704 CHAPTER 18 INTEGRATED WASTE MANAGEMENT Carin Bosman Waste is a result of all activities of humankind, whether agriculture, industry, commerce, transport, medicine, or domestic. The more advanced the level of civilization, the greater the production of waste. 1 Indications from available data 2 are that the amount and hazardous nature of waste generated is in almost direct relation to the growth of the economy. National economies generate large quantities of different types of emissions, effluent, and ‘solid’ waste. 3 As a result of increases in population growth (social causes) and the process of industrialization 4 (economic causes), there has been increased pressure on natural resources and increased generation of enormous quantities of waste, 5 in solid, liquid or gaseous form, which can result in environmental degradation and pollution on global, regional and local scales (environmental effects). This in turn has detrimental effects on impacts on human health and economic activity (socio-economic effects). Some wastes may be recycled, some reused, some treated and concentrated, but eventually some residue remains which eventually find its way into the environment through emission to the atmosphere, discharge into a water resource or the sea, or disposal onto land. Integrated Waste Management entails the implementation of measures to ensure that the accommodation of these residues in the environment (irrespective if such accommodation is to air, water, or land) does not lead to adverse effects on human health and the environment. This Chapter will firstly address the concept of Integrated Waste Management, followed by a discussion of the current status of waste management in South Africa, including land-based waste disposal. The effect of emissions of waste to the atmosphere is addressed in the Chapter on Air Quality, and the effect of the discharge of effluent on water resources is discussed in the Chapter on Water Pollution. <A>18.1 BACKGROUND The term ‘waste’ is often used as a synonym for ‘pollution’, but it is important to note that ‘waste’ does not constitute pollution. Environmental Pollution has been defined as an unacceptable risk of harm to human safety, human health, or the environment. 6 The term ‘waste’ refers to the unwanted materials or substances 7 produced by human activity which has the potential to cause pollution when released into the 1 Fourie, 1994:199 2 Law, 1996:101 3 Whyte, 1995 (BUILDING A NEW SOUTH AFRICA: VOLUME 4: Environment, Reconstruction, and Development: A Report from the International Mission on Environmental Policy http://www.idrc.ca/en/ev-9323-201-1-DO_TOPIC.html ) 4 Asante-Duah, 1993:1 5 Barnard, 1997:225, Fuggle and Rabie, 1994:1 6 Asante-Duah, 1993:2; Blackman, 1996:36; Noble, 1992: Vol. 4, 4-5 and others 7 Asante-Duah, 1996:2