Waste Management Licences.
Waste management licence applications under the Waste Act for storage, sorting, recycling, treatment, thermal processing, landfill and hazardous waste handling — plus registration where the activity falls under a national norm and standard instead. We confirm which of the three applies first, then quote one all-in fixed fee with the departmental fees and specialist studies included.
You get a waste management licence by applying to the relevant environmental authority under the National Environmental Management: Waste Act 59 of 2008, using the activity list in Government Notice 921 of 2013 to determine whether your listed waste activity is Category A or Category B, and pairing that with a Basic Assessment or a Scoping and Environmental Impact Report.
Governing legislation: National Environmental Management: Waste Act 59 of 2008, with the listed waste activities in Government Notice 921 of 2013.
Last reviewed: 2026-09-17
This is the first step of your waste management licence application. No payment is needed to begin, and the eligibility check is step one inside the application.
Facility opening date, a funder condition or a compliance notice on an unlicensed activity? Call or WhatsApp us — these files are triaged the same day.
Licence, registration, or neither — that answer comes first.
Waste files go wrong at the very start, when an operator assumes a full licence is needed and spends a year on an EIA that was never required, or assumes registration is enough and ends up in enforcement. We settle the category before anything else.
Licensability screening
Your activity screened against the listed waste activity notice: Category A, Category B, norm-and-standard registration, or below threshold.
Category A licences
Storage, sorting, recycling and smaller treatment facilities, run on a basic assessment through to decision.
Category B licences
Landfill, thermal treatment and hazardous waste facilities, run on scoping and a full environmental impact report.
Waste classification
SANS 10234 classification, geohydrology, groundwater and closure design commissioned and quality-controlled.
Variations & transfers
Changes to capacity, waste streams or conditions, transfers on a sale, renewals and closure applications.
Ongoing compliance
Licence conditions, monitoring programmes, annual reporting and remedying non-compliance before it becomes enforcement.
Free assessment
Six questions. We confirm whether it is a licence, a registration or nothing at all.
Fixed quote
One written all-in fee before any work starts, with departmental fees and specialist studies included.
We prepare & lodge
Reports drafted, specialists managed, public participation run and the application lodged.
Through to decision
We answer every departmental query and negotiate the licence conditions until it is issued.
Priced by category, scoped upfront.
The category sets the route and the fee. We confirm it in the free assessment, then fix the number in writing — departmental fees and the specialist studies included.
A written opinion on whether your waste activity needs a licence, a registration under a norm and standard, or nothing at all.
- Activity screened against the listed waste activity notice
- Confirms Category A, Category B, or norm-and-standard registration only
- Waste classification position under SANS 10234 flagged
- Competent authority identified (national or provincial)
- Filing plan, realistic timeline and total cost in writing
- Credited against the licence fee if you mandate us
Registration with the department where your activity falls under a national norm and standard instead of requiring a full licence.
- Registration pack drafted and lodged with the competent authority
- Compliance position against the applicable norm and standard
- Operating, record-keeping and reporting obligations set up properly
- Written confirmation that you are not required to hold a licence
- All departmental registration fees included
A Category A waste management licence run on a basic assessment: storage, sorting, recycling and smaller treatment facilities.
- Basic assessment report and waste management plan drafted and lodged
- Waste classification and SANS 10234 assessment managed
- Public participation, notices and comment periods run properly
- Licence conditions, monitoring and annual reporting negotiated to something operable
- Every departmental query answered through to decision
- All departmental application fees and specialist study costs included
A Category B waste management licence run on scoping and a full EIA: landfill, thermal treatment and hazardous waste facilities.
- Scoping report, plan of study and environmental impact report
- Geohydrology, groundwater, waste classification and closure design commissioned and managed
- Two rounds of public participation run to the regulations
- Landfill design, liner and leachate requirements coordinated with your engineers
- Financial provision and closure obligations addressed
- All departmental fees and specialist study costs included
Changing, transferring, renewing or closing out an existing waste management licence.
- Variation of licence conditions, capacity or waste streams
- Transfer of a licence on a sale of business or property
- Renewals and licence-condition compliance audits
- Closure and decommissioning applications with rehabilitation planning
- Responses to compliance notices and directives on a licensed facility
- All departmental fees included
All-in fixed fees, with no hidden fees. Our professional work, the drafted reports and applications, all departmental application fees, advertising and public participation costs, waste classification, geohydrological and closure design studies where the package includes them, and all dealings with the authority until a decision are covered. Facility construction, liner and infrastructure costs, and any administrative fine in a rectification matter, fall outside the fee.
How long it actually takes.
We separate our preparation time, which we control, from the authority's decision time, which we do not. Ranges are based on comparable files.
Licensability opinion
Norm & standard registration
Category A waste licence
Category B waste licence
Variation, transfer or closure
We cannot guarantee a government decision date. What we do guarantee is a complete file, lodged on time, with every query answered until a decision is issued.
Waste & environmental licensing team
Led by a named advisor on every facility file
Dynamic Legal Services (Pty) Ltd
Offices in Pretoria (Faerie Glen) and Sandton (Sandown) — serving all nine provinces
087 153 6207 · support@dlegal.co.za
Why clients hand us the file.
- The category decision is worth more than anything else on the file — it sets the route, the studies, the timeline and the fee.
- Waste classification under SANS 10234 is where most applications are sent back. We settle it before lodgement.
- For Category B facilities we coordinate the geohydrology, liner design and closure provision with your engineers, not after them.
- We act for recyclers, industrial operators, landfill and treatment facilities, property developers and municipalities.
- Buying a site with a waste licence? The licence does not transfer automatically — we run the consent application.
Your application starts here.
One application. Answer a few questions, see exactly which route applies to you and what it costs, then send it through. Documents can follow later, and nothing is payable to open the file.
Start your waste licence application.
Six quick questions. We tell you whether you need a Category A or B licence, a norm-and-standard registration, or nothing at all. Nothing to pay to start.
Step 1 of your application
What do you need?
Guides
Understand the process before you commit.
The EIA process, explained
Category B waste licences run on scoping and a full EIA. Here is how that process actually works.
Read the guideAlready operating unlicensed?
Section 24G rectification: your exposure, how the administrative fine is calculated, and the route back to a lawful operation.
Read the guideEnvironmental authorisation
Where the facility also triggers a listed activity under NEMA, both files run together. Here's what that involves.
Read the guideQuestions
Straight answers before you apply.
Do I need a waste management licence?
You need a waste management licence if your activity appears on the listed waste activity notice under the Waste Act — typically storage above the listed thresholds, sorting, recycling, treatment, thermal processing, landfilling or handling hazardous waste. Some activities are instead covered by a national norm and standard, which requires registration with the department rather than a full licence, and some fall below the thresholds entirely. Our free assessment tells you which of the three applies before you spend anything.
How long does a waste management licence take?
A Category A activity typically reaches a decision in 8 to 12 months from lodgement. A Category B activity usually takes 14 to 20 months because of scoping, the full EIA and the specialist programme. Registration under a norm and standard is far quicker, usually 4 to 8 weeks. Preparation before lodgement takes 6 to 14 weeks depending on the waste classification and geohydrology.
What does a waste management licence cost?
Our all-in fee runs from R80,000 for a straightforward Category A storage or recycling licence to R180,000 for a Category B activity such as a landfill or hazardous waste treatment facility needing scoping, an EIA and geohydrological work. Norm-and-standard registration is R45,000. The exact number is fixed in writing after the free assessment and includes the departmental application fees and the specialist studies.
Where do you work?
From our offices in Pretoria (Faerie Glen) and Sandton (Sandown) we act on waste licensing for facilities in all nine provinces.
Need a waste licence decision before the facility opens?
Book a confidential consultation. We respond within one business day.
Last reviewed: 2026-09-17
Written and reviewed by Dynamic Legal Services (Pty) Ltd, registration 2016/074955/07. Registered with the Department of Water and Sanitation, EAPASA applicant. Offices in Faerie Glen, Pretoria and Sandown, Sandton. Telephone 087 153 6207, support@dlegal.co.za. General information on South African regulatory practice, not advice on a specific matter — the first consultation is free.