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The work presented in this thesis was performed firstly to highlight the changes wrought in restored soil systems following the disruptive activities of opencast coal mining, and thereafter to identify, simulate and assess the effects of some typical perturbations associated with these activities. The microbial community was used as a focus for these investigations and the methods of soil adenosine 5'- triphosphate content analysis, dehydrogenase activity analysis and ergosterol content analysis were utilised alongside several other physical and chemical determinations. A field study of restored sites of various ages after cessation of opencast coal mining was undertaken which reinforced the utility of the microbial measurements. Experimentation was performed to investigate the effects of soil storage (at two depths), physical disturbance, compaction and the effects of the different combinations of these perturbations. Novel findings were obtained largely due to the paucity of research addressing the controlled manipulation and careful interpretation of these individual perturbations, and their effects when combined. The storage of soil was found to be the dominant factor influencing the status of the microbial communities upon restoration, and also influencing the development of these communities and the emergent plant biomass, post-restoration. This study found that soil, reinstated after opencast coal mining, becomes quickly dominated by fungi and, under grassland management, this domination then subsides over many years to a more bacterialcharacterised system. Differences were identified between the action of physical disturbance and compaction on stored and unstored soils. The deleterious effect of physical disturbance on unstored soil and the apparent ameliorative effect on soil affected by opencast operations can be interpreted through the change in soil architecture engendered by this treatment. The severe disturbances associated with opencast coal mining were found to affect the soil biota, primarily in terms of enduring environmental change. Thus the study of soil ecology was used as a sensitive indicator of recovery of disturbed land, and the changing energy flow through detrital food-webs was used as a model to follow this recovery process.

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This thesis investigated the municipal solid waste management in GCC states. An investigation of the GCC municipal solid waste legislation's was conducted and compared and some comments and proposed changes were pointed. The main issue of municipal solid waste management in GCC states is the absence of regional co-operation on government level. Therefore recycling and composting that could have a major role in the enhancement of the environment in the GCC states were examined and several actions that could be taken by the GCC government were proposed. The government's role in helping to increase the participation of the public in waste management activities was discussed. A regional recycling scheme was investigated and proposed including some financial aspects. Composting facilities in GCC states were investigated and especially composting as an alternative in Kuwait. Some recommendations on composting were presented. Investigation of construction and demolition waste recycling opportunity in Kuwait was examined.

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This thesis considers recycling as one option to improve the environmental performance of industry in the UK. A systems approach is used to identify objectives and capabilities of legislative and industrial agencies and to analyse issues in the broad context of waste policy formulation and implementation which spans both constituencies. It is shown that regulatory change to empower industrialists as decision takers is limited by a shortage of recycling infrastructure in the UK. Although well resourced firms are developing progressive waste policies in house, other firms are less well equipped to respond to regulatory pressures in a manner that is congruent with legislative objectives. An innovative option to develop recycling facilities for construction wastes at a landfill site is assessed, considering the roles of construction firms, skip hauliers and waste managers. An investigation is conducted into the practices employed by construction firms that influence wastes arising and likely changes to such practices. It is shown that pressures on construction firms are leading to some improvements to waste streaming that favour the recycling option. A spatial model of landfill catchment is used to estimate the elasticity of the volume of a given waste type delivered to a landfill site with respect to prices charged at the site and competing facilities. The option to recycle a substantial fraction of construction waste is compared with the null option of continuing to landfill waste without pre-treatment using a comparative cost benefit model. This model shows that, in the case of construction waste, benefits due to extending the working life of a landfill pit can be more significant than revenue effects for waste managers. Whether these benefits justify the costs of recycling is shown to be dependent on characteristics of particular landfill sites and

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