MENVSC / Department of Ecology and Resource Management / The main objective of the study was to investigate the effectiveness of municipal solid
waste management system, its potential implication in Vhembe District Municipality,
South Africa and to recommend strategies for effective management of municipal solid
waste in the district. To achieve this, structured questionnaires, interviews, field
observations and focus group discussions were used to collect primary data within the
district. The study focused on the four local municipalities: Makhado, Thulamela, Musina
and Collins Chabane. Desktop study was also undertaken to gather secondary data by
reviewing journals, technical reports, books and articles. The study adopted a mixed
method approach comprising of triangulation of qualitative and quantitative design. The
target groups of the study were selected through purposive sampling. The respondents in
the study were 21 officials from local municipalities including directors, waste managers,
superintendents, landfill supervisor and interns. Data was collected using focus group
interviews and questionnaires and analysed using descriptive statistics which involve the
presentation of numerical facts, or data, in either tables or graphs form. Municipalities in
the district are producing a considerable amount of solid waste. Municipalities do not
adhere to the existing guidelines on waste minimization at source, for example; they do
not have zero waste strategy (3R) reduce, reuse and recycle, which is the highest priority
of the National Waste Management Policy. Lack of the application of existing waste
management policy leads to large amount of solid waste eventually ending up in landfill
sites. The study recommends to municipalities to develop operational and monitoring
waste management plans which will create continuous improvement on waste
management. In the district, it was observed that the bulk of waste generated per month
within municipalities is general waste comprising 64%, as compared to garden waste and
building rubbles. There are no equipment and programs in place by municipalities to
encourage waste separation at source, for example, municipalities do not have
household‟s recyclable receptacles to encourage separation at source. Municipalities do
not have weighbridge to quantify waste entering the site. It was observed that Thulamela
and Collins Chabane Local municipalities create compost from garden waste received at
the landfill sites, whereas Musina and Makhado Local Municipalities do not create
compost from garden waste. Garden waste is dumped and compacted with other waste
materials in the landfills. All municipalities should create compost from garden waste
received at the landfill sites as it helps to extend the life span of the landfills because it
v
reduces the amount of waste to the landfill. There is lack of prioritization within
municipalities, for example, in Makhado Local Municipality, when the new financial
start, budget is allocated to other proposed projects by councilors as they consider waste
management projects not a priority. It was observed that within the district, there is high
level of illegal dumping in catchment areas and open spaces especially at Musina Local
Municipality. Musina Local Municipality is using a quarry as disposal site which was not
lined and it has led to contamination of underground water by leachate, whereas
Thulamela, Collins Chabane and Makhado Local Municipalities are using lined landfill
sites to avoid contamination of underground water. The available vehicles within the
municipalities are not enough to meet the demand and some of them are too old, for
example, tractors and trucks used by Makhado Local Municipality are 20 years old and
they often breakdown, whereas Thulamela, Collins Chabane and Musina Local
Municipalities are not using old vehicles as they auctioned old vehicles and bought new
ones. Vhembe District Municipality should manage waste in accordance to the new
approach of source separation, waste reduction, reuse and recycling by developing
environmental awareness programmes supported by the placement of the recyclable
receptacles at strategic points to collect recyclable materials which will reduce large
amount of waste which eventually ends up in landfills. The study recommends that
municipalities should have law enforcement structure which will create and enforce the
laws/policies as it helps municipalities to implement effective waste management system
and monitoring structure to monitor prioritization and budget allocation to avoid any
wastage. Municipalities should have landfill monitoring committees to facilitate the
compliance on the development and operation of the landfills to avoid the use of quarry
as landfill sites. / NRF
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:netd.ac.za/oai:union.ndltd.org:univen/oai:univendspace.univen.ac.za:11602/1488 |
| Date | 20 September 2019 |
| Creators | Mathako, Khodani |
| Contributors | Mulaudzi, R.,, Ogola, J. S. |
| Source Sets | South African National ETD Portal |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Dissertation |
| Rights | University of Venda |
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