The City of Johannesburg, whose environmental policy innovations include an integrated waste management plan covering all relevant environmental legislation, has been named the country’s most environment-friendly metropolitan municipality in the Department of Environmental Affairs’ (DEA’s) fourth Greenest Municipality Competition (GMC).
The Mogalakwena municipality in Limpopo won the local municipality category, boasting waste management that includes discouraging use of bottled water and exploiting digital media to communicate with the public.
The City of Johannesburg and the Mogalakwena municipality would each receive R3.5-million in prize money for projects that enhanced the DEA’s green agenda, were aligned with the GMC’s aims and were implemented through the Expanded Public Works Programme.
First runner-up in the metropolitan municipality category, Nelson Mandela Bay, in the Eastern Cape, won R3-million, while second runner-up, Buffalo City, in the Eastern Cape, will receive R2.5-million.
In the local municipality category, first runner-up Umhlathuze, in KwaZulu-Natal, was awarded R3-million, while second runner-up Nkomazi, in Mpumalanga, would receive R2.5-million.
The competition accommodated developments within the greening movement and considered energy efficiency and conservation, water management, landscaping, tree planting and beautification, public participation and community empowerment, leadership and institutional arrangements.
By: Natalie Greve
http://www.engineeringnews.co.za/article/joburg-named-the-countrys-greenest-metro-2015-01-28/rep_id:3182
