The South African Waste Information System (SAWIS) was developed by the Department of Environmental Affairs and Tourism (DEAT) in 2005. This is a system used by government and industry to capture routine data on the tonnages of waste generated, recycled and disposed of in South Africa on a monthly and annual basis. All waste producers and waste management organisations should contribute to this national waste database and should accurately monitor the types and quantities of waste produced and handled. According to DEAT (2006) the need for Data verification is important. DEAT (2006:59) defined the term Data Verification as: "assessing data accuracy, completeness, consistency, availability and internal control practices that serve to determine the overall reliability of the data collected." The aim of the study is to determine a procedure, as well as the nature and extent of internal and external source documents, which could be used in the reconciliation of medical waste quantities from generation to disposal. The key objectives are to determine whether the selected hospitals keep internal records of the quantities of medical waste generated; to reconcile the waste quantities on the internal records with the external records, such as the collection certificates, invoices and waste incineration certificates; to ascertain whether the quantity of medical waste generated is equal to the quantity of waste incinerated and disposed of to determine the ratio factor between the quantity of medical waste before incineration and the quantity of the residue (ashes) after incineration, and to make recommendations on the reconciliation of waste quantities from the point of generation to the point of disposal. The results of the study indicate that the destruction certificate is the proof that the waste that was on-site collected by the service provider has been disposed /treated. Especially as an internal control measure. The health care risk waste (HCRW) management record keeping of quantities of weight as per Hospital A, Hospital B and Hospital C allows the opportunity to analyse the weight per month and per Hospital and per category and to make comparisons. The weakness or the gap however still exist that the waste is not weighed at the point of origin, but at the point where the waste service provider collects the waste onsite. It is from this point onwards that the service level agreement between the hospital and the waste service provider and the document management system and the tracking receipt and the waste collection documents (WCD) becomes relevant and where the quantities of waste per category are for the first time recorded. The hypothesis as stated in Chapter 1 was proven valid. The study concludes that reconciliation and comparison between the collection certificate and the destruction certificate and the monthly invoice is therefore possible, but the risk of mixing of waste and the understating or overstating of waste quantities is still not overcome. / Environmental Sciences / M. Sc. (Environmental management)

This study emanates from the worldwide issue of climate change, as well as the need for all nations to make an effort to reduce their carbon emissions and move towards greener economies. It delves into South Africa's current command-and-control environmental enforcement regime and highlights the pitfalls that allow major air polluters to avoid sanction of any form in many instances. This poor environmental enforcement and compliance effectively means that South Africa is unlikely to be capable of meeting targets set under international agreements. The study confirms that environmental enforcement is inadequately addressed in South Africa. This is attributable to the inherent shortcomings of command-and-control approaches, including that they are inflexible and offer few incentives for firms to modify behaviour to reduce emissions. Poor enforcement of environmental legislation results in negative externalities caused by air pollution being borne by people who did not create such pollution. The study therefore advocates the use of market-based mechanisms as an alternative to traditional command-and-control approaches to environmental enforcement. In light of the South African government's recent publication of the Draft Carbon Tax Bill, carbon taxes as a subset of market-based environmental enforcement mechanisms have the potential to better enforce the polluter pays principle. Mexico, arguably the most forward-thinking developing nation in terms of climate change mitigation, has taken numerous steps towards meeting international commitments, including the implementation of a carbon tax. While South Africa's proposed carbon tax does differ from Mexico's in some respects, the basic premise remains the same and some comparisons can be made in this regard, with accompanying lessons to be learned. Such lessons include that it is imperative that the carbon tax must be set at a high enough rate to meet international commitments whilst at the same time avoiding adverse economic effects, maintaining social welfare and stabilising economic output levels. The proposed carbon tax, while unable to achieve this on its own, is a good place to start and should be utilised in conjunction with the Draft Climate Change Bill to effectively and efficaciously bring about the required change. The proposed carbon tax undoubtedly has the potential to better hold major air polluters responsible for their CO2 and other GHG emissions. / Private Law / LL. M.