1. Definitions
Builders’ rubble – refers to waste, excluding hazardous waste, produced during the construction, alteration, repair or demolition of any structure, and includes rubble, earth, rock and wood displaced during that construction, alteration, repair or demolition. This waste can be separated and re-used as fill material during construction. Alternatively, it should be kept aside and disposed of the nearest Pikitup drop-off facility (maximum 1 x bakkie load per resident per day) or at the nearest landfill site. Please click here for a list of drop-off facilities and landfill sites, alternatively visit www.pikitup.co.za.
Bulky waste – refers to large items of solid waste, which because of their bulkiness / size, require special collection and management. Examples include furniture and large appliances from residential sources. This waste should be kept aside and disposed of the nearest Pikitup drop-off facility (maximum 1 x bakkie load per resident per day) or at the nearest landfill site. Pikitup also does offer a bulky waste collection service at no additional charge to residents. Please contact your nearest Pikitup depot to arrange collection. Please also click here for a list of depots, drop-off facilities and landfill sites, alternatively visit www.pikitup.co.za.
Drop off facility / garden site – refers to waste management facilities that have been developed which are accessible to communities for the purpose of receiving dry recyclable waste; garden waste; bulky waste and builders rubble (maximum 1 x bakkie load per resident per day) from the communities for the purpose of re-use, recycling, composting, or further processing of these materials. At this stage not all drop-off facilities accept all material types. Please click here for a list of drop-off facilities, and the materials accepted, alternatively visit www.pikitup.co.za.
Dry recyclable waste – refers to waste that can be kept for an extended period without decomposing such as paper, plastics, metal and glass. Examples of dry recyclables include:
Paper – newspapers, magazines, books, printer paper, cardboard, cartons
Plastics – carry bags, beverage bottles, milk bottles, plastic toys, plastic containers
Metal – beverage cans, food cans, metal dishes, metal pots
Glass – glass bottles, glass jars, glass cups, glass containers
This waste should be kept aside for collection by Pikitup in areas where the separation at source service is available, alternatively it should be disposed of the nearest Pikitup drop-off facility. Please click here for a list of drop-off facilities and landfill sites, alternatively visit www.pikitup.co.za.
E-waste – this is also referred to as electronic waste and includes batteries, computers and computer parts, electric wires, electrical equipment and appliances, remotes, watches, cellphones, bulbs, tube lights, and compact fluorescent lamps. These pollutants are classified as hazardous waste and should be taken to drop-off points that are provided by various retailers. Some retailers even have bring-back schemes where one can drop-off this type of waste when one procures a replacement product, e.g. car batteries.
Garden waste – refers to organic biodegradable waste material generated from the likes of a typical garden or park. It includes both nitrogen-rich and carbon-rich organic material such as grass; leaves; plants; cuttings & trimmings; branches; tree trunks and stumps. This waste should be kept aside and disposed of the nearest Pikitup drop-off facility. Communities are urged to keep garden waste free of contaminants such as plastic, bricks, metals, glass etc. to ease the processing of garden waste into compost. Please click here for a list of drop-off facilities and landfill sites, alternatively visit www.pikitup.co.za.
Separation at Source – refers to the practice of setting aside post-consumer and household waste materials at the point of generation at the household level so as to prevent them from entering the waste stream that is destined for landfilling.
Wet waste / food waste – these consist of kitchen waste such as fruit and vegetable peels and left-overs, tea leaves, coffee grounds, eggshells, bones, fish scales, as well as cooked food (both vegetables and non-vegetables). According to a recent study by the CSIR’s Household Food Waste Study, Johannesburg households throw away approximately 8 to 12 Kilograms of food per capita per annum. Currently food waste should be disposed of in the 240L bin while the City investigates alternative waste treatment technologies to recycle food waste.
2. Legal Framework governing the Separation at Source Programme
The National Environmental Management Waste Act (2008), the National Waste Management Strategy (2011), and the City of Johannesburg’s Waste Management By-laws (2013) require generators and collectors of waste to manage waste in a manner that prioritizes the preservation of the natural resources and the environment by applying the principles of the waste hierarchy in their order of preference, which are also supportive of the below Circular Economy principles:
Reduce – this stage is also known as “waste prevention” or “waste avoidance”, where measures are put in place to ensure that waste is not generated in the first place. Where products are likely to become waste, then effort should be on minimizing the quantity of the potential waste to be generated, such as using recyclable material; using less material in design and manufacture of goods; manufacturing more durable products that last for longer; using less hazardous material in the products which makes them easier to handle post their end of life. Examples include production of biodegradable products, reducing the amount of packaging material being utilized, etc.
Re-use – this stage involves separating articles from the waste stream, checking, cleaning, repairing, refurbishing and re-using of whole items or parts of the item for use in a similar or different purpose without changing its form or properties. Examples include use of beverage containers for storage of water, double sided printing, etc.
Recycle – this stage involves separating articles from the waste stream and processing them, thus changing their original form to inputs for new products and materials. Examples include shredding of PET bottles and using the material as inputs to the textile industry for the manufacture of pillows and clothing; composting of organic materials; etc.
Recovery – this stage is also known as the “conversion” stage where particular components or materials, are separated from the waste stream and reclaimed and used as an energy source / fuel. Examples include extraction of materials with a high energy content as a fuel source in mass burn technologies that utilizes the heat to produce steam in order to generate electricity; bio-digestion of organic material to extract biogas which can be used as a fuel source; etc.
Landfill – this is the least preferred option where waste enters the lowest level of the hierarchy to be treated and / or disposed of, depending on the safest manner for its final disposal.
3. What is the Separation at Source Programme?
The City’s waste separation at source programme pertains to households setting aside post-consumer dry recyclable waste and household generated garden waste for the purpose of re-use, recycling, composting, or further processing of these materials.
The City has two programmes that the residents can utilize to separate their dry recyclable waste.
The City currently only has one programme that the residents can utilize to separate their garden waste.
4. What is Mandatory Waste Separation at Source?
In terms of section 22 of the City’s Waste Management By-laws (2013), “the Council may prescribe by a notice published in the Provincial Gazette that, from a prescribed date, areas, specific generators or holders of particular categories of waste must for the purpose of recycling, separate those categories of waste and must, store, dispose of or treat the separated waste in the manner prescribed in the notice”.
Therefore, in line with this section of the waste management by-law, the City is implementing mandatory separation at source of dry recyclables and garden waste in affected areas of the city from the 1st July 2018.
This means that from the effective date it will be compulsory for residents in the affected areas who are currently receiving the recycling bag to place dry recyclables (paper, plastics, metal and glass) for kerbside collection by Pikitup or its service providers for further processing. The type of bag that residents receive for this purpose is a “clear colour” or a “blue colour” bag depending on the service provider that is delivering the service on behalf of Pikitup.
For garden waste, this also means that from the effective date it will be compulsory for residents in the affected areas where there is typically a high generation of garden waste to take their garden waste to the nearby drop-off sites (i.e. garden sites) for further processing.
5. Why Mandatory Waste Separation at Source?
The separation at source programme has been rolled out on a voluntary basis from 2009 in some areas of the City. Based on a previous study done in 2004, we should be extracting an average of circa 13kg of dry recyclables per household per month, which we aim to reach by 2021. However, based on 2016/17 tonnages of dry recyclables collected, we extracted circa 4.5kg of dry recyclables per household per month in the areas where separation at source has been rolled out, which is far below the estimated extraction rates from the study.
It is for these reasons we will be introducing mandatory separation at source in the areas that are already receiving the service, so as to increase the participation as well as the extraction rate of recyclables in those areas.
With regards to garden waste, some parts of the city typically generate more garden waste than others, hence the targeted implementation of mandatory garden waste separation at source. For instance, garden waste disposal in 2016/17 was as follows – Region E (Marlboro & Norwood depot areas) collected 25 863 tons garden waste compared to Region D (Central camp & Zondi depot areas) which collected 1 835 tons garden waste due to very little garden waste generated in this region.
6. Impact on Free-standing households recycling
For free standing households that are currently already receiving the separation at source service, they will continue receiving recycling bags from Pikitup or Pikitup’s service providers. These bags are to be filled with dry recyclables and taken out to the kerbside on the day of collection.
7. Impact on Multi-unit dwellings (flats and townhouses) recycling
For multi-unit dwellings that are currently already receiving the separation at source service, they will continue receiving recycling bags from Pikitup or Pikitup’s service providers through their body corporates or any such nominated body. These bags are to be filled with dry recyclables and taken out to the kerbside or to the designated refuse area of the dwellings for collection purposes.
8. Will the waste pickers / reclaimers be affected by this?
Waste pickers are not going to be worse off from making separation at source mandatory. Instead, it is expected that there will be more recyclables available at the point of collection where waste pickers typically collect what’s valuable to them.
9. Affected areas for Mandatory Waste Separation at Source
The following regions and wards are affected by the mandatory waste separation at source. Please click here for a comprehensive list of affected suburbs, alternatively visit www.pikitup.co.za.
| Region | Targeted Wards for dry waste | targeted Wards for Garden Waste |
| A | Whole of wards 93, 112, 132 and parts of ward 92, 94, 110 | Whole of ward 132 |
| B | Whole of wards 68, 69, 82, 86, 87, 88, 90 and parts of wards 98, 99, 102, 117 | Whole of wards 58, 87, 88, 90, 98, 99, 102, 104, 117 and parts of ward 86 |
| C | Parts of wards 44 and 89 | Whole of wards 83, 86, 89, 97, 126, 134 and parts of wards 70, 71, 84, 85, 96, 101, 114 |
| D | Whole of wards 19, 21, 22, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 45, 46, 47, 48, 51, 52 and parts of ward 53 | Not affected |
| E | Whole of wards 32, 73,103, 106, 109, 117 and parts of wards 74, 81, 91 | Whole of wards 32, 72, 73, 103, 106 and parts of wards 81, 74, 109 |
| F | Whole of wards 23, 54, 55, 56, 57, 65 125 and parts of wards 58, 61 and 124 | Whole of wards 23, 54 and parts of wards 55, 56, 58, 66, 118, 125 |
| G | Whole of ward 9 and parts of ward 8, 10, 119, 120, 122 | Parts of wards 8, 9, 10 |
10. Penalties for non-participation in the Mandatory Separation at Source Programme?
Currently there are no penalties that will be implemented to effect mandatory waste separation at source in order for the residents to be given a fair opportunity to improve the recycling rates in the affected areas without the threat of a fine being imposed at this stage. The City will also be intensifying its education and awareness programmes to positively influence the recycling rates in the affected areas.
The City appeals to residents in the affected areas to obey the mandatory separation at source programme and apply peer pressure through various community forums and media platforms to encourage those residents that will still choose not to participate in the mandatory programme.
Whilst implementing penalties remains an option that the City is considering for those households that do not participate, the City is also currently considering various options to incentivize those communities whose recycling rates increase over time as a result of mandatory waste separation at source.
11. Those communities not targeted now how can they participate? When will they be targeted?
The communities that are fall outside of the targeted areas for mandatory separation at source can are encouraged recycle through the drop-off recycling programme in section 3 of this document. We intend to roll this project out to the entire of City of Joburg over the next 3 years (budget permitting).
How to practice waste separation at home?