Thesis (M. Sc. (Geography)) -- University of Limpopo, 2021 / Disposal of disposable infant diapers has emerged as one of the major challenges in solid waste management. The use of disposable infant diapers is an unmanageable challenge in many rural areas due to a lack of disposal equipment and proper disposal methods. Incorrect disposal of used disposable infant diapers causes immediate and long-term negative health, environmental, social and economic impacts on communities. Consequently, this study sought to establish the practices and effects of used diaper disposal in the community of Mashashane Village, Limpopo. Using snowball sampling, households with infants determined participants for this study. The data collection methods were observations and questionnaires. The results showed that most mothers used disposable infant diapers. All respondents indicated that they did not have proper places for disposal and as a result, they disposed of used disposable infant diapers at any convenient place such as near streams, in wetlands and open places. The study, therefore, concluded that disposal of used disposable infant diapers was not appropriately practised in Mashashane Village and that led to environmental, social and economic challenges that require immediate intervention by the municipality. The study recommended that the municipality should encourage proper disposal of used disposable infant diapers through provision of skip bins and waste collection trucks. / Risk and Vulnerability Unit University of Limpopo

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The objective of this study is to provide an experimental performance assessment of cement borehole plugs subjected to dynamic loadings. This includes the study of dried-out plugs as well as of plugs that have remained wet throughout the testing period. Literature review indicates lack of quantitative data on plug performance under dynamic loading. Nevertheless, it shows that deep underground structures in competent rocks are safer than surface structures, openings at shallow depth, and openings in fractured rocks, when subjected to earthquakes and subsurface blasts. Flow test results indicate that wet cement seals are less permeable than Charcoal granite. Sealing performance is severely degraded when cement seals are allowed to dry. Dye injection tests show that the flow penetrates uniformly through the wet plugs, but occurs only along the plug/rock interface of the dried-out plugs. The permeability of wet and dried-out cement seals does not change significantly after the application of dynamic loads.

The purpose of this project was to map the current method for decommissioning / disposing of the Nano-wire reactor at Sol Voltaics. Additionally, alternatives should be suggested based on the findings during the mapping processes and the subsequent analysis. The aim of the presented alternatives was to improve the current workflow for reactor decommissioning based on five identified areas; Rules and Regulations; Environmental aspects; Safety aspects; Economical aspects and Logistical aspects. The existing disposal procedure was divided into six steps. The first step involves a purging procedure to make sure no hazardous gases remain in the reactor. The second step is to dismantle and seal the reactor. The third step is to move the reactor to a loading dock. The fourth step is the transport between Active Biotech in Lund and Sydblästring AB in Malmö. The fifth step is the disassembly and cleaning process of the reactor parts, including waste management. The sixth and final step is to move the cleaned parts to SYSAV in Malmö for final disposal. Finally, Rules and Regulations as well as Safety aspects were identified as having partial improvement potential. Ideas for possible alternatives in these areas was devised and analyzed according to all five areas to make sure that the improvements in one area would not bring undesirable shortcomings in another.

Waste management is a global challenge due to high waste generation resulting from high industrialization, urbanization and challenges relating to the efficient implementation of waste management policies acts and standards. Although South Africa has established a number of good waste management policies and related acts and standards, most municipalities still find it challenging to efficiently implement waste management strategies. Ekurhuleni Municipality is facing challenges with the implementation of effective waste management strategies and compliance to the National Environmental Management Waste Act (2008), (NEMWA) (Act No 59 of 2008). An evaluation of the gaps that exist between NEMWA and the local implementation in the formal and informal parts of the Ekurhuleni Municipality was undertaken in this study. Data on the waste management scenario as collected through questionnaires, interviews and observations revealed that differences relating to the poor establishment of an integrated approach to waste management exist between NEMWA and the local implementation of the act. This was realized through the fact that there is limited community education on waste management, no waste recycling facilities in some residences, irregular and insufficient collection of waste and non compliance with tariff payments for most informal residents and some formal residents. Differences also exist in the waste management strategies between the formal and informal areas of the municipality primarily due to the fact that the informal settlements are mostly unplanned and considered illegal. According to this study, informal residents are not billed for waste management services and as such most of them do not pay for waste management services. To that end, waste is not efficiently managed due to municipal financial constraints. Waste management challenges in Ekurhuleni Municipality are also attributed to lack of or insufficient knowledge regarding sustainable waste management practices and its benefits amongst the waste generators and some waste management employees. / Environmental Sciences / M.A. (Environmental Management)

Waste Strategy 2000 (Waste Strategy for England and Wales) as well as the Waste Strategy for England 2007 laid out a fairly conservative agenda for the future of waste management in England as it responded to the developing EU Legislative drive for sustainable practice. A careful analysis of the Strategy, in around 2001, whereby likely future delivery was compared to EU requirements revealed that the UK (being disaggregated into 4 separate strategies) was unlikely to meet targets, in particular the Landfill Directive. The production of the Strategy Unit report Waste Not Want Not (2002) signalled up the requirement for a rapid increase in the rate of adoption of more sustainable practice. The result was the formation of the Waste Implementation Programme (WIP) in Defra, with its initial 8 streams of activity, including waste minimisation / prevention and pro-environmental behaviour. This research agenda approaches the topic from considering the requirements of a Regional Waste Management Strategy and in particular the knowledge requirements of a Regional Technology Advisory Board (RTAB) in developing waste strategy for the East Midlands. Firstly, starting with an extensive literature review to ascertain current practice, and based on rigorous methods and methodology the research investigated household waste prevention activities and developed techniques to measure impacts of individual and aggregated waste prevention. This research revealed a significant drop in the volume of waste arisings in a pilot area, indicating that it is possible to reduce household waste with a well designed campaign. Secondly, to support the research, Q methodology was used to identify issues of concern for designing waste prevention campaigns. Thirdly, a case study of Northamptonshire to identify potential suitable areas for siting of waste management facilities, using GIS tools, so as to identify possible target areas for future public information campaigns was developed.

published_or_final_version / Civil Engineering / Doctoral / Doctor of Philosophy

published_or_final_version / Environmental Management / Master / Master of Science in Environmental Management

published_or_final_version / Environmental Management / Master / Master of Science in Environmental Management