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About GERS V: Integrated Waste Management

The Gauteng Environment Research Symposium, hosted by the  Gauteng Department of Agriculture, Rural Development and Environment (GDARDE) and the University of Johannesburg’s Process, Energy & Environmental Technology Station (UJ PEETS), invites academia and local government, as well as industry, civil society and the general public to engage with what is at the cutting edge of environmental research in the Gauteng Province.

Theme: Integrated Waste Management: Focus on townships and informal settlements: A Just Transition to a Circular Economy. #BeatPlasticPollution

Date: 26 October 2023 | 09:00 -16:00.

Venue: Online (link to be shared with those who register).

Register here.

 

The Purpose:

The Symposium brings together officials from various departments, academia, research and other stakeholders, with the aim of providing feedback and advice, particularly regarding operational and strategic environmental issues, and of enhancing the networking within the Gauteng City Region. The selected theme for this financial year is Integrated Waste Management in Gauteng Province, with a special focus on townships, informal settlements and hostels.

 

The primary objectives of this year’s event are as follows:

  • Discuss the status quo of integrated waste management in the country, with the main focus on Gauteng province.
  • Share best practice approaches in the environmental sector with regards to actions that can contribute to integrated waste management in the province.
  • Provide a platform for networking and collaboration on current research programmes, which are particularly relevant for the provincial priorities in terms of the Growing Gauteng Together 2030 Plan.
  • Strengthen the knowledge sharing amongst government officials, academia, researchers and other stakeholders.
  • Identify gaps in available research.
  • Identify areas for research collaboration.
  • Develop action plans to take research forward with regards to more impactful, integrated practices.
  • Inform policy and implementation to enhance action towards Gauteng’s climate resilience and sustainable development goals.

 

Structure of the symposium:

The Symposium is a hybrid event, accommodating an unlimited number of virtual participants, who will be able to take full advantage of the programme, including giving input into the discussion and participating in the parallel sessions that interest them.

The symposium begins with a plenary session for presentations to the entire audience which will be followed by a number of thematic Parallel Group Discussions or breakaway sessions.

 

Student Symposium:

This year, postgraduate students are invited to submit an abstract towards participation in the Student Symposium, which will take place prior to GERS V.

The top candidates will present their work in the GERS V Symposium, giving them exposure to the environmental research sector and an opportunity to engage with professionals about their research. The winning student will also be granted a prize of financial support to contribute to publishing their research in an accredited journal.

 

Contact:

For queries email peets@uj.ac.za subject: “GERS V“.

 

Discussion:

The theme of the 2023 symposium is Integrated Waste Management in the Gauteng Province. Each year, by showcasing the best of ongoing environmental research relevant to the Gauteng Province, the symposium also brings to light where the knowledge gaps lie for the local environmental sector. Together, participants establish a sense of priority for emerging research topics, and these help inform the theme for the following year’s Symposium.

This year’s theme is also inspired by World Environment Day, which focused on solutions to plastic pollution under the campaign #BeatPlasticPollution. The rationale for prioritisation of plastic pollution is that the world is being inundated by plastic. More than 400 million tonnes of plastic is produced every year, half of which is designed to be used only once. Of that, less than 10 per cent is recycled. An estimated 19-23 million tonnes end up in lakes, rivers and seas. Today, plastic clogs our landfills, leaches into the ocean and is combusted into toxic smoke, making it one of the gravest threats to the planet. Not only that, what is less known is that microplastics find their way into the food we eat, the water we drink and even the air we breathe. Many plastic products contain hazardous additives, which may pose a threat to our health. Given that South Africa generates 2.4 million tons of plastic waste every year, equivalent to 41kg of plastic waste per citizen, which is just above 20% of the 12.7 million tonnes of waste per annum, the selected theme for this financial year cannot be more relevant.

The theme of the Symposium also follows strategies and commitments such as those captured in the Growing Gauteng Together (GGT2030) roadmap, which includes priority actions like sustainable planning and development, climate change mitigation and adaptation, maintaining the natural environment, managing environmental resources and biodiversity, preserving water, and meeting energy needs, involving sectors such as transport, industry, food, renewables, and waste. The Gauteng Department of Agriculture, Rural Development and the Environment (GDARDE) has a strategic approach to the short-term delivery of this plan which entails ‘accelerating a transition to a low carbon, resource efficient and climate resilient economy that absorbs a maximum number of jobs within the Gauteng City Region with a special focus on waste and biodiversity economy’, as well as increasing ‘environmental clean-up programmes in Townships, Informal Settlements and Hostels (TISH) areas to enhance human dignity, improve quality of life and create income generation opportunities’.

The Growing Gauteng Together (GGT2030) roadmap brings together international, national and local strategies and commitments to outline various priority actions for moving towards the future it envisions, which includes the broad ambition of Sustainable Development for Future Generations. These priorities include sustainable planning and development, climate change mitigation and adaptation, maintaining the natural environment, managing environmental resources and biodiversity, preserving water, and meeting energy needs, and they involve sectors such as transport, industry, food, renewables and waste. In 2022, certain areas of the GGT2030 were elevated by the Premier as non-negotiable for short-term efforts, underpinned by a focus on Townships, Informal Settlements and Hostels (TISH). Through a formal delivery agreement, GDARDE has committed, amongst other things, to ‘protecting the environment and enabling sustainable development, especially in TISH areas’, and ‘spearheading and coordinating provincial climate change action’.

“Carrying a mandate of ensuring environmental sustainability, GDARDE is determined to take the bold and transformative steps which are urgently needed to shift to a sustainable and resilient growth path. This includes the determination to protect the planet from degradation, including through sustainable consumption and production, sustainably managing its natural resources, and urgent action against climate change.”

The strategic approach to be taken entails ‘accelerating a transition to a low carbon, resource efficient and climate resilient economy that absorbs a maximum number of jobs within the Gauteng City Region with a special focus on waste and biodiversity economy’, as well as increasing ‘environmental clean-up programmes in Townships, Informal Settlements and Hostels (TISH) areas to enhance human dignity, improve quality of life and create income generation opportunities’.

Under the circumstances related to the COVID pandemic, the symposium was held virtually with great success and the possibility to take part online attracted a much larger and broader participation.

 

Access the GDARDE 4th Research Symposium Report here. E-file accessible here.

About UJ PEETS

The main objective of the University of Johannesburg’s Process, Energy and Environmental Technology Station (UJ PEETS) is to enhance the competitiveness of businesses in the green economy by utilising specialised knowledge and transferring technology. UJ PEETS acts as a facilitator, connecting academia, industry (particularly SMEs), and government. In order to fulfill our mission, UJ PEETS provides support for various capacity building and policy influencing initiatives that aim to foster the growth of the green economy. Additionally, we offer engineering and technology development assistance to SMEs.

Established in 2010 with the backing of the Technology Innovation Agency (TIA) through the Department of Science and Innovation (DSI), the Technology Station grants stakeholders in the National System of Innovation (NSI) access to state-of-the-art infrastructure and expertise that would otherwise be inaccessible. Our objective is to foster technological innovation in the green economy, aligning with UJ’s vision of inspiring communities to transform and serving humanity through innovation and collaborative knowledge pursuit.

Energy production and usage, water and air quality, and waste generation and disposal are intricately connected. UJ PEETS promotes interdisciplinary knowledge sharing to support the development of the green economy by establishing connections between SMEs and researchers. In line with sustainable development principles, circular thinking is applied and encouraged in the energy-water-waste nexus. This is achieved through the establishment of networks within UJ and the NSI.

About GDARDE

The Gauteng Department of Agriculture, Rural Development and Environment functions as a governmental department in the Gauteng province of South Africa. Its primary duties encompass overseeing agricultural matters, safeguarding the environment, and conserving nature within the Gauteng region.

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