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

Studying the effectiveness of environmental policies is of primary importance to address the unsustainable use of resources that threatens the entire society. Thus, the aim of this paper is to investigate on the effectiveness of environmental policy instruments to decouple waste generation and landfilling from economic growth. In order to do so, the paper analyzes the case study of the Slovakian municipality of Palarikovo, which has drastically improved its waste management system between 2000 and 2012, through the utilization of differentiated waste taxes and awareness-raising and education campaigns, as well as targeting increased recycling and municipal composting. We find evidence of absolute decoupling for landfilled waste and waste generation, the latter being more limited in time and magnitude. These policy instruments could therefore play an important role in municipalities that are still lagging behind in waste management. More specifically, this policy mix was effective in moving away from landfilling, initiating recycling systems, and to some extent decreasing waste generation. Yet, a more explicit focus on waste prevention will be needed to address the entirety of the problem effectively. (author's abstract)

ABSTRACT Introduction: The Gauteng Province in South Africa is home to four large hospitals which generate enormous amounts of waste. However, no formal study has been done to asses the magnitude of this problem. Health care waste falls under a cluster of waste which is regarded as hazardous due to its composition and therefore ability to transmit disease. It has become an important type of waste mainly because of its ability to transmit HIV/AIDS, Hepatitis B and C among other infectious diseases. This study attempted to address the knowledge and practices of doctors and nurses, which are just some of the factors which influence health care waste management. Aims: The main aim of this study was to evaluate the current knowledge and practices of doctors and nurses regarding the management of health care waste. Methods: This was a descriptive cross sectional study. A self administered questionnaire was used to collect the data. A total sample of 128 doctors and nurses was drawn from the Johannesburg Hospital, an academic hospital in the Gauteng Province. Results: Although there was overall lack of awareness about the existence of the international, national, provincial and local documents (Act, Regulation, Manual, Code of Practice and Policies) regulating heath care waste management, the majority of the respondents (84%) knew about the existence of the Johannesburg Hospital’s policy on waste management. Generally, knowledge of nursing staff was significantly higher than that of doctors. Although some good practices such as use of gloves were reported, there is generally a lack of knowledge about key documents regulating health care waste, particularly among the doctors. Conclusion: This study was the first of its kind to be done at the Hospital. As the Hospital policy is more accepted and accessible to the health professionals than the other documents investigated in this study, it should be updated regularly to incorporate new changes. The Hospital should not only make that policy document more easily accessible and visible but also strive to reach doctors with training in health care waste management. Continuous monitoring and evaluation is also necessary to ensure that policies and procedures are followed.

Due to the pressure of recent legislative changes (eg: the EU Landfill Directive and the imposition of a Landfill Tax), composting as a waste disposal technique is now being viewed as the preferred alternative to the landfilling of organic waste. However, while composting has been practised in one form or another for 2500 years, the underlying principles behind the microbial ecology of composting, is poorly understood. In order to obtain an insight into the ecology and hence, the critical nature of the composting process, a number of low cost open-windrows containing urban botanical wastes were established. These windrows were subjected to microbial and physico-chemical analysis over the initial period of exothermically active composting (25 days). This study demonstrated that, whilst average temperatures within open windrows can reach in excess of 65 °C, the sustainability and range of these temperatures depended upon the windrow bulk density. Windrows with bulk densities of 600kgm*3 had a larger insulation factor and thus, were able to sustain high temperatures for longer periods. However, these windrows were more susceptible to the development of areas of low temperature (cold spots) at depths below 20cm. Windrows with bulk densities of 400kgm'3 had smaller insulation factors and therefore, lost heat at a faster rate than windrows with higher bulk densities. This loss of heat was observed to be the case with the windrow surface layers, but they exhibited fewer cool spots at lower levels. This study found that the average microbial population of windrow material was 2.29x1013 CFU kg*1 and that each microbial cell could generate between 6.33 and 8.56xl0*13 Mjkg*1. This resulted in the generation of between 1.13 and 1.70 Mjkg*1 °C*1 of heat energy. Contrary to the published literature, this study observed that temperatures above 65 °C did not result in the significant loss of ammonia from the windrow. However, high levels of ammonia did suppress the formation of nitrate within the windrows. Experiments investigating microbial population kinetics within the windrows indicated that observed changes were proportional to temperature up to 60 °C, when a reduction in population numbers was observed between 60 °C and 65 °C. However, between 60 °C and 70 °C population levels increased once again. It was also noted that at the start of the composting process, 13 different microbial species or genera could be identified. However, after 17 days of exothermic composting, this had been reduced to 2 genera, including a novel large bacterial species belonging to the genus Bacillus. This study also showed that samples of windrows exposed to temperatures above 55 °C for 48 hours did not eliminate mesophilic or psycrotrophic microbial populations as previously assumed by other workers, but only suppressed their metabolism during the high temperature period.

The main objectives of this study were: to provide a review of key concepts and issues relevant to solid waste management in developing countries; to analyse and evaluate the hotel solid waste management (HSWM) program in Bali, Indonesia; and to suggest recommendations and areas for further research. The following data collection methods were used in this study: review of documents and literature, interviews, surveys and field observations. Tourism in host regions such as Bali can bring both positive and negative impacts. One aspect of tourism that can have an impact on local communities is solid waste management (SWM). Improper SWM can lead to pollution and deterioration of the aesthetic appeal of tourist destinations. Conversely, solid waste can be a resource to the local community, providing opportunities for business development and the achievement of social, political and environmental objectives. Planning for SWM is complex, involving the consideration of multiple and interconnected issues. Therefore, in addressing SWM issues, it is appropriate to use an integrated approach that recognises the various stakeholders, activities and perspectives involved. In addition, concepts such as appropriate technology, cleaner production, life cycle assessment and environmental management systems can be useful for improving how solid waste management is approached. A local environmental non-governmental organisation (NGO), waste hauler and hotels in Bali developed a program to improve the management of solid waste from hotels. The history, planning, management and stakeholders involved with the development of this program are described in this study. Various issues pertaining to the achievement of social, environmental and economic objectives are investigated to provide a view of program realities and the range of challenges faced by program participants. Conclusions and lessons learned from the case study are presented and links between concepts in the literature and findings from the case study are discussed. Recommendations concerning topics such as planning, management, stakeholder involvement, health and safety, data management and source separation are suggested and future research directions are outlined.

Waste is anything which is considered to be no longer useful to anyone. In reality, it actually possesses the ability to be the raw material for several other processes and applications. Improper handling of wastes could result in several environmental hazards such as air pollution, soil erosion, methane emissions, low birth rate and others. In developing countries, proper handling of wastes is one of the important topics to be focussed from an environmental perspective. This thesis aims to propose an improved waste collection system in Gaborone through investigating the current waste management practices in Gaborone from different perspectives. Several stakeholders were interviewed for gathering information related to the present waste legislations, waste collection, treatment, and disposal methods. A composition study was also conducted along with the other research teams in order to support the objective of this thesis. The results shows that the current waste management practices has certain flaws which the management has to overcome in order to avoid the environmental impacts caused by the waste generation in Gaborone. Basic Recycling and treatment facilities are absent in Gaborone. The local government do not have any updated plans for the proper handling of wastes. The obtained results are critically analysed to showcase the existing flaws in the waste management practices, and using the state of the art knowledge in waste management the research team suggests an improved waste collection system for Gaborone considering the economic and environmental conditions.

The main objectives of this study were: to provide a review of key concepts and issues relevant to solid waste management in developing countries; to analyse and evaluate the hotel solid waste management (HSWM) program in Bali, Indonesia; and to suggest recommendations and areas for further research. The following data collection methods were used in this study: review of documents and literature, interviews, surveys and field observations. Tourism in host regions such as Bali can bring both positive and negative impacts. One aspect of tourism that can have an impact on local communities is solid waste management (SWM). Improper SWM can lead to pollution and deterioration of the aesthetic appeal of tourist destinations. Conversely, solid waste can be a resource to the local community, providing opportunities for business development and the achievement of social, political and environmental objectives. Planning for SWM is complex, involving the consideration of multiple and interconnected issues. Therefore, in addressing SWM issues, it is appropriate to use an integrated approach that recognises the various stakeholders, activities and perspectives involved. In addition, concepts such as appropriate technology, cleaner production, life cycle assessment and environmental management systems can be useful for improving how solid waste management is approached. A local environmental non-governmental organisation (NGO), waste hauler and hotels in Bali developed a program to improve the management of solid waste from hotels. The history, planning, management and stakeholders involved with the development of this program are described in this study. Various issues pertaining to the achievement of social, environmental and economic objectives are investigated to provide a view of program realities and the range of challenges faced by program participants. Conclusions and lessons learned from the case study are presented and links between concepts in the literature and findings from the case study are discussed. Recommendations concerning topics such as planning, management, stakeholder involvement, health and safety, data management and source separation are suggested and future research directions are outlined.

Due to potential environmental, resource and health problems associated with waste, waste minimisation is a prioritised waste management strategy in many countries. Producer responsibility policies promote waste minimisation by stipulating separate collection and recycling of particular waste streams. In addition, a purpose of the policy is to encourage product development that reduces waste generation and improves recyclability. It is sometimes assumed that the financial responsibility assigned to producers for collection and recycling of their end-of-life products will instigate waste minimising product development in order to reduce costs. However, this view has also been contested. Following the adoption of the WEEE Directive (2002/96/EC) all EU member states have to implement producer responsibility for WEEE. Taking a qualitative multiple case study approach, this study explores company responses to the costs of existing national producer responsibility policies for WEEE in relation product development. The purpose is to inform policy-making on the effectiveness of producer responsibility charges in achieving waste minimising product development. The study comprises both large companies and SMEs in the lighting equipments sector. It also includes companies in EU member states without producer responsibility for WEEE in order to see if there are any differences in waste-minimising product design among countries and if national policies have an impact beyond national borders. Economic principles and previous research findings on ecodesign make up the analytical framework for the study. Quantitative data on cost-benefits of ecodesign and waste minimisation achievements were scarce. However, the company responses show that the costs imposed on the producers by the WEEE policy have had little effect on product development so far. The costs can generally be transferred to customers via product prices. The price increases were generally small and without any negative effects on competitiveness. Other drivers such as bans on certain substances, environmental industry product declarations, commercial advantages including direct customer demands from for instance public procurers, are more effective.

This study contributes to filling a gap identified in the current Malaysian national waste policy, the National Strategic Plan for Solid Waste Management (NSPSWM 2005). It also contributes to the sparse knowledge of NGOs’ involvement in Malaysia in promoting recycling and general environmental awareness with the Malaysian public particularly in an urban context. Although the NSPSWM alludes to NGOs as actors that can assist in improving the public’s awareness of and participation in sustainable waste management (SWM), there is sparse knowledge on how this is facilitated. This study was also motivated to investigate to what extent social learning elements were being embodied in the initiatives of two NGOs that were studied, as it is posited that facilitations for social learning create pathways for change. Although there are various studies on the functions of NGOs, there is little research conducted on how environmental NGOs play a part in SWM in Malaysia. The research approach applied in this thesis was mixed-methods, and the rationale was to apply both qualitative and quantitative methods that would be useful and would combine complementary strengths to help answer the research questions. A qualitative two-case-study approach was used to predict similar or contrasting results based on the theoretical framework considered relevant. The unit of analysis of each case study was a programme that promoted recycling as a sustainable waste management strategy, to the general public in the study area of Selangor, Malaysia. The first case study’s target audience was urban school students; while the second case study’s focus was urban school students, charity homes for the handicapped and hypermarkets. Both NGOs are considered two of the earliest NGOs in the study area to be involved in promoting SWM with the public. The quantitative aspects included findings from a questionnaire survey of 411 students. The population sampled was obtained based on a stratified sampling procedure. The urban student population’s response was collected to gain insights into students’ perception of NGOs’ involvement in SWM, and into what factors significantly influence the students’ recycling participation in schools. Both descriptive and inferential analyses were conducted. The findings from this approach complemented the qualitative findings obtained from the two case studies. In addition, interviews were conducted with some students to complement the survey evidence. Where relevant, secondary evidence from the press, reports and Web pages were used to support the primary evidence. The qualitative evidence was synthesized and the aggregated findings were then triangulated with the quantitative evidence for corroboration purposes. These evaluations revealed that the processes involved in the programmes to promote recycling supported social learning and positive outcomes. Almost half of the students sampled were aware and welcomed NGOs’ involvement in SWM, both in schools and in their community. They reported that they learned more about SWM and the environment from participating in their school’s SWM programmes (although these programmes may not necessarily have been facilitated by the particular environmental NGO identified in the case studies). The students also generally perceived that the government should support NGOs’ involvement in SWM and that SWM programmes in schools coordinated by NGOs were beneficial to their learning about SWM. Various factors were also found to have influenced their participation in sustainable waste behavior. The findings could be used to inform the relevant policy makers’ decisions about NGOs’ contributions towards SWM. In addition, the findings from the students’ survey could help inform other NGOs or other organisations, such as universities or corporate bodies that are interested in implementing SWM programmes with schools and who may be eager to extend their corporate social responsibilities using approaches similar to those highlighted in this thesis.