Rapid population growth and urbanisation has resulted in a drastic increase in the
volume of waste produced by the World populace. The resulting pressure on the
country’s somewhat underdeveloped waste management infrastructure emphasizes the
need for waste management solutions which balance environmental protection with
economic sustainability.
Waste is seen as an unwanted or surplus by-product, emission or residue of any
process or activity which has been discarded, accumulated or stored for the purpose of
discarding or future processing. Hazardous waste is waste that may, by circumstance
of use, quantity, concentration or inherent physical, chemical or infectious
characteristics, cause ill-health or an increased mortality rate in humans, fauna and/or
flora. General waste on the other hand, is waste that does not pose an immediate
threat to human health or the environment. Currently household waste is considered
general waste even though it may contain hazardous components such as fluorescent
tubes and/or other household chemicals.
Promulgation of NEM: WA (no 59 of 2008) provides instruments for the implementation
of the steps taken by the Department of Environmental Affairs to improve waste
management in South Africa. Successful implementation and enforcement of the act
will place the country at the forefront of progressive international standards in waste
management. One of South Africa’s largest environmental and waste management
challenges remains the presence of historical, hazardous waste landfill sites.
Characterisation of the dangers that these sites pose to the environment is providing
extremely difficult and expensive, as is the ongoing maintenance and management of
these facilities – placing economic strain on national municipalities.
This study was done in two phases. The first related to the hazardous waste
components of household waste that is being dumped at landfill site and the methods of
classification, handling and dumping of hazardous waste have been investigated. All
the legislation was taken into consideration to see if the landfill sites comply with the
latest legislation. The second phase was a comparison between three landfill sites.
The management, work activities and general appearance of the sites have been
compared internally. Then a comparison have been done between the following landfill sites Kwaggasrand
landfill site in Tshwane, Weltevreden landfill site in Brakpan and an ideal landfill site
developed in accordance with the Minimum Requirements documents published by of
DEAT in 1998. / Thesis (M.Sc. (Geography and Environmental Studies))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2011.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:NWUBOLOKA1/oai:dspace.nwu.ac.za:10394/4972 |
| Date | January 2010 |
| Creators | Kruis, Rianca |
| Publisher | North-West University |
| Source Sets | North-West University |
| Language | other |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis |
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