National Environmental Management: Waste Act, 2008 (Act No. 59 of 2008) Chapter 1 : Interpretation and Principles 1. Definitions

 

In this Act, unless the context indicates otherwise—

 

"acceptable exposure"

means the exposure of the maximum permissible concentration of a substance to the environment that will have a minimal negative effect on health or the environment;

 

"associated structures and infrastructure"

when referred to in Schedule 1, means any building or infrastructure that is necessary for the functioning of a facility or waste management activity or that is used for an ancillary service or use from the facility;

 

"best practicable environmental option"

means the option that provides the most benefit or causes the least damage to the environment as a whole, at a cost acceptable to society, in the long term as well as in the short term;

 

"building and demolition waste"

[Definition deleted by section 1(b) of Act No. 26 of 2014]

 

"business waste"

[Definition deleted by section 1(b) of Act No. 26 of 2014]

 

"by-product"

[Definition deleted by section 1(a) of Act No. 26 of 2014]

 

"clean production"

means the continuous application of integrated preventative environmental strategies to processes, products and services to increase overall efficiency and to reduce the impact of such processes, procedures and services on health and the environment;

 

"commence"

means the start of any physical activity, including site preparation or any other activity on the site in furtherance of a waste management activity, but does not include any activity required for investigation or feasibility study purposes as long as such investigation or feasibility study does not constitute a waste management activity;

 

"Constitution"

means the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, 1996;

 

"container"

means a disposable or re-usable vessel in which waste is placed for the purposes of storing, accumulating, handling, transporting, treating or disposing of that waste, and includes bins, bin-liners and skips;

 

"contaminated"

in relation to Part 8 of Chapter 4, means the presence in or under any land, site, buildings or structures of a substance or micro-organism above the concentration that is normally present in or under that land, which substance or micro-organism directly or indirectly affects or may affect the quality of soil or the environment adversely;

 

"decommissioning"

in relation to waste treatment, waste transfer or waste disposal facilities, means the planning for and management and remediation of the closure of a facility that is in operation or that no longer operates;

 

"Department"

means the Department responsible for environmental affairs;

[Definition amended by section 1(c) of Act No. 26 of 2014]

 

"disposal"

means the burial, deposit, discharge, abandoning, dumping, placing or release of any waste into, or onto, any land;

 

"domestic waste"

[Definition deleted by section 1(b) of Act No. 26 of 2014]

 

"employment practice"

has the meaning assigned to it in section 1 of the Public Service Act, 1994;

[Definition inserted by section 1(d) of Act No. 26 of 2014]

 

"environment"

has the meaning assigned to it in section 1 of the National Environmental Management Act;

 

"Environment Conservation Act"

means the Environment Conservation Act, 1989 (Act No, 73 of 1989);

 

"environmentally sound management"

means the taking of all practicable steps to ensure that waste is managed in a manner that will protect health and the environment;

 

"export"

means to take or send waste from the Republic to another country or territory;

 

"extended producer responsibility measures"

means measures that extend a person's financial or physical responsibility for a product to the post-consumer stage of the product, and includes—

 

"Gazette"

when used in relation to—

 

"general waste"

[Definition deleted by section 1(b) of Act No. 26 of 2014]

 

"hazardous waste"

[Definition deleted by section 1(b) of Act No. 26 of 2014]

 

"high-risk activity"

means an undertaking, including processes involving substances that present a likelihood of harm to health or the environment;

 

"holder of waste"

means any person who imports, generates, stores, accumulates, transports, processes, treats, or exports waste or disposes of waste;

 

"import"

means any entry into the Republic other than entry for transit;

 

"incineration"

means any method, technique or process to convert waste to flue gases and residues by means of oxidation;

 

"industry"

includes commercial activities, commercial agricultural activities, mining activities and the operation of power stations;

 

"industry waste management plan"

means a plan referred to in Part 7 of Chapter 4;

 

"inert waste"

[Definition deleted by section 1(b) of Act No. 26 of 2014]

 

"integrated waste management plan"

means a plan prepared in terms of section 12;

 

"investigation area"

means an area identified as such in terms of section 37;

 

"licensing authority"

means an authority referred to in section 43 and that is responsible for implementing the licensing system provided for in Chapter 5;

 

"life cycle assessment"

means a process where the potential environmental effects or impacts of a product or service throughout the life of that product or service is being evaluated;

 

"MEC"

means the Member of the Executive Council of a province who is responsible for waste management in the province;

 

"Mineral and Petroleum Resources Development Act, 2002"

means the Mineral and Petroleum Resources Development Act, 2002 (Act No. 28 of 2002);

[Definition inserted by section 18(a) of Act No. 25 of 2014]

 

"minimisation"

when used in relation to waste, means the avoidance of the amount and toxicity of waste that is generated and, in the event where waste is generated, the reduction of the amount and toxicity of waste that is disposed of;

 

"Minister"

means the Minister responsible for environmental affairs;

[Definition substituted by section 1(e) of Act No. 26 of 2014]

 

"municipality"

means a municipality established in terms of the Local Government: Municipal Structures Act, 1998 (Act No. 117 of 1998);

 

"Municipal Systems Act"

means the Local Government: Municipal Systems Act, 2000 (Act No. 32 of 2000);

 

"National Environmental Management Act"

means the National Environmental Management Act, 1998 (Act No. 107 of 1998);

 

"non-substantive"

in relation to the amendment or substitution of a regulation, notice, strategy, licence, approval, or provision thereof, includes—

 

"organ of state"

has the meaning assigned to it in section 239 of the Constitution;

 

"person"

has the meaning assigned to it in the Interpretation Act, 1957 (Act No. 33 of 1957), and includes an organ of state;

 

"pollution"

has the meaning assigned to it in section 1 of the National Environmental Management Act;

 

"prescribe"

means prescribe by regulation under this Act;

 

"priority waste"

means a waste declared to be a priority waste in terms of section 14;

 

"recovery"

means the controlled extraction or the retrieval of any substance, material or object from waste;

[Definition substituted by section 1(f) of Act No. 26 of 2014]

 

"recycle"

means a process where waste is reclaimed for further use, which process involves the separation of waste from a waste stream for further use and the processing of that separated material as a product or raw material;

 

"residue deposit"

[Definition deleted by section 1(b) of Act No. 26 of 2014]

 

"residue stock pile"

[Definition deleted by section 1(b) of Act No. 26 of 2014]

 

"re-use"

means to utilise the whole, a portion of or a specific part of any substance, material or object from the waste stream for a similar or different purpose without changing the form or properties of such substance, material or object;

[Definition substituted by section 1(g) of Act No. 26 of 2014]

 

"specific environmental management Act"

has the meaning assigned to it in section 1 of the National Environmental Management Act;

 

"storage"

means the accumulation of waste in a manner that does not constitute treatment or disposal of that waste;

 

"sustainable development"

has the meaning assigned to it in section 1 of the National Environmental Management Act;

 

"the Bureau"

means the Waste Management Bureau established by section 34A;

[Definition inserted by section 1(h) of Act No. 26 of 2014]

 

"this Act"

includes—

 

"transit"

means the continuous passage from one border of the Republic to another such border without storage other than temporary storage incidental to transport;

 

"treatment"

means any method, technique or process that is designed to—

in order to minimise the impact of the waste on the environment prior to further use or disposal;

 

"waste"

means—

but any waste or portion of waste, referred to in paragraphs (a) and (b), ceases to be a waste—

[Definition substituted by section 1(i) of Act No. 26 of 2014]

 

"waste disposal facility"

means any site or premise used for the accumulation of waste with the purpose of disposing of that waste at that site or on that premise;

 

"waste management activity"

means any activity listed in Schedule 1 or published by notice in the Gazette under section 19, and includes—

 

"waste management control officer"

means a waste management control officer designated under section 58(1);

 

"waste management licence"

means a licence issued in terms of section 49;

 

"waste management officer"

means a waste management officer designated in terms of section 10;

 

"waste management services"

means waste collection, treatment, recycling and disposal services;

 

"waste minimisation programme"

means a programme that is intended to promote the reduced generation and disposal of waste;

 

"waste transfer facility"

means a facility that is used to accumulate and temporarily store waste before it is transported to a recycling, treatment or waste disposal facility;

 

"waste treatment facility"

means any site that is used to accumulate waste for the purpose of storage, recovery, treatment, reprocessing, recycling or sorting of that waste.