History:
The KZN Waste Management
Awards is a biennial programme which began in 1992 as a Durban initiative. It
was then re-launched in 2002 under the banner of the IWMSA KZN Branch. The
programme has showcased the excellent work of many organisations in the area of
waste management, and assisted others to improve on aspects through suggestions
from the evaluation team.
Objectives of the Awards:
To involve all organisations
in our province in thinking and acting on efficient and effective waste
management. To promote best practice in waste management, and to acknowledge
the achievements of organisations practising responsible and effective waste
management in KwaZulu-Natal.
Who can enter?
The prestigious KZN Waste
Management Awards invites industries and businesses throughout KwaZulu-Natal to
enter in the various categories. The KZN Waste Management Awards recognises
those “Cleaner & Greener” organisations going the extra mile to actively
apply sustainable practices, particularly with respect to the reduction and/or
elimination of waste.
Entry to the Waste Management
Awards has traditionally been open to all businesses falling within the below
categories and located within KwaZulu-Natal. For these categories, the Awards evaluate
their waste management practices, and how the waste hierarchy principles have
been applied. If an organization has more than one premises which operate
independently, then each premises must be entered separately and will be judged
independently.
Small Manufacturing -
Industries involved with the manufacturing of products, with a total number of
employees of 250 or less
Large Manufacturing -
Industries involved with the manufacturing of products, with a total number of
employees greater than 250
Service Industry - Any
organisation which offers a service, e.g. retail centres, hospitality
establishments, housing estates or educational institutions (excluding waste
management service providers)
For the 2026 KZN Waste Management Awards, there has been an
extension to the entry categories to include businesses which are providing a service
to beneficiate waste. The entry criteria and evaluation measures are being
determined, and more information on this exciting new category will be made
available soon.
It is not a requirement to be a member of the IWMSA to
enter and participation in the competition is free!
Benefits to entrants:
Past entrants and winners
report a wide range of benefits derived from entering the programme. These
include a comprehensive waste audit; reduction in overheads; raw materials
& other costs; improved efficiency and better profit margins. Recommendations
are provided by the expert judges during the site visit and in a feedback
letter to all entrants. Winners also receive press coverage to promote their
achievements.
Each entrant will receive a certificate based on their
score achieved in the audit and the certificate categories are as follows:
Bronze Certificate: 50-64%
Silver Certificate: 65-74%
Gold Certificate:
Above 75% with stars:
* 75-79%
** 80-84%
*** 85-89%
**** 90-94%
***** 95-100%
The entrant in each category
who receives the highest score will be awarded the Category Trophy. There are
also awards for entrants excelling in specific areas:
- Cleaner Production
- Innovation
- EPR
- Best New Entrant
- Individual Award
- Team Award - Manufacturing
- Team Award - Service
Entry requirements:
All entrants must complete the
entry form in the link above. Once the entries close, the judging team will
contact you to arrange a suitable date for the judging visit.
To adequately prepare for the
audit, the following information should be gathered (if available):
SHEQ and/or Waste Policy
Annual environmental/ waste report
Legal register
Waste contractor’s commercial contracts
Environmental
licences e.g. waste management licence/ registrations, effluent discharge, air
emission
Copies
of waste manifest documents
Waste register or volume
report
Waste classification reports
Waste training records
Incident register
Complaints register
Emergency procedure
Copy of an internal and
external waste audit, if applicable
Procedures/ work instructions
relating to waste
Monitoring reports e.g. sewer
discharge, air emissions (if applicable)
Judging process:
Judging will consist of an
on-site audit and will be conducted during August - October 2026. The judges
are professionals with vast experience in waste management. The visit will
usually take about 3-4 hours, and will cover the following aspects:
1. Management
/ Organisation
2. Training
and Motivation
3. Cleaner
Production and Waste Minimisation Initiatives
4. Waste Generation, Classification, Storage, Transport
& Disposal
5. Record Keeping
6. Communication and Social Responsibility
7. Visual Observation
Previous winners:
The winners of the KZN Waste Management Awards 2024 were as
follows:
Small Manufacturing Cipla Medpro Manufacturing
Large Manufacturing Frey’s Food Brands
Service Netcare
Parklands, St Augustine’s and The Bay Hospitals
Cleaner Production Conlog (Pty) Ltd
Innovation Constantia Flexibles (Mobeni and
Pinetown)
EPR Constantia
Flexibles (Mobeni and Pinetown)
Best New Entrant Netcare The Bay Hospital
Individual Award Carmen Haripursad, Frey’s Food
Brands
Team Award – Service Acti-Chem
SA
Team
Award – Manufacturing Toyota Boshoku
South Africa and Toyota South Africa Motors
Sponsorship opportunities still available:
The KZN Waste Management
Awards is positioned to provide an opportunity for all waste generators and
managers to receive recognition for their efforts to reduce their environmental
footprint. The KZN Waste Management Awards is a non-profit programme, and all
sponsorship goes towards the operational aspects of the programme, as well as
making the Awards Function a great experience for all involved.
The IWMSA KZN Branch is
therefore seeking sponsorship to assist with the running of the KZN Waste
Management Awards programme for 2026.
The various sponsorship packages are
outlined below:
