Specifications for geosynthetics in South Africa : from ISO to SABS : geotechnical engineering

GIGSA, the Geosynthetics Interest Group of South Africa, is a non-profit organisation dedicated to the scientific and engineering development of geosynthetics and associated technologies in South Africa. GIGSA was founded in 1994 by a group of suppliers, installers, consultants, a regulator and an academic at the Faculty of Engineering of the University of the Witwatersrand. The founding of GIGSA coincided with the publication of the first edition of the Minimum Requirements series by the then Department of Water Affairs and Forestry. The intention of the Minimum Requirements was to regulate waste management as a whole, but also waste disposal by landfill in South Africa, which made the use of geomembranes mandatory. This reinforced the need for an organisation like GIGSA, as geosynthetics were largely unknown construction materials at that time.