouring grassroots environmentalists. For a long
time environmentalism has been perceived as only about those
wanting to save the whales, flowers and trees. The reality
is that the concept has evolved such that “environmentalism
and social justice have become indivisible.” [3]
The 2004 winners of the Goldman Environmental prize are evidence
of this change:
• Rudolf Amenga-Entego of Ghana is fighting water privatisation;
• Rashida Bee and Champa Devi Shukla, two Bhopal activists,
have ignited the international campaign to seek justice for
the people in Bhopal;
• Margie Eugene-Richard from Norco, USA, battled to
hold Shell accountable for the devastating health problems
in her community;
• Libia Grueso from Colombia is focused on protecting
Colombia’s Pacific rainforest from the threat of armed
conflict, environmental ruin and mass displacement;
• Manana Kochladze is leading an important environmental
campaign in Georgia to protect local villagers and the environment
from being steamrolled by the development of the world’s
biggest oil export pipeline; and
• Demetrio do Amaral de Carvalho from East Timor is
charting a new course for sustainable development and environmental
protection based on Tara Bandu—the East Timorese cultural
practice of acting in harmony with nature.
There is a common enemy, that is, big business. How we harness
the power remains in the hands of both the social and environmental
justice organisers. Instead of trying to prove whose struggle
is more important, it is important to realise the strong linkages
that exist. It is apt to conclude with the words of Rashida
Bee:
“We are not expendable. We are not flowers to be offered
at the altar of profit and power. We are dancing flames committed
to conquering darkness. We are challenging those who threaten
the survival of the planet and the magic and mystery of life.
Through our struggle, through our refusal to be victims, we
have become survivors… on our way to becoming victors.”
NOTES
1. Article in the Mail and Guardian, 8-15 April 2004 titled
“The New Aristocracy
2. George Monbiot
3. George Monbiot, Mail and Guardian, 8-15 April 2004
Sting award for Burmese refugee and
environmental rights activist
Ka Hsaw Wa, Co-Founder and Director of EarthRights International,
has deservedly received the 2004 Sting and Trudie Styler Award
for Human Rights and the Environment. This award, sponsored
by the rock star Sting and his wife Trudie, is one of six
prizes awarded by the Whitley Laing Foundation. Ka Hsaw Wa,
a Burmese refugee now living in the U.S., received the award
in recognition of his work linking human rights and environmental
issues in Burma, Thailand, and the United States. He has previously
been awarded the Goldman Environment Prize and the Reebok
Human Rights Award. Ka Hsaw Wa was featured in groundWork’s
September 2002 newsletter.
Corporate Accountability Project
World Bank told to back out of oil, coal sectors -
The World Bank’s Extractive Industries Review (EIR)
By Ferrial Adam
In 2001 the World Bank President, James Wolfensohn, commissioned
an Extractive Industries Review (EIR) to find out what the
role of the World Bank Group (WBG) should be in the extractive
industry, namely in the oil, gas and mining sectors. The review
was partly in response to bad publicity that the World Bank
was receiving globally for being involved in controversial
projects in mining, oil, dams etc.
The EIR recommends major changes in the way the WBG does business.
The review suggests that extractive industries are not always
the best way to promote sustainable development and have,
indeed, often increased poverty and corruption. In brief,
the review recommends that the WBG should:
• Refuse to support extractive industry investments
in situations characterised by conflict, oppression or systemic
corruption;
• Develop a human rights unit and adopt a rights based
approach to development;
• Promote transparent revenue management and just revenue
sharing;
• Obtain the free prior and informed consent of indigenous
peoples and local communities before initiating an investment;
• Phase out support for coal operations immediately
and oil by 2008;
• Increase support for renewable energy by 20% p.a.;
• Adopt all four core labour standards and support workers
laid-off by mine closings, and;
• Strengthen or adopt a wide range of social and environmental
policies.
The global review is one of the few WBG documents that have
been endorsed by civil society around the world, including
labour, environmental organisations, development agencies,
human rights groups and indigenous people’s representatives.
It succeeds in producing an inter-connected set of recommendations,
which validate many of the concerns that communities and civil
society have been raising with the World Bank Group for over
two decades.
It is not clear to what extent the WBG is committed to implementing
the EIR recommendations. According to reports from the WBG,
the full Board of Executive Directors, which represents the
184 member nations, will determine which policy, procedural,
and institutional proposals of the EIR should be accepted.
It shouldn’t come as a surprise to know that one of
those in favour of “shelving” the final document
is our Minister of Minerals and Energy, Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka,
who has advised the WBG not to buckle under pressure from
“green lobbyists”. Sixteen African mining ministers,
through the African Mining Partnership (AMP), claim that the
extractive industries contribute to sustainable development
and can contribute to poverty alleviation. The AMP has dismissed
the final recommendations of the EIR and has resolved to engage
the WBG directly on a sustainable African mineral strategy.
Their dismissal of the review comes from their greed for
investment in the oil and coal sector, not from a desire for
sustainable development, and flies in the face of the endorsement
that African civil society gave the EIR at a meeting in Mozambique
in 2003. The extractive industries in Africa have brought
limited benefits to poor people, e.g. cheap electricity from
coal and jobs. The negatives, however, outweigh the positives
as the industry has led to human rights abuses, increased
corruption, depletion of resources and environmental degradation.
groundWork sent a letter to Ms Mlambo-Ngcuka asking her to
endorse the whole of the EIR. This letter was signed by a
number of civil society organisations and concerned individuals.
The EIR will be discussed at a WBG meeting in June 2004.
It is hoped that, for once, people and planet will come before
profits!
For more information on the civil society campaign around
the EIR visit: www.eireview.org
International community exchange focuses on industrial pollution
By Ardiel Soeker
Five environmental justice activists from the U.S. came
to South Africa in April this year for a 12-day community
exchange visit. The community exchange forms part of groundWork’s
community links programme. This programme aims to increase
community awareness and action by linking together different
communities affected by industrial pollution.
Although at different stages of economic and industrial development,
there are many similarities between our country and the United
States.
The U.S. has the biggest and strongest economy in the world.
It is the biggest economy in the sense that it has a Gross
Domestic Product (GDP): purchasing power parity (PPP) more
than double that of China, the country with the second biggest
economy. It is the strongest economy in that its continuous
growth and rates of productivity are unequalled.
Concepts and practices like the free market, industrial expansion,
cost cutting measures, low budget deficits, private ownership
of the means of production, minimum social spending, are critical
to maintaining its leading status within the world economy.
These economic concepts and practices serve as a blue print
for other countries that try to emulate the “success”
of the U.S. economic development.
South Africa, a newly industrialised economy, is no exception.
It is the economic leader in Africa - sometimes seen as the
“U.S. of Africa” - and its market orientated economic
policy follows the blue print of the most “successful”
economy in the world.
There is, however, another side to this “success”
and that is where the most parallels can be drawn between
the two countries.
I linked up with Khalida Smalls from Boston, Hilton Kelley
from Port Arthur, Texas, Jesus Edgardo Torres from California,
Delma Bennett from Mossville, Louisiana, Teresa Almaguer from
San Francisco and Ravi Dixit, groundWork’s U.S. coordinator,
when they touched down at Johannesburg International on the
21st March 2004.
With the exception of Ravi, this was their first visit to
Africa and some of the participants said it was like a homecoming.
They were eager to engage with people and be exposed to the
cultures and traditions of Africa. The participants were also
aware of the anti-apartheid struggle. The visits to the Apartheid
Museum, Memorial of the Sharpville Massacres and Robben Island
were particularly emotional and revealing.
These Americans are leaders and activists in their communities
and were keen to see how South African civil society organises
and strategises.
We visited communities in Sasolburg, Boipatong, south Durban,
Richards Bay and Table View. groundWork’s community
partners in these communities organised the logistics for
the Americans’ visit. The local programmes allowed for
lots of learning and sharing to take place and comprised toxic
tours, community presentations, discussions and walkabouts.
The participants observed that our struggles in our different
countries are essentially one struggle. We have different
strategies and different contexts but environmental justice
is the vehicle that drives our common struggle. In both countries
poor, black people bear the greatest economic and social costs
of industrialisation and development.
According to an article in The Economist 10 April 1999 entitled
‘Desperately seeking a perfect model in America”:
“The richest 20% [of the American population] earn nine
times as much as the poorest 20%, compared with a ratio of
four times in Japan and six times in Germany. Despite the
higher average incomes in America, the poorest 20% in Japan
are about 50% better off than America’s poorest 20%.”
In South Africa the livelihoods difference between the rich
and poor is one of the biggest in the world. The American
participants were amazed that in any one city or town they
could observe amazing wealth and comfort and just down the
street abject poverty.
The community exchange also revealed the need to link internationally
against Trans National Corporations like Shell, BP, Sasol
and Caltex. In the U.S. for example, there are stricter laws
and regulations and enforcement of these rules and regulations.
TNCs do not, however, operate at the same standards in countries
like South Africa as they do in the U.S. By communities linking
internationally we are more able to hold corporations accountable
for their operations.
The American participants cautioned that some corporations
are so powerful that they act above the law. Enforcement by
government is not enough. Only a strong and informed civil
society can keep powerful corporations in check. So even though
we in South Africa are moving towards improving air quality
legislation and hopefully better enforcement, civil society
needs to play a much more active role in directing development.
Profiles of the American Participants:
Khalida Smalls is the Coordinator of the T Riders Union (TRU),
a grassroots membership organisation fighting for better and
more equitable public transportation services for communities
of colour in Boston. Members of TRU campaign for first class
transit service and transportation justice, including the
conversion of dirty diesel buses to cleaner alternatives.
Jesus Edgardo Torres was born in Mexico City but now lives
in Wilmington, California. There are nine refineries and several
other manufacturing and petrochemical facilities located in
or near Wilmington in the Los Angeles Harbour Area, which
is also home to a predominantly low-income, Latino population.
Jesus is currently employed at Communities for a Better Environment
where he is Community Organiser and is working in the communities
of Santa Fe Springs, Pico Rivera and El Monte. Recently, Jesus
was successful in defeating the proposed restarting of a refinery
in a low-income minority community.
Delma Bennett is a member of Mossville Environmental Action
Now (MEAN), a community organisation that is working for environmental
justice. He joined MEAN after he learned that Mossville residents
have in their bodies high levels of dioxin, a cancer-causing
chemical that is released by nearby facilities. MEAN are working
to find solutions to the damage that 14 hazardous industrial
facilities have caused by contaminating the lakes and bays
where Mossville people fish, polluting the air that people
breathe, and harming the health of people with dioxin and
other dangerous chemicals.
Hilton Kelley is originally from Port Arthur, Texas, but
lived in California for 22 years, working as an actor. After
returning home to Port Arthur for a visit, Hilton was so shocked
at the condition of his community, that he decided to move
back to Port Arthur to do something about it. In 2000, Hilton
returned to Port Arthur intent on working to improve the condition
of the West Side community, his old neighbourhood in Port
Arthur. Port Arthur is home to an oil refinery partly owned
by the Shell Oil Company, which many residents feel is the
source of much of the pollution and the subsequent health
problems the community faces. Hilton founded the Community
In-power Development Association (CIDA) to help address the
pressing problem of air pollution in Port Arthur.
Teresa (Tere) Almaguer has been coordinating the Common Roots
youth program in San Francisco for the past three years. In
collaboration with the Chinese Progressive Association this
program brings together Latino and Chinese youth to develop
leadership and community organising skills to build the People
Power needed to attain environmental and economic rights in
San Francisco communities.
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SA GOVERNMENT DISAPPOINTS ALL IN ITS APATHY TOWARDS RENEWABLE
ENERGY
By Llewellyn Leonard
Earthlife Africa Johannesburg and the South African Climate
Action Network (SACAN) expressed disappointment with the South
African government position paper for the intergovernmental
conference: Bonn renewables2004, describing it as short on
substantial commitments.
According to SACAN, South Africa should be taking a leading
role in the Johannesburg Renewable Energy Coalition (which
was established at the World Summit on Sustainable Development
in 2002) but our national position fails to commit to developing
local industries in renewable technologies. This position
is not appropriate for our country which, on a per capita
basis, is one of the most polluting economies in the world
as well as the richest in Africa.
Recent research has established that if SA committed to 15%
of electricity being generated from renewable energy sources
(like the sun, wind or landfill gas), over 35 000 direct jobs
would be created and safe and affordable energy services would
be made available to thousands more.
For more information about Bonn renewables2004 see www.renewables2004.de
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Waste Project
Health Care Waste Management:
Planting the seeds to sustainability within Africa
By Llewellyn Leonard
I was recently honoured to be invited to address a health
care waste workshop in Uganda for Ugandan stakeholders. The
workshop took place in Kampala in April 2004 and was organised
by Ugandan NGO, Pro-biodiversity Conservationists (Probico),
with funding support from Health Care Without Harm (HCWH).
It was the first workshop of its kind in Uganda.
Besides the many NGOs present, other participants included
representatives from the Ministry of Health, the Kampala City
Council, human rights lawyers, hospital institutions, the
local University and journalists. I was, however, disappointed
to see that local community members were not present since
it is communities which are affected by the illegal dumping
of medical waste and who have the least knowledge of its dangers.
However, since health care waste is such a contentious issue
all over Africa and has reached uncontrollable proportions,
this workshop was a start to addressing this problem.
Disappointingly, the Ministry of Health mentioned during
the workshop that incineration would be an option for the
disposal of waste in Uganda. This is despite the fact that
incinerators create dangerous emissions like dioxins and furans
that are carcinogenic (cancer-causing). Incinerators also
destroy resources that can potentially generate income. Participants
were shocked to hear in my presentation about the health affects
associated with incineration. The Ugandan government has not
signed the Stockholm Convention on persistent organic pollutants
(which include dioxins and furans) indicating a lack of commitment
to environmental management.
However, despite the lack of instrumentalism on waste management
by government and the fact that regulations are poor, many
participants opposed their government’s stance on incineration.
Participants were glad to hear of the work regarding health
care waste management taking place in South Africa, Mozambique
and Swaziland and were amazed to learn that, through simple
education on waste management and implementing the principles
of reduce, reuse and recycling, government hospitals in South
Africa were saving 50% of their waste disposal costs per month,
as well as contributing to an increase in occupational health
and safety for hospitals and communities.
I sensed an atmosphere of relief from participants when they
learnt that alternatives to incineration in rural areas existed
and that pilot projects were currently being conducted in
rural areas in India, Swaziland and Kenya. After the presentation,
participants urged their government to explore alternative
technologies to incineration and to implement a management
system that would tackle the source of the waste problems
being experienced.
The day after the workshop I visited a landfill site and
a few small-scale waste incinerators. On the landfill, I saw
that members of the surrounding communities were sorting through
the waste and were being exposed to dangerous diseases, contributing
to health impacts on their families and communities.
During my visit to the University of Makerere, I was shocked
to learn from the head of the department of technology, that
the Rockefeller Foundation has been supporting his department
in building small-scale incinerators in Uganda. If we are
to truly solve the problems of waste management, then we need
to work towards finding African solution to African problems
and not embrace redundant dirty technologies from the North.
Overall, I felt the Ugandan workshop to be of tremendous
benefit to participants who are now expressing a keen interest
in the management approach to solving their problems of waste.
It is hoped that the Ugandan government will avoid incineration
and look at other African countries such as South Africa (KwaZulu-Natal)
where government is moving away from incineration in favour
of safer alternatives and implementing waste management programs
at hospitals. It must be noted that no African country is
alone in their struggle to properly manage waste and in-house
African models must be developed for proper waste management.
Arusha: NGOs and CSOs unite
After a successful workshop in Uganda, I travelled to Arusha,
Tanzania, to attend an Eastern African civil society workshop
on the implementation of the various international and regional
conventions dealing with chemicals (e.g. Stockholm, Rotterdam,
Basel, Bamako Conventions, etc). The workshop was organised
by the International Persistent Organic Pollutants (POP’s)
Elimination Network (IPEN) from 19 – 23 April. Countries
represented at the workshop included Djibouti, Madagascar,
Burundi, Ethiopia, Mauritius, Kenya, Eritrea, Seychelles,
Somalia, Uganda and the U.S. amongst others.
The program for the workshop included introductions to important
conventions and protocols, such as the Stockholm, Basel and
Rotterdam Conventions and Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety.
Delegates also had the opportunity to adopt a strategic approach
to NGOs’ participation in implementing chemical conventions.
Other discussions focused on chemicals management, community
monitoring and reporting of chemical incidents, African Stockpiles
and integrated pest management. I found the workshop to be
most useful in understanding some of the key issues and technical
debates and was glad to be part of the gathering.
After the IPEN meeting, the Global Anti-incineration Alliance
(GAIA) together with Health Care Without Harm (HCWH) organised
a daylong skillshare on Waste and Incineration. The aims of
the skillshare were to enhance participants’ awareness
and understanding of the many problems associated with waste
incineration, to inform participants about the availability
and viability of safe and sustainable alternatives to incinerating
waste, particularly municipal waste and health care waste,
and to identify pressing and emerging waste issues in the
region as well as identify opportunities for collaboration.
Over 40 environmental health activists and proponents from
a dozen countries, mainly from Eastern and Southern Africa,
attended the skillshare. Participating countries had the opportunity
to share some of the most pressing as well as emerging waste
problems facing their regions. I was not surprised to see
the overlapping health care waste challenges that were being
experienced by all countries since it has become such a litigious
issue. There was also the formulation of practical ideas to
encourage information exchange and the sharing of skills and
resources to address common needs and aspirations.
New Report
During the skillshare we had the opportunity to launch a
new GAIA report, entitled “Resources up in Flames: The
Economic Pitfalls of Incineration versus a Zero Waste Approach
in the Global South”. This report explains why incineration
creates more problems than it solves in communities and why
zero waste is the best choice for managing waste. It also
explains how incinerator companies are seeking new markets
for their obsolete technology in industrialising nations,
why incineration is a losing proposition for host communities,
and what waste management alternatives are available that
protect the environment, generate jobs, bolster local economies
and build vibrant communities. The report cites successful
community approaches in waste management in Brazil, Egypt,
India and the Philippines and outlines how to get started
on the path to zero waste. What participants found exciting
about the report was that it can be used to challenge policy
makers to redirect the millions of dollars lined up for incinerators
into waste prevention and reduction and zero waste systems.
Overall, the skillshare proved most useful to all countries.
It is hoped that participating countries will use the information
obtained to promote real solutions that will safeguard public
health and the environment, generate jobs and contribute to
local economic development in their countries.
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Joburg Metro and Pikitup – stinking mountains
of shame
By Nic Nel [1]
My wife and I bought a little farm in 1990, 15 minutes from
Johannesburg International Airport, 15 minutes from the centres
of both Johannesburg and Sandton, and 150 metres from the
Linbro Park Landfill Site, operated by the Joburg Metro’s
fully owned subsidiary, Pikitup Pty Ltd.
When a landfill site is operated correctly, it causes relatively
little inconvenience to its neighbours in the form of stench,
flies, dust and water pollution. When Pikitup operates a monopoly
for a city the size of Johannesburg, all the ills of a dump
are manifest.
In December 2003, Pikitup decided to cut costs and increase
profits by refusing to pay overtime and limit capital expenditure
on plant equipment and repairs. Relying on the incompetence
of the regulatory authority, the Department of Water Affairs
and Forestry (DWAF), it regarded itself as unaccountable.
Even scavengers pay homage to the almighty Pikitup with a
“kickback” on the waste glass, metal, paper, cloth
and plastic they are able to ferret as they scurry between
the dump trucks and heavy machinery. Some were injured, others
maimed, and a few have died.
The various government departments responsible were either
oblivious or complacent.
Our Linbro Park “Dump” Monitoring Committee theoretically
has access to all reports and analyses undertaken in respect
of the dump (I refuse to call a landfill site operated by
Pikitup anything but a “dump”).
We attended irregular meetings, often cancelled at the last
minute by Pikitup, virtually unaware of our own rights or
the obligations of Pikitup, which constantly had an excuse
as to why land surveys, the Site Permit and Operation and
Development Plan, or water test results, were not available
to us. Each meeting consisted of our tabling complaints of
stench, flies and dust, the racing passage of massive trucks
spewing their stinking loads through our otherwise quiet agricultural
neighbourhood, requests for information, and the date the
dump would close. We also complained of illegal dumping in
our suburb caused by the exorbitant prices charged by Pikitup
for the privilege of dumping on their site.
How petty could we be? Our poorer neighbours downwind suffer
10 times our problems. When the winds blow from the dump to
the “upmarket” section of East Bank, Alexandra
Township, a low-cost housing development, the people living
there cannot open their windows at night for the stench, flies
and dust. Our housekeeper, living in a house we had helped
her purchase, now seeks to move back into the farther reaches
of Alexandra, almost preferring the real dangers of over-crowding
and crime to the stench, flies and dust of the dump that is
choking her children. Most Alexandra Township residents know
little of their rights.
For my own part, I thought the correct way of doing things
was to speak nicely to government officials, politicians and
the site operator. But I became increasingly frustrated as
the only response of officialdom was to pay lip service in
the form of a promise to “investigate”. From the
Pikitup side, we received glib excuses and promises of better
in the future.
groundWork suggested I go to the press – magic! groundWork
also gave us moral and practical support which was much needed
to bolster our flagging spirits.
We subsequently got hold of the site permit conditions and
Development and Operation Plan after threatening to resort
to legal action. A DWAF official also called at my farm. We
went for a drive over the dump with a GPS and discovered that
the site was actually 250% over capacity. Soon thereafter,
Pikitup was told by DWAF to conduct an aerial survey. The
week before this was scheduled to take place, bulldozers moved
onto the site, levelling 5 metres of putrid rotting waste
off the top of the dump. I gagged at times during the day,
even with a tough stomach.
I then found that Pikitup was dumping into Phases 4 and 5,
areas that require a clay liner and leacheate collection system
to be installed. Neither has been installed and we have contamination
of groundwater and the Jukskei River.
This was 3 months ago and Pikitup is still dumping into the
area. DWAF has still not called a halt to the situation. Well,
what do you expect from a regulatory authority that, late
last year, issued a new permit for Pikitup to continue dumping
without having first called for and examined an external audit
of what actually was happening on the ground? Speak about
handing out licences to kill with the generosity of handing
candy to kids!
NOTES
[1] Nic Nel is a member of the Linbro Park Landfill Site Monitoring
Committee.
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By Greenfly
NORM RULES, OK? [1]
“It is easier and less costly to change the way
people think about reality than it is to change reality."
Morris Wolfe, PR consultant.
Last month was the annual meeting of the UN Commission on
Human Rights where one of the hottest topics up for discussion
was the 'UN Norms on the Responsibilities of Trans-national
Corporations and Other Business Enterprises with regard to
Human Rights' (or 'Norms' for short). The Commission eventually
decided to give the Norms a 5-year mandate to develop and
try them out further.
These norms aren't another bureaucratic attempt to bore us
into submission but are proposed decency guidelines for multinational
corporations to stick to. The norms ask companies to respect
the laws of the countries they operate in, ensure equal opportunities
and avoid racism and sexism. More troublesome for the corporations
will be the proposed clause asking them not to profit from
war crimes, genocide, torture, and violations of international
law. The norms also include workers rights (to form unions,
for example), avoidance of bribery and corruption, fair business
practice, protecting consumers from harmful products and environmental
protection. Which seem pretty reasonable to us here at SchNEWS
Towers, but not of course to big business which feels it is
obviously above such silly 'red tape' and would rather ‘regulate'
itself.
Corporate lobby groups such as the International Chamber of
Commerce (ICC) launched a fierce campaign to kill off the
proposal in the run up to the meeting, with the 'gurus of
greenwash' Shell playing a leading role. But what is all the
fuss really about when all these 'Norms' are just a way of
trying to get multinational corporations to obey existing
laws and international treaties on the environment and human
rights? Right-wing governments and business groups have managed
to get a disclaimer added to the conclusion which means that
the Norms still do not have any official status, but at least
they will stay in the pipeline for the next five years.
In fact these regulations actually already exist in UN treaties
such as the Convention Against Torture or in human and labour
rights conventions. The idea of the Norms is to bring together
these treaties and close a loophole in the law to make them
apply to multinational corporations - who could face compensation
claims if they ignore them.
SHELL OUT
It may come as a surprise to some that oil giant Shell are
leading the opposition to these proposed norms, claiming that
they don't find them helpful because well, they already have
such high human rights standards! Their website proudly proclaims,
"Shell works hard to meet environmental commitments and
we invest time and money to improve environmental performance
beyond that required by legislation" and that, "The
welfare of our staff and the communities in which we live
and work is fundamental to our approach to business".
Shell's publicity is full of this type of drivel: "Our
core values of honesty, integrity and respect for people define
who we are and how we work. These values have been embodied
for more than 25 years in our business principles, which since
1997 include a commitment to support human rights and to contribute
to sustainable development." And you couldn't get more
sustainable than oil now could you?
In early March a scandal around Shell's overstatement of its
oil reserves forced Chief Executive Phil Watts to resign,
but you wouldn't find any Shell top brass resigning over its
overstating of green credentials. Recent reports from Friends
of the Earth (FoE) and Christian Aid [2] document Shell's
operations in the Niger Delta in Nigeria, that are still causing
serious problems for local communities, nine years after the
execution of nine people who paid the ultimate price for campaigning
for the most basic of human rights: the right for clean air,
land and water (see SchNEWS 49). The alternative annual Shell
report from FoE states that: "The decades of pollution
caused by Shell's rusting network of pipes continue to blight
daily life, ruining farmland, poisoning water tables and creating
the constant risk of serious fires." The Christian Aid
report also highlights that most of the community development
projects presented in various glossy Shell reports are in
fact failing.
Hospitals, schools and water supply systems remain unfinished
and new roads mainly help boost easy movement of its oil production.
But beyond the debate about how much greenwash Shell is spouting,
it is clear that the company is determined to prevent the
emergence of international mechanisms through which communities
could hold it accountable to its pledges. As those multinational
investigators Corporate Europe Observatory point out "the
company generally gets away easily with its inflated claims
concerning its social responsibility record." As Amnesty
International UK Director Kate Allen said "Any attempt
to de-rail the Norms, in particular any referral of the Norms...would
effectively turn back the clock on years of progress on corporate
social responsibility."
OIL RULES THE WORLD
Discoveries of massive oil reserves in West Africa are condemning
the region to more greenwashing (which means exploitation
and bloodshed) by big oil companies. Angola is currently the
only nation in Africa where US oil companies currently dominate.
European oil companies such as Shell and BP have traditionally
controlled this market. In the late 90s new offshore oil techniques
were discovered (Exxon Mobil has led this exploration). New
coastal oil has been discovered in Gabon, Equatorial Guinea
and Sao Tome and Principe, which will conveniently be the
site of a new US Navy Base. By 2015, it is projected, the
US could get 25% of its oil from West Africa.
But it's a risky and troublesome part of the world, "incompetent
repression" means that the oil is out of control. "Piracy
resistance" in Nigeria, where local people rise up and
sabotage or steal oil, costs big oil companies 100-300,000
barrels of oil a day, and companies say they need military
security from the US to operate smoothly. So when the US has
finished freeing Iraq from independence... or was it making
them independent from freedom ... it looks like they might
be moving in to West Africa.
So it's no surprise the corporations are fighting tooth and
nail to avoid mandatory reporting on their activities because,
despite all their guff about social responsibility, there
only obligation they feel is really important is lining their
shareholders pockets. For this they rely on lax environmental
regulations in poor desperate countries and making sure the
locals don't kick up a fuss about their activities.
NOTES:
1. This article is from SchNEWS (No. 453, Friday 14 May
2004), an organisation based in Brighton, UK. See www.schnews.org.uk.
Greenfly, our regular contributor to the Cynics’ Corner,
is left speechless by the recent appointment of a certain
government minister (see page 3). We trust that Greenfly will
have regained composure in time to contribute to the next
newsletter.
2. To read the Christian Aid report see: www.christian-aid.org.uk/indepth/0401csr
3. For more on the Norms go to: www.corporateeurope.org
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Goodbye, Ravi... Hello, Toussaint
Ravi Dixit, the coordinator of groundWork USA, is leaving
the organisation at the end of June to pursue his dream of
studying medicine. Ravi has been a consistent and dedicated
worker and team player who has made a great contribution to
groundWork. Most of us at groundWork have known Ravi for several
years and he will be sadly missed. We wish him all the best
in his new studies and new vocation.
However, we are fortunate to have Toussaint G. Losier take
over from Ravi as Coordinator.
Toussaint is currently a senior at Harvard University, having
just completed an undergraduate degree in Social Studies and
Afro-American Studies at the University. Passionate and caring,
he is deeply committed to working for social justice both
in the U.S. and abroad.
Toussaint was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1982,
the oldest of four siblings. While still young he became involved
in political and cultural events in his hometown. At the age
of 15 he worked with the Journey to Freedom program and was
a part of a group of students who performed plays to teach
about Black History in the U.S. and West Africa. He also led
his school’s Multicultural Student Alliance and established
a Mentoring Program through his school’s Community Service
Board.
In college, Toussaint has remained active in student politics
and public service while pursuing a rigorous course of study.
He is Director of the Franklin Teen Mentoring Program where
he works one-on-one with Black and Latino youth from low-income
communities in the Boston area. He challenges these young
people to work for social change in their neighbourhoods.
Toussaint first travelled to South Africa in 2001 and served
as a delegate to the World Conference Against Racism in Durban.
Then, during the summer of 2003, he returned to South Africa,
volunteering as an English instructor with the Winds of Change
economic development program outside of Cape Town. He spent
six-weeks on a rural farm establishing daily reading and writing
classes for the farm workers and their children. He also conducted
senior thesis research on the Western Cape Anti-Eviction Campaign.
This experience of living and working with people who recognised
and exercised their collective power greatly influenced his
career aspirations.
Toussaint’s opportunities to travel abroad have allowed
him to make connections between the racial and economic inequality
in the global south and the inequity prevalent in the U.S.
As the coordinator of groundWork USA he hopes to continue
being of service to communities organising for social change
in the U.S. and South Africa.
Outside of the office, Toussaint enjoys reading, taking photos,
playing basketball, and spending time with family and friends.
He is also an aspiring amateur poet.
As coordinator of groundWork USA Toussaint will be responsible
for managing the day-to-day operations, including proposal
writing, participating in strategic planning, and organising
activist exchanges. He will also be working closely with the
groundWork USA director and all of the groundWork staff in
South Africa on various projects and campaigns.
We are glad to have Toussaint join the groundWork team and
are looking forward to seeing him grow with the organisation.
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Managing hospital waste: A guide for Southern African health
care institutions, by Llewellyn Leonard, groundWork, South
Africa, May 2004, 83 pages
This groundbreaking new publication by groundWork takes the
organisation’s health care waste campaign to another
level. This manual goes straight to the source of the problems
of illegal dumping and careless burning of health care waste
– namely, the health care workers themselves. It focuses
on the primary role that the health care waste generators
– namely health care institutions such as hospitals
and clinics – have in ensuring that this potentially
hazardous waste is safely managed so that it ceases to threaten
human life and sustainable development.
This manual is a practical step-by-step guide aimed at assisting
those people in healthcare institutions who are responsible
for overseeing the health care waste stream. It provides options
for practical management systems which hospitals may implement
to minimise, reduce, re-use and recycle their wastes –
systems which have been tested in pilot projects at two government
hospitals in KwaZulu-Natal – the Edendale and Ngwelezane
Hospitals. Improved waste management systems at these hospitals
have assisted in boosting staff morale and occupational health
and safety as well as bringing about very significant cost
savings. These savings have run into tens of thousands of
rands every month, which, if multiplied by the number of government
hospitals in South Africa, is something to make, all health
officials sit up and take note!
The manual also provides alternative, non-burn technologies
for treating contaminated health care wastes. In the past
in South Africa, incineration was seen as the preferred technology
for “treating” contaminated health care waste
but in recent times there has been a shift in government thinking
(and in the World Health Organisation, itself) to seek less
polluting, more sustainable means of decontaminating this
waste.
The manual is written by Llewellyn Leonard, who is the coordinator
of groundWork’s Waste Project. Llewellyn has gained
international recognition for his efforts to improve health
care waste management in Southern Africa. He has travelled
to countries such as the U.S., India, Mozambique, Angola,
Uganda, Malaysia and Swaziland to learn from and teach others
about the importance of proper management of waste generated
in hospitals, clinics and other health care institutions.
This manual will be distributed primarily to the relevant
government departments, rural hospitals and clinics, as well
as to sister organisations working on health care waste in
other African countries such as Uganda, Swaziland, Mozambique,
Kenya, Zambia, etc. Copies of this manual can be requested
from the groundWork office. Contact Bathoko at bathoko@groundwork.org.za
or + (0)33 3425662.
IN THE PIPELINE
1 June 2004 – groundWork’s fifth birthday. This
will be celebrated with a bumper newsletter in September.
5 June 2004 - World Environmental Day
14 - 25 June 2004 – groundWork will be sending five
South Africans on a landfill exchange visit to the U.S. to
share with and learn from U.S. communities affected by landfill
waste.
28 June 2004 – Shell AGM in London which will also
be attended by community shareholder activists from around
the world
July 2004 - Launch of the groundWork Union
August 2004 - National landfill strategy workshops
August 2004 - Launch of The groundWork Report 2004 at the
groundWork AGM
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