Magister Artium - MA / The local economy of the City of Cape Town supported by formal economic activities that are carried out through modern production processes whose existence is officially recognized and benefits from the protection of the authorities, and the informal activities that exist outside official control and protection systems. There is a dynamic connection between actors in the formal sector and those in the informal sector, which is seen at the levels of production, distribution and consumption of goods and services. This research investigates the linkages between informal and formal resource recovery activities in Devon Valley Landfill Site in Stellenbosch and Bellville South Landfill Site in Bellville. The two landfill sites are at the margins on the city economy where the formal and informal sectors interact and at times collide. Notwithstanding the negative health effects associated with the informal waste collections and the fact that informal waste collectors are neglected by policy makers in many developing countries in general and in South Africa in particular, evidence from Southern Africa has shown that the informal sector fosters considerable social, environmental and economic benefits that should be preserved. Informal recyclers constitute the essential workforce of the recycling business. These recyclers have undertaken various commercial and environmental tasks as a survival strategy long before the state and private entities became interested in participating in this profitable business. Waste recycling in most developing countries is a response to the inability of the formal economy to absorb a growing urban population, and the value placed on recyclable materials in the globalized economy. The study explores the various linkages between the informal sector and formal sector in the recycling industry and it examines the activities of these people involved in informal sector activities at the bottom end of the commonly neglected waste recycling chain. It also examines how waste pickers have developed livelihoods based on resource recovery activities at Devon Valley Landfill Site and Bellville South Landfill Site. This thesis is the result of an extensive literature review and primary data collection using a mixed methods approach. Primary sources of information consulted include, waste pickers, dealers, buy-back centres and manufacturing companies. This thesis attempts to establish the respective correlation between urban poverty, informal waste collection, and the recycling industries. The findings reveal that informal recycling is intricately linked to the formal recycling sector with waste pickers selling their waste to merchants and recyclers.

Thesis (M.S.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Chemical Engineering, 1982. / MICROFICHE COPY AVAILABLE IN ARCHIVES AND SCIENCE. / Bibliography: leaves 95-96. / by Cordelia Mae Price. / M.S.

With millions of people involved in collecting and treating recyclable products, waste recycling provides a critical entry point to an investigation of the spaces and dynamics of the Chinese economy. Based on sixteen months of in-depth ethnographic research, this thesis, 'Invisible spaces: variegated geographies of waste in China', describes and analyses waste and its boundaries, as well as the actors that deal with it at different scales within the country. The work examines how waste circulates, how it is regulated, and how it is represented in China. It presents stories of the people and places that configure the waste industry, and situates its analysis at the intersection of three different strands of literature: i) variegated capitalism; ii) informal economy; and iii) geographies of waste. The research contends that the 'afterlives' of goods are a productive prism which can be used to understand the variegated mode of capitalism in contemporary China and thus investigates the following question: to what extent do the different cultural, social, political, economic, and material dimensions of waste reveal the heterogeneous characteristics of Chinese capitalism? Central to my analysis is the concept of invisibility. I conceive invisibility as a socio- political process that brings about an uneven access to resources and labour for subaltern groups, as well as a relational concept encompassing the three complementary and dialectical dimensions of absolute, relative, and relational space. Invisibility is not only a metaphor to define the agency of informal workers, but also an allegory to describe the marginalisation of their activities and spaces. It is an asset and a curse, a condition and a strategy. These multiple dimensions make invisibility a productive device bringing to light the geographies of different accumulation regimes and everyday practices, as well as a potent tool to analyse the alternative representations of waste, value, labour, and development at play in contemporary China. With this in mind, the thesis engages with a number of important debates in geography. In particular, the five empirical chapters engage with literature on global production networks, labour geography, primitive accumulation, geographies of waste, and urban political ecology. While drawing these literatures into conversation with the variegated capitalism framework, the work suggests that the invisibility of waste activities is a powerful tool to analyse the nature and the mechanisms of the variegated modes of production in contemporary China.

Urban water recycling has been promoted as one of several ways that water use efficiency could be improved in Australia???s cities, but few such schemes have been introduced. Many urban water-recycling schemes have been proposed, but often, these projects have been rejected because of community opposition. These difficulties suggest that recycling water is not just about having the right answer to any problem, but about the way in which the question is addressed. It is concerned with how practice is institutionalised; not just the rule making, but also the understandings and values that make the rule-making possible. In this thesis, the question of how the system of water governance could be strengthened to encourage sustainable water use through water recycling is examined. An analysis of experiences in three Australian case studies is conducted, in which recycled water was proposed for sustainability, to illuminate the way in which water use is institutionalised. Particular attention is given to the construction of meaning in relation to water use, by considering how water problems are framed and negotiated by different stakeholders and groups and the significance of the multiplicity of interpretive frameworks in use for the institutionalisation of practice. The analysis draws on institutional organisational theory and interpretive methods, which regard interpretation as one element (cognitive) in the stabilisation of social practice and closely linked to organisation (regulative) and values (normative). The study findings suggest meaning was a very important part of institutional change. Participants tended to construct policy issues as they became involved by drawing on different interpretive frameworks embodying different values and expectations. These interpretations reflected the organisational structuring of practice, such that the position/role in the organisational field reflected an actor???s interpretation of problems and/or solutions. Outcomes of the study suggest that institutionalising change in water management is problematic and depends on changes in the regulative, normative and cognitive dimensions of practice, as part of a continuous feedback loop between interpretation and practice. This view of change contrasts with existing research, which tends to see the problem in terms of influencing attitudes of specific groups and assumes preferences precede the action.

In Cameroon, and most other developing countries, the problem of inefficient municipal solid waste management ( MSWM ) is endemic. This is easily identified by persistent heaps of uncollected waste found on street sides or ubiquitous illegal dumps. This thesis examines the sustainability of MSWM in Cameroon using two contrasting city cases of Yaoundé ( 1.5m people ) and Bamenda ( 300 000 people ). As major contributions the thesis generates the much - needed basic original data, critically examines and compares the sustainability of MSWM in both cities ' systems, evaluates the environmental impacts and uses these findings to suggest valuable research, policy and strategic - planning recommendations needed to make both systems, and others in similar situations, sustainable. To achieve these goals multiple triangulated methods were used. In Bamenda, where reliable basic data are non - existent, solid waste from sampled households was collected and analysed for generation rates, quantities and characteristics. In both cities questionnaire were administered to sampled household units selected from four stratified quarters. The survey questions addressed waste management issues and sustainability indicators that were needed to study, compare and evaluate the systems within the wider concept of the waste management hierarchy. The statistical programme for social sciences ( SPSS ) computer software was used to analyse the survey results. Field observations, interviews and a review of secondary sources complemented the data. New findings show that Bamenda city generates 120 - 160 tonnes of municipal solid waste daily ( 0.40-0.54 kg per capita ), 76 % of which is biodegradable and 24 % non - biodegradable. About 90 % of all solid waste comes from households. Bamenda Urban Council ( BUC ) regularly covers only 1 / 20th of the city area and collects and transports 20 - 30 tonnes of waste from its skips, accounting for only 17 - 25 % of the total daily waste generation. The waste is disposed of at an uncontrolled dump on the Mezam River flood plain. The citizens illegally dump the rest. Skips are crucial to the system but their total capacity and access are grossly inadequate ( 37m ³ over 28 sites ), with a further 465m ³ needed. Citizens move an average of 105 m to waste disposal sites. This suggests a sustainable inter - skip distance of 210 m for Bamenda city, far from the present 700 m. Yaoundé ' s daily per capita MSW generation rate is estimated at 0.79 kgs or 1200 tonnes for the entire city, three - quarters of which is biodegradable. Only one - third of the city area is regularly served with about 40 - 50 % ( ~ 540 tonnes ) of the waste collected and disposed of at the sanitary landfill on the Nfoulou River valley. Total available skip capacity is 1440m ³ with 3048m ³ lacking. The primary waste disposal average distance is 87 m. Yaoundé and Bamenda cities are unique in physical conditions and status but neither is able to deal adequately with the increasing waste generation rates, quantities and varieties that are driven by rapid urban population growth, spatial expansion and improved affluence and consumption among selected groups. Yaoundé ' s management has an edge over Bamenda ' s in terms of performance rates but leaves behind five times more uncollected and illegally dumped waste than Bamenda. Though Yaoundé ' s system is private and Bamenda ' s is public, both systems apply the same conventional approach that concentrates on imported technologies while neglecting waste prevention, recycling, safe disposal, involvement and integration of citizens and other stakeholders. This limited and monopolistic approach makes the system unworkable and equally creates huge environmental and health - related problems present at all the stages of the waste management cycle. Government devolves the waste function to urban councils but centralises funds and power. Its waste policies are limited, fragmented and confusing. The garbage tax law yields only 5 % in Bamenda and 7 % in Yaoundé, making both cities rely heavily on extra financial support from Cameroon and abroad. In all, neither city in the study demonstrates sustainability in any aspects of its MSWM system. The existing systems are not sustainable. A new system based on an integrated sustainable model operated within the context of good urban governance is proposed. This model accommodates the uniqueness of cities and is recommended for other cities in the country, Africa and the developing world. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--School of Social Sciences, 2004.

The purpose of this study was to examine Oregon State University students' self-reported knowledge, attitudes, and behavior about recycling. Students living in on-campus and off-campus organized living groups were mailed a four-page survey with questions about their recycling activities, their attitudes about recycling, their opinions of the effectiveness of the campus recycling program, and their demographic information. The study population included all students living in OSU's residence halls, cooperatives, and fraternity and sorority houses. Three hundred fifteen surveys were mailed, and 237 were returned, for an overall response rate of 75%. The results showed that: 1) Based on the criteria used to distinguish between recyclers and non-recyclers, 95% of the sample were recyclers, with women reporting recycling behavior at a higher level than men. 2) There were no significant differences in attitudes about recycling between recyclers and non-recyclers. Recyclers, however, are more likely than non-recyclers to make purchases based on their concern for the environment. 3) Most OSU students who recycle spend less than 30 minutes per month recycling, and it appears to be a well-established pattern in their lives. More than 50% of the students recycle on a daily or a weekly basis. 4) OSU students recycle all materials except plastics at high rates, ranging from 76% for glass to 87% for paper. Plastics were recycled by 64% of the students who recycle. 5) Students recycle at residences and in classrooms and offices on the OSU campus, and report the least recycling activity at the Memorial Union. OSU students mainly use the curbside collection service for off-campus recycling. 6) OSU students receive information about recycling from a wide variety of sources, including school, home, and the media. One recommendation based on this study is that Campus Recycling provide education about materials re-processing and about the importance of purchasing products with recycled content to close the three-sided recycling loop, as well as to introduce the concept of source reduction. Another recommendation is that organized housing groups name a recycling coordinator who will educate and motivate the residents of the housing group to recycle. Eighty-one percent of the respondents reported television as a source of information about recycling. Additional research is needed to identify the time slots and programs watched by students if this media will be used for future educational interventions about recycling. Finally, because this survey dealt only with recycling of non-hazardous materials, additional research is needed to gather information on disposal of hazardous materials like batteries, automobile fluids, and household paint and cleaners. / Graduation date: 1997

Thesis (Ph.D.) -- University of Texas at Arlington, 2009.

Thesis (M. Sc.)--University of Hong Kong, 2002. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 95-101).

Thesis (M.F.A.)--Kent State University, 2009. / Title from PDF t.p. (viewed Jan. 22, 2010). Advisor: Darice Polo. Keywords: Installation; assemblage; mixed-media; drawing; playful arrangements; doodling; envrionmental art; intuitive process; mixed-media drawings; environmental concerns; ecological concerns; fragile environment; site-specific; craft-based methods; post-consumer. Includes bibliographical references (p. 28).

This thesis presents some novel techniques to process Post Consumer Carpet waste and provides detailed cost comparisons between setting up and running small-scale decentralized units and large-scale centralized chemical facilities. The techniques presented include: a decentralized underlay manufacturing process which does not distinguish between the types of face fiber, a decentralized facility with twin screw extruder to depolymerize nylon 6 face fiber with a concurrent underlay manufacturing facility, a decentralized pallet production facility, and a centralized facility for chemically depolymerizing nylon 6, and nylon 6,6 with a concurrent underlay manufacturing facility The limiting factors to recycling are the collection of significant volumes of material and effective recycling techniques. This is illustrated in this study. The aim of this study is to enable recyclers to assess their recycling activities using various performance parameters, such as payback period of the venture, mass of carpet recycled, and energy used. Thus, this study aims to shed light on the impact of recycling on current carpet consumption per capita. The results indicate that decentralized facilities located in metropolitan areas with populations of over 2 million people have a lower payback period than the large scale centralized facilities that are sparsely distributed throughout the country. These decentralized facilities are also more efficient in reducing the current carpet consumption per capita. The reduced traveling distance for the post consumer carpet from the collection/disposal site to the processing facility should make a huge impact on energy consumption and the corresponding environmental emissions.