The ineffective and inefficient management and collection of municipal solid waste is a significant problem in cities of many developing countries. South Africa as a developing country is also faced with the same problem. Buffalo City Municipality with its fast growing urban population is not immune from the problem. Due to continuing population growth, urbanisation, industrialisation and higher consumption levels which started after the demise of the previous legislations which stifled the advancement of black communities, the generation and management of municipal solid waste in developing countries is likely to worsen. The uncollected waste and rampant littering generates pollution and poses risks to human health and the environment. Regulations guiding the treatment and the disposal of waste are not followed to the letter by authorities. There are no measures in place to ensure that the environment is sustained, and even if there are they are not fully implemented. This affects municipalities negatively in various aspects. Tourism that is known to boost ailing and weak local economies is affected. Properties are devaluated and potential developers turn their backs on municipalities that are not well managed. It is the low-income communities that suffer the brunt of the inefficiency and poor service delivery. This status quo is not acceptable eighteen years after the attainment of democracy and the adoption of the Constitution in South Africa. This study analyses the challenges and factors that cause Buffalo City Municipality (BCM) not to deliver services efficiently and successfully in respect of waste management. It also attempts to check alternatives and solutions as gathered from other cities in a similar predicament. Municipalities are encouraged to adopt Local Economic Development (LED) principles and establish public- public partnerships and private- public partnerships thereby utilizing communities in refuse collection and waste management.

A significant segment of the urban population in many low-income countries derives their living from the harvest of marketable materials from urban waste streams. The activities of so-called "scavengers" or waste pickers in many African, Asian, and Latin American cities have also come to be understood to have environmental benefits: the diversion of materials from the urban waste stream decreases the volume of wastes that need to be collected, transported and disposed of. However, due to their daily contact with garbage, these men, women, and children are usually associated with dirt, disease, and squalor. The work of the scavenger is often conceptualized as being poverty driven and undertaken as a survival strategy or coping mechanism in a harsh urban environment. In recent years, various programs and projects have been developed by nongovernmental organizations, religious institutions, community-based organizations, and local governments to address the needs of scavengers. Such intervention schemes are designed in one way or another to alter the scavengers' existing situations. This study looks at the possible linkages between the evolving understanding of scavenging and the various approaches to intervention that it engenders. This study first examines how scholars and researchers analyze waste picking issues and their suggestions for potential interventions and then relates this understanding to how institutions, citizens, non-governmental organizations, and aid agencies are addressing these issues in practice. It is found that different conceptualizations of waste picking issues have led to different intervention prescriptions, and that the prescribed interventions are motivated by environmental, economic, or humanitarian concerns. This study contends that the recommended and implemented intervention prescriptions are simply promoting market means in an attempt to achieve humanitarian ends, and, therefore, are only short-term measures that will not solve the identified waste picking issues. Data sources used in this effort include academic journals, conference papers, case studies of development programs, newspaper articles, Web sites, and field reports. Data were also obtained by contacting researchers and organizations that have studied or are currently working with waste pickers in a variety of geographical settings. / Applied Science, Faculty of / Community and Regional Planning (SCARP), School of / Graduate

This case study was done in KwaZulu–Natal province in South Africa within two municipalities Ethekwini and Umsunduzi Municipality. Three communities participated in this study. The research is motivated by the lack of cooperation between some municipalities and Community Based Organisations (CBOs) in implementing the National Waste Management Strategy (NWMS) at a local level. The primary goal is to explore the availability and development of learning support materials (LSMs) that relates to waste management in collaboration with CBOs and local councillors. The secondary goal is to explore the use of learning support material to promote participation in the implementation of the NWMS. Coresearchers were from the Community Based Organisations as well as local councillors who are located within the communities of these CBOs. Pseudonyms for co-researchers from CBOs and Councillors and the name of their townships have been used to protect co-researchers. A literature review has been conducted to explore research that has been done on the development, usage, accessibility and distribution of the LSMs. Data collection methods included semi-structured interviews; field visits to communities, tape recording of discussions and the keeping of a field journal. Some of the key findings included that LSMs is used by both CBOs and Councillors to try to reduce local environmental problems. It also identified that there are no formal mechanisms between CBOs and Municipalities in dealing with waste management programmes within the identified communities. The other important finding was that the participation of CBOs in the development of LSMs normally excludes the user groups as a result language used is not always understood. Illustrations used in some cases may be misinterpreted if the reader is not English literate as most of material in circulation is written in English. Some recommendations for further research have been made in relation to the findings made in the study. These included recommendations on the development, usage of LSMs, participation of stakeholders in resource development within the context of CBOs and local municipalities.

The study is about how the development of a teaching and learning programme may lead proper waste management in Limpopo. It is a case study and ten schools were identified. The questionnaire was handed out to learners and educators who participated as respondents. From the analysis of the views expressed on the questionnaire completed by the learners and educators, they indicated that there is no waste management programmes. Literature review in this study indicated how teaching and learning programmes have been developed globally and in South Africa with reference to industries, communities and schools. The questionnaire revealed that many schools did not have waste management programmes therefore it was confirmed that the development of a teaching and learning programme could lead to proper waste management. / Further Teaching Education / M. Ed. (Environmental Education)

Growing municipal waste mismanagement and associated environmental impacts is an enormous environmental concern in developing countries such as South Africa. Hence, this study explored current waste management and minimisation patterns and practices in the Ekurhuleni Metropolitan Municipality (EMM), located east of the Gauteng province. The study was undertaken using a mixed method design, particularly the concurrent triangulated design where the quantitative and qualitative data were collected at the same time. The methods employed were desktop surveys, interviews with the participants and use of questionnaires which were designed based on the objectives of the study. The questionnaires were designed for different types of participants (namely, households, informal reclaimers, municipal officials and landfill officials). All the data collected were stored in Microsoft Excel (2010) spread sheet for statistical analyses. The study has revealed some patterns, practices as well as trends regarding waste management and minimisation within the EMM municipality. At household level, there was some environmental awareness on waste management practices provided by the municipality as well as local recycling options although there are numerous challenges to be resolved before these functions can become effective. With informal recycling, a number of waste materials are being reclaimed at various landfill sites. However, current informal waste picking activities by the so-called scavengers are not sustainable as waste is not separated prior to disposal at various point sources. In addition, informal reclaimers have to travel long distances to reach waste sources. Another concerning constraint hampering the effectiveness of informal waste recovery, has to do with their daily exposure to several environmental and health risks. Furthermore, the study has found out that the EMM is predominantly focused on providing better waste management services rather than balancing this activity with waste minimisation through reclaiming and recycling operations. Thus, the municipality lacks adequate infrastructure to undertake waste minimisation effectively. Also, waste minimisation and awareness campaigns were found to be inadequate and at an infant stage, unlike those carried out by private companies. In view of these findings, a number of recommendations have been made. / Environmental Sciences / M. Sc. (Environmental Science)

Thesis (MPhil)--Stellenbosch University, 2014 / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: As the global population grows and more countries industrialise, waste streams will grow proportionately. Current waste management practices and product manufacturing processes dictate that a large proportion of waste ends up in a landfill or incinerator. The predominant manufacturing design is a linear, one-way model that extracts resources for manufacture, which eventually end up in a landfill or incinerator, rendered useless. This is an unsustainable use of resources, not only of the ones that were extracted to manufacture the product, but also of the land used to dump waste. Along with this goes the increasingly significant issue of food waste and the issues of global hunger and food insecurity. It is estimated that globally one third of all food that is produced is wasted, equalling a total of 1.3 billion tonnes of food waste a year. Wastage of food causes a loss of potentially valuable food sources, or a potential resource for other processes, such as composting or energy generation. The poor are normally the first affected by limited or dwindling resources, and as yet, there are no significant signs of poverty alleviation. Worldwide, there is a proliferation of informal settlements, or slums, and how to deal with these settlements has formed part of international political and societal discourse for a long time. In South Africa, policies dictate that informal settlements should undergo an incremental, in situ upgrading process, where possible. Although this marks a positive development from the previous housing policy, substantial uptake on the ground has as yet not occurred. Consequently, this study attempted to combine the issues of waste management, in particular of food waste, and incremental upgrading of informal settlements through a transdisciplinary case study that focuses on upgrading the food waste management system in Enkanini, an informal settlement in Stellenbosch, South Africa. A waste characterisation study undertaken by Stellenbosch Municipality showed that food waste makes up a substantial part of the waste stream generated in Enkanini. As informal settlements often lack adequate waste collection services, the food waste poses a health risk by breeding pathogens and attracting pests. Through a transdisciplinary approach, an alternative food waste treatment method was piloted in Enkanini in partnership with Stellenbosch Municipality and Probiokashi (Pty) Ltd. The method used bokashi substrate to treat food waste with microorganisms. This was then processed further into compost through the sheet mulching method and by black soldier fly (Hermetia illucens) larvae. The outcomes were assessed according to the environmental, social and economic sustainability of this method of waste processing and indicated a positive impact in all three of these categories. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Soos die globale samelewing groei en al hoe meer lande industrialiseer, sal afvalproduksie ook proporsioneel toeneem. Moderne afvalbestuurpraktyke en vervaardigingsprosesse behels dat groot volumes afval in vullingsterreine of verbrandingsoonde beland. Vervaardiging behels hoofsaaklik ’n lineêre proses, waarin grondstowwe vir vervaardiging onttrek word en uiteindelik in sodanige vullingsterreine of verbrandingsoonde beland. Hierdie produkte is dan onbruikbaar. Hierdie praktyk is ’n onvolhoubare manier om hulpbronne te gebruik, nie net wat die grondstowwe vir vervaardiging betref nie, maar ook die grond wat gebruik word om die afval op te stort. Verwant aan hierdie probleem, is die kwessie van toenemende voedselvermorsing en die probleme rondom wêreldwye hongersnood en voedselonsekerheid. Daar word benader dat een derde van alle voedsel wat ter wêreld vervaardig word, vermors word. Dit kom neer op 1.3 miljard ton voedsel per jaar. Voedselvermorsing veroorsaak ’n verlies aan waardevolle, potensiële voedselbronne of potensiële hulpbronne vir ander prosesse, soos bemesting en energievervaardiging. Die armes is gewoonlik diegene wat die gouste deur beperkte of afnemende hulpbronne geraak word en, tot nog toe, is daar geen beduidende vordering in armoedeverligting nie. Wêreldwyd is daar ’n toename in informele nedersettings, of agterbuurte, en maniere om hierdie probleem aan te spreek, vorm lankal deel van die internasionale politiese en maatskaplike diskoers. In Suid-Afrika dui beleide daarop dat informele nedersettings, waar moontlik, ’n inkrementele, in situ opgraderingsproses moet ondergaan. Alhoewel hierdie plan ’n verbetering is op die vorige behuisingsbeleid, het wesenlike vordering nog nie plaasgevind nie. Gevolglik het hierdie studie gepoog om die kwessies rakende afvalbestuur, spesifiek van voedselafval, en inkrementele opgradering van informele nedersettings in ’n transdissiplinêre gevallestudie te kombineer deur te fokus op die voedselafvalbestuurstelsel in Enkanini, ’n informele nedersetting in Stellenbosch, Suid-Afrika. ’n Studie, uitgevoer deur Stellenbosch Munisipaliteit, wat die inhoud van vullis ontleed het, het bevind dat voedselafval ’n beduidende deel vorm van die vullis wat in Enkanini geproduseer word. Aangesien informele nedersettings dikwels tekortskiet aan voldoende vullisverwyderingsdienste, hou voedselafval ’n bedreiging in omdat patogene daarin broei en dit peste lok. Deur middel van ’n transdissiplinêre benadering is ’n proefprojek aangepak waartydens ’n alternatiewe metode om voedselafval te behandel, getoets is. Hierdie projek is in samewerking met Stellenbosch Munisipaliteit en Probiokashi (Pty) Ltd (Edms.) Bpk. in Enkanini uitgevoer. Hierdie metode het van bokashi-substraat gebruik gemaak om deur middel van mikroörganismes die voedselafval te behandel. Dit is daarna verder deur swartsoldaatvlieglarwes (Hermetia illucens) tot kompos verwerk. Die uitkomste van die studie is geassesseer ten opsigte van die sosiale, ekonomiese en omgewingsvolhoubaarheid van dié afvalverwerkingsmetode. ’n Positiewe impak is in al drie hierdie kategorieë opgemerk.

Thesis (MDF)--Stellenbosch University, 2015. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Johannesburg generates in excess of 1 500 000 tonnes of general waste annually and has on average 10 years’ lifespan remaining on its four landfill sites. As a signatory to the Polokwane Declaration, the City of Johannesburg has recognised the need for new interventions to divert waste from landfills by various methods, such as separation at source; alternative treatment methods and the conversion of waste to energy. Progress has, however, been slow and this research aims to investigate alternative waste management techniques that can be applied in the City of Johannesburg to fast track the realisation of these targets. Using scenario planning techniques, the research considers implications for policy and management decisions in realising the best possible future in the area of waste management in Johannesburg. The scenario process was used to develop the following scenarios for waste management in Johannesburg: Long walk to freedom. Waste collection coverage includes pockets of the community where waste collections services are less than optimal. The residents of the city, particularly in these underserviced areas, are also not very knowledgeable of the impact that the waste generated within their communities can have on the environment and what alternatives there are to manage this. Pick it up. The City provides full services to a society that functions in relative oblivion of the implications of their behaviour on the environment. It is assumed to be the role of government to “pick up” after communities and dispose of waste. This scenario is oblivious of the waste hierarchy and the role communities could play in minimising waste. Wishing on a star. The city continues to have under-serviced areas, public awareness is high and this fuels correct behaviour and a mind-set shift with regard to waste management. Working together we can do more. The City optimises its service provision to cover all areas while also ensuring maximum public awareness and behaviour change with regard to waste management.

Submitted by Filipe dos Santos (fsantos@pucsp.br) on 2018-09-28T12:26:12Z No. of bitstreams: 1 Luanda Francine Garcia Da Costa.pdf: 1803240 bytes, checksum: 16e83d1434313cbd9f12b25f939af988 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2018-09-28T12:26:12Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Luanda Francine Garcia Da Costa.pdf: 1803240 bytes, checksum: 16e83d1434313cbd9f12b25f939af988 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2017-08-03 / Conselho Nacional de Pesquisa e Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico - CNPq / Through the perturbing phenomenon of the extension of garbage, which in the contemporaneity reaches planetary proportions, the present research proposes to bring up some discussions from the perspective of Freudian and Lacanian psychoanalysis, concerning the implication of the subject of the unconscious in the act of polluting the natural environments in society of consumer capitalism. Basing us on the psychoanalytic theory research in articulation with other knowledge areas, especially with philosophy and sociology, we intend to establish conjectures between the transitional context of the psychic structure of the neurotic subject – in what concerns their entry into language and the production of the rest Real – and in the actual historical context, researching the theme of the degradation of the environments through pollution in the horizon of the political and economical system of consumer capitalism in their specificity of rest production and the rejection of the rest Real. In the course of the research connective openings and possibilities were presented between the scopes which treat the rest as pollution, the rest as operation of constitutive loss of the subject and of the rest as indescribable opacity related to the body, as well their management through capitalist discourse in order to think the place of rest production in the contemporaneity, where we conclude that there is, beyond the phenomenon, the place of a symptom / Mediante o perturbador fenômeno de extensão do lixo que atinge proporções planetárias na contemporaneidade, a presente pesquisa se propõe a levantar algumas discussões sob a perspectiva da psicanálise freudiana e lacaniana acerca da implicação do sujeito do inconsciente no ato de poluir os ambientes naturais na sociedade capitalista de consumo. Pautando-nos na pesquisa teórica psicanalítica em articulação com outras áreas do conhecimento, em especial, a filosofia e a sociologia, tencionamos estabelecer conjecturas entre o contexto transhistórico da estrutura psíquica do sujeito neurótico – no que concerne à sua entrada na linguagem e à produção do resto Real – e o contexto histórico atual, investigando o tema da degradação dos ambientes pela poluição, no horizonte do sistema político-econômico capitalista de consumo, em sua especificidade de produção de restos e recusa do resto Real. Ao longo da pesquisa, foram apresentadas aberturas e possibilidades conectivas entre os âmbitos que tratam do resto como poluição, do resto como operação de perda constitutiva do sujeito e do resto como opacidade indescritível remetida ao corpo, bem como o gerenciamento desses pelo discurso capitalista, a fim de pensarmos o lugar da produção dos restos na contemporaneidade – o que concluímos ser, para além de um fenômeno, o lugar de um sintoma

Over the past half-century, environmental problems have become increasingly serious and seemingly intractable, and a careless, clueless, or contemptuous consumer is often portrayed as the root cause of this environmental decline. This study takes a different approach to evaluating the demand for resources by households, assessing possible pro-environmental paths forward through a study of highly ecologically-conscious households. By modeling "green" households as producers of sustainability rather than consumers of environmental products, the sustainability work that takes place in households is brought into focus. An investigation of household sustainability production makes possible the evaluation of the trade-offs inherent in these pro-environmental activities. Ethnographic interviews with 23 sustainability-oriented households with young children living in and near Portland, Oregon, provide data on how households balance priorities and get things done in day-to-day life by employing the available resources, limited by constraining factors. An orienting perspective combining neoclassical and radical political economic theories of household production frames the analysis of how households make choices between alternatives. Sociological theories of consumption and theories of social practice aid in the analysis of how these choices have evolved over time, and how household members view the social meanings of these choices. Particular attention is paid to areas of day-to-day life neglected in previous research--household waste, comfort, and cleanliness. The results indicate that there is not one "sustainability" with varying degrees across a "green" spectrum, but rather varying priorities in the sustainability realm--personal health, nature, waste avoidance, technology, and community. This analysis reveals some of the negative consequences of shifting the responsibility for environmental protection to households. Ecologically-conscious households devote substantial time and money to these sustainability efforts, but their efforts frequently stimulate conflicts, and the end results are rarely perfect. Constrained resources and limited information mean household members must make trade-offs between competing priorities, often under duress. The results suggest that policies promoting household-level sustainability efforts may be misguided, as this transfer of institutional responsibility for environmental protection to individuals and groups results in even greater burdens on households, whose time and money are already stretched to their limits.

Thesis (MTech(Environmental Health))--Cape Peninsula University of Technology, 2018. / This study focuses on the assessment of the Green Zone Partnership Model (GZPM), which is a partnership project that was initiated by the City of Cape Town and Bonteheuwel community as a solution towards littering and illegal dumping in public open space areas. It is reported that the City of Cape Town is spending about R350 million year to remove waste illegally dumped in public open spaces around the city. In an attempt to assess the GZPM, the study has been used the environmental partnership theory as an approach to analyse the nature and significance of this partnership project. Over the last 20 years, following the emergence of the concept of sustainability, various organisations including governments are moving towards partnerships with various stakeholders as tools to finding solutions to environmental facing the planet (Long & Arnold, 1995). The emergence of this approach was the catalyst for a partnership formation to address the waste problem within the case study area (Ibid, 1995:34). To locate the study within the broader theoretical debate, the study draws on the theory of environmental partnership. Environmental partnership refers to the partnership formed to engage stakeholder partners in order to solve specific environmental problems. Similarly, Emas (2015:2) argues that partnerships encourage participatory decision making regarding the identification and solution of the current environmental problem. They are, to a larger extent, key to achieving the vision of sustainable development. In the South African context, the popular rise of a democratic system since 1994 has coincided with the escalation of various partnership projects, specifically formed to improve environmental quality. While there is a plethora of partnerships of this nature, with some initiated by the World Bank, IMF, and European Union; there is still a need to assess whether or not these partnership initiatives attain the desirable outcome(s). It is from this backdrop that this research seeks to assess the green zone partnership to establish whether or not it has improved environmental quality with specific reference to littering and illegal dumping in Bonteheuwel community The study used qualitative research design to answer the question raised in this research. Community survey and Face to face in-depth interviews with key stakeholder partners were conducted to collect data that which helped to answer the research question. This data was triangulated with other type of data collected from a household survey conducted within the study area. The data collected revealed how the partnership arrangement (GZPM) has improved the environmental and waste conditions in the communities. The results of the study will be crucial to the environmental health practitioners and managers dealing with waste related problems at local government level. The study has contributed to the existing knowledge in the field of environmental management, environmental health, waste management and natural resource management. Finally, the study concluded that partnership of this nature should be driven by champions from the communities to ensure that the environmental solution is sustainable for the benefit of the future generation. The fact that the partnership project was initiated and funded by the City of Cape Town does not guarantee as sustained solution toward a specific environmental problem (e.g., illegal dumping in public open space areas).