Thesis (M. Sc.)--University of Hong Kong, 2006.

Thesis (M.Sc.)(Geography)--University of Pretoria, 2007. / Includes summary. Includes bibliographical references. Available on the Internet via the World Wide Web.

Ph.D. (Chemistry) / South Africa has a background in which the regulatory system has major limitations, especially with reference to an integrated approach to waste and pollution. The situation has been rectified with the promulgation of new legislation that will approach pollution and waste in an integrated and holistic manner. This new approach also emphasizes that waste should be minimised at all levels, including the household level. The aim of this study has been to determine the influence of waste recovery and organic recycling, at household level, on the waste stream within an urban area in South Africa. The following research aims set for this study were: • To discuss the development of waste minimisation, with specific reference to the South African situation and legislative framework. • To investigate waste recovery and organic recycling as a waste management strategy by reviewing literature. • To investigate a waste recovery and organic recycling strategy within a local transitional council by making use of an empirical study. The most important conclusions gained from reviewing the literature are the following: • South Africa has adopted the Integrated Waste Management Approach, which includes recovery and recycling at source as well as organic recycling. • International case studies, incorporating both developed and developing countries, indicate that organic recycling and waste recovery programmes could be implemented successfully in South Africa with resulting benefits for the communities, service providers and the environment. The aim of the empirical component was to determine the following: • The effect of implementation of organic recycling and waste recovery measures on the waste stream at households level. • The comparative effect of organic recycling and waste recovery rates between a training and non-training group. • The respondent's experiences of the organic recycling.

This report presents the findings of a research project whereby the initiatives and opportunities for municipal solid waste (MSW) recycling were investigated in the town of Simunye, in Swaziland with a view to establish how recycling, in particular household waste recycling, can be improved through stakeholder involvement and community participation during the planning and implementation of a sustainable system for household waste recycling in Simunye. The reason for focusing on household waste was because source separation of household waste was identified as a potential area for improving efficiencies and cutting costs by the local authority. It was deemed necessary to conduct research because there was a history of failure in respect of household recycling. In 2006 an initiative, by the local authority, for separating household waste at source had ended up in failure. The participation rates of the households turned out to be very low even though they had been issued, free of charge, some plastic bags for sorting the waste. Some of the households were found using the bags for other purposes rather than recycling. As a result, the initiative had to be suspended (White, 2010). There is a new move to revive the project in order to cut costs and minimize wastages. This time around the local authority is determined for the new project to be a success story. Since the underlying causes for the failure of the previous initiative were never investigated formally (Khumalo, 2010), the starting point would be to identify and try to eliminate all the potential barriers to recycling through a consultative process to start with.

For modern societies to continue to sustain themselves there needs to be a dissociation between economic growth and environmental degradation or else economic growth will decline consistently together with deteriorating environmental and social health. Various sustainability methodologies can be applied to mitigate against environmental and social degradation. This includes cleaner production which is a proven sustainability methodology that is supported by the United Nations Industrial Development Organisation and the United Nations Environmental Protection Agency in more than eighty countries worldwide. However application of cleaner production practices amongst SMEs has been below expectations where such practices should have become the norm. We have surveyed SMEs in South Africa, where assessments have been carried out by the local National Cleaner Production Centre, to assess SMEs’ perceptions of a range of barrier typologies. Further the barrier methodologies were evaluated to determine whether social responsibility in itself creates a barrier for successful implementation of sustainable practices. This research established that the barrier typologies are more equally balanced than findings in many developed regions. Furthermore, some barriers such as institutional challenges are not as prevalent compared to other developing regions. It was recognized that regulation can be used as an incentive that has an effect on two groupings or axis of barriers identified in this research. Lastly, it was reputed that structured and clear institutional support and strategies further provide enhanced frameworks that were more beneficial than solely focusing on economics for SMEs. / Dissertation (MBA)--University of Pretoria, 2014. / lmgibs2015 / Gordon Institute of Business Science (GIBS) / MBA / Unrestricted

No description available.

Every year the average American throws out more and more garbage. In the next five years, it is projected to increase 20-25 percent. This garbage, termed solid waste, is stored, collected, hauled and disposed of in some manner. The objective of this report has been to evaluate the City of Kissimmee's one-man residential solid waste collection system. The study results indicated this generation rate of the City to be 3.28 pounds per person per day, or 29.1 pounds per home per pickup. The productivity equations developed from the City data did not compare well with the results of EPA. Also indicated in this report is the effect of the percent pickup factor in a solid waste collection system and its effect on system productivity.

A study was made of the feasibility of implementing a system of Resource Recovery from the solid wastes of an urban county in Georgia. A review was made of the existing solid waste management practices and present generation rates. A projection of future waste quantities and composition was made. A review of the present state of the art of recovering resources from solid waste was made to determine what systems could be developed for the County. An analysis of the estimated costs during a test year for three alternative systems for disposal was made to determine a least cost alternative. In that no markets for a refuse derived fuel exist in the County and all costs which may be applicable to the landfill alternative cannot be defined in terms of current costs, the cost of Resource Recovery exceeds the costs of conventional landfilling. Recommendations are for the County to develop markets and make provisions for future development of a system to recover resources from their wastes. In the meantime they should pursue their present plan of disposing of their wastes in a Sanitary Landfill.

Disposal of municipal solid waste has become a tremendous problem in the United States. To reduce the volume of garbage that requires deposition in landfills, innovative methods of recycling need to be investigated. Several experiments were conducted in Blacksburg, Virginia, to evaluate the use of heavy fraction, a by-product of a solid waste separation process, as a soil amendment for production of turfgrass sod. In a field plot experiment using Kentucky bluegrass (<i>Poa pratensis L</i>.), measurements of sod strength taken 8.5 and 9.5 months after seeding were greater for sod grown in topsoil amended with heavy fraction than for turf grown in topsoil only. These results imply that the use of this by-product for turfgrass production may reduce the time required to produce a harvestable sod. In a container study, physical properties of a loam topsoil were altered 16 months after addition of heavy fraction. Bulk density and particle density were reduced and organic matter content increased by soil incorporation of this by-product. Total porosity and air porosity (macropore space) of the topsoil increased whereas water porosity (micropore space) decreased with increasing amount of applied heavy fraction. Soil fertility was enhanced and soil pH raised by addition of heavy fraction. Concentrations of extractable NH₄ -N, P, K, Ca, Mg, Mn, and Zn in soil were increased by the application of heavy fraction, as were concentrations of K, Ca, S, Mg, and Mn in leachate collected in lysimeter studies. Improved fertility resulted in greater aesthetic quality, clipping yields, and tissue N content for tall fescue (<i>Festuca arundinacea</i> Schreb.). Lysimeter studies indicated that the greatest environmental concern associated with the use of heavy fraction for turfgrass production appears to be the potential for leaching of N0₃-N during turf establishment. With loading rates of 414,747 kg ha⁻¹ or lower, however, the amount of N0₃-N leached from heavy fraction-amended topsoil was no greater than that leached from topsoil containing no heavy fraction. Concentrations of N0₃-N in leachate for all loading rates of heavy fraction decreased to levels well below 10.0 mg L ⁻¹ approximately two months after sodding the lysimeters with tall fescue. Leachate analyses indicated minimum potential for P or heavy metal contamination of groundwater from heavy fraction. / Ph. D.

This paper is a report on a study of the management of solid wastes at Florida Technological University (FTU). This study endeavors to provide a basis for effective planning for disposal of FTU's solid wastes, both in the next few years and at the time of maximum FTU population. Essentially, the study affirms that the present system of refuse collection by a private contractor is the best method of disposal, with the possibility that recycling of mixed paper may become feasible at some future time.