Title: Household food wastage by income level: A case study of five areas in the city of Tshwane Metropolitan Municipality, Gauteng Province, South Africa
Authors: Ramukhwatho, FR; Du Plessis, R; Oelofse, S
Abstract: Food waste is generated throughout the supply chain including at household level. Household waste contains a fairly large percentage of food in developing countries. This study assesses household food wastage in five selected areas in the City of Tshwane Metropolitan Municipality (CTMM). The main goal of the study was to assess food waste by income level and the reasons for wasting food. Household food wastage was assessed using questionnaires during face-to-face interviews. A total of 210 households participated in the study that used a purposive sampling method. Results showed that high-income households wasted the most food. The main reason why food is wasted, as reported by the respondents, is that they prepare too much porridge and rice.
Description: Proceedings of the 23rd WasteCon Conference, 17-21 October 2016, Emperors Palace, Johannesburg, South Africa
Household food wastage by income level: A case study of five areas in the city of Tshwane Metropolitan Municipality, Gauteng Province, South Africa
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Household food wastage – a case study of middle to high income urban households in the City of Tshwane
Title: Household food wastage – a case study of middle to high income urban households in the City of Tshwane
Authors: Oelofse, SHH; Marx Pienaar, N
Abstract: Municipal waste composition studies globally have indicated that significant amounts of food is wasted and disposed while there is potentially significant opportunity to prevent food wastage at household level (Lebersorger and Schneider, 2011). International trends suggest that food wastage moves up the food supply chain, from pre-consumer to post-consumer stages, as the level of development in a country increases (Institution of Mechanical Engineers, 2013). It is therefore likely that South Africa, as a developing economy may see similar trends in food waste over time. Little information is available on the food waste proportion of the household waste stream in South Africa, but it is estimated to be in the order of 15% (Nahman et al., 2012). This paper investigates the types of food wasted and self-reported percentage of purchased food wasted at household level in a sample of 301 urban households in the City of Tshwane. The results indicate that fruit and vegetables are the most wasted food groups and 53% of respondents rated this wastage as more than 20 % of their weekly fresh produce purchases.
Description: Proceedings of the 23rd WasteCon Conference, 17-21 October 2016, Emperors Palace, Johannesburg, South Africa
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Implementing small, and medium enterprises (SME) waste and recycling programmes
Title: Implementing small, and medium enterprises (SME) waste and recycling programmes
Authors: Muswema, A; Oelofse, SHH
Abstract: Municipalities face the challenge of how to manage their waste, in an environment where other priorities like water, housing and electricity are competing for funding from municipal budgets. Management should include avoidance or prevention where possible and then diversion from landfill through source separation programs as per the National Waste Management Strategy (NWMS)(DEA, 2011). The NWMS has committed to “69 000 new jobs created in the waste sector” and “2 600 additional SMEs and cooperatives participating in waste service delivery and recycling” (DEA, 2011: 6) by 2016. This challenge rests on the shoulders of local government for implementation. This paper is based on research work the CSIR (which the author and colleagues) conducted for the DBSA and Green fund on cooperatives in the waste and recycling sector. The findings discussed will provide some insight into what should be considered in establishing or implementing a viable waste SME program. Considerations for the SME organisation, the organisation supporting the SME, and external factors are discussed below.
Description: Proceedings of the 23rd WasteCon Conference, 17-21 October 2016, Emperors Palace, Johannesburg, South Africa
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Outdoor air Pollution
Outdoor air Pollution
Forbes, PBC; Garland, Rebecca M
This chapter focuses on the air pollutants which are generally found in the troposphere and does not provide detail on specific areas where atmospheric pollutants and atmospheric chemistry may differ from that generally found, such as in the arctic regions. Ambient air pollution relates to the quality of outdoor air and will be discussed in this chapter, with a focus on the air pollutants which are typically regulated in this context internationally.
Copyright: 2016 Elsevier. Due to copyright restrictions, the attached PDF file only contains the abstract of the full text item. For access to the full text item, please consult the publisher's website.
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Preparation of value-added metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) using waste PET bottles as source of acid linker
Preparation of value-added metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) using waste PET bottles as source of acid linker
Dyosiba, Xoliswa; Ren, Jianwei; Musyoka, Nicholas M; Langmi, Henrietta W; Mathe, Mkhulu; Onyango, MS
Metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) have been considered with various novel applications and the development of cost-effective processes is essential for further practices. In this work, waste PET bottles were demonstrated as the source of acid linker to prepare value-added metal-organic frameworks UiO-66(Zr), and the texture properties as well as hydrogen storage capacity are comparable to those derived from commercial chemicals. This process offers an economically attractive strategy for eliminating waste PET stream while making value-added materials.
Copyright: 2016 Elsevier. Due to copyright restrictions, the attached PDF file contains the accepted version of the article. The published version can be obtained via the publisher's website.
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Baseline monitoring of mercury levels in environmental matrices in the Limpopo Province
Baseline monitoring of mercury levels in environmental matrices in the Limpopo Province
Walters, Chavon; Couto, M; McClurg, N; Silwana, B; Somerset, V
Mercury (Hg) speciation and bioavailability were studied in surface water, surface sediment and freshwater fish samples collected upstream and downstream of the Medupi (currently under construction) and Matimba power stations in the Waterberg area, Limpopo Province. The initial survey was conducted in May 2010 and continued periodically/seasonally until October 2014. This study was designed to provide an overall description of the levels of Hg in areas potentially impacted by emissions from the coal-fired power station and provide the necessary information to enhance the understanding of the factors regulating the fate and transport of Hg in the environment. Percent loss on ignition (LOI) and ancillary water quality measurements were also carried out. In this study, the total mercury (TotHg) concentrations ranged between 0.92 and 29.13 ng/L, and 0.13 and 8.00 ng/L for methylmercury (MeHg) in water. Total Hg concentrations ranged between 0.50 and 28.60 ng/g, while the MeHg concentration ranged between 0.08 and 2.22 ng/g in sediments. Mercury concentrations in fish ranged between 40 and 1200 ng/g for TotHg, and 13.42 and 600 ng/g for MeHg. Methylmercury concentrations in freshwater fish sampled exceeded the United States Environmental Protection Agency criteria (300 ng/g) in 10% of the total fish sampled and 5% exceeded the WHO guideline (500 ng/g).
Copyright: 2017 Springer. Due to copyright restrictions, the attached PDF file contains the post-print version of the article. For access to the published version, kindly consult the publisher's website.
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Combined silver nanoparticles and temperature effects in the Cape River crab Potamanautes perlatus - Interactions between chemical and climatic stressors
Combined silver nanoparticles and temperature effects in the Cape River crab Potamanautes perlatus - Interactions between chemical and climatic stressors
Walters, Chavon R; Cheng, Paul; Pool, EJ; Somerset, VS
The influence of silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) and temperature variation on toxicity and oxidative stress responses were investigated in the tissues of the Cape River crab Potamanautes perlatus following a seven-day exposure period. Toxicity assessments of crabs exposed to different AgNP concentrations and temperature regimes showed that P. perlatus had a benchmark dose (BMD) of 782.77 µg/mL AgNPs and Critical thermal maximum (CTMax) of 25.37°C. Biochemical analysis indicated that the superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT), glutathione S-transferase (GST) and cytochrome P450 (CYP450) activity was significantly affected by AgNPs. Contrary to other studies, our results show that the haemolymph are more susceptible to oxidative stress originated by AgNPs and temperature stress, whereas the gills constitutes the main storage organ for Ag. These findings suggest that seven day exposure to concentrations of AgNPs and temperature stress caused induced antioxidant defences of P. perlatus.
All articles published in Journal of Nanomaterials & Molecular Nanotechnology are the property of SciTechnol, and is protected by copyright laws. Copyright © 2017, SciTechnol, All Rights Reserved.
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How much do South African households in towns & rural areas recycle?
How much do South African households in towns & rural areas recycle?
Strydom, Wilma
In 2015 the CSIR conducted the second national survey on household waste recycling behaviour in South Africa. Focussing on the self-reported recycling quantities of the 1500 targeted households in towns & rural areas, the results show that 13.7% of households recycle some plastics, 12.3% some glass, 10.0% some paper, 9.4% some metals and 6.4% some of their WEEE. Four percent (4.3%) of households indicated that they recycle more than half of their plastics, and 2.4%, 3.1%, 2.4% and 2.9% recycle more than half of their glass, paper, metal and WEEE, respectively. Per province, the self-reported quantities recycled differ considerably, e.g. 20.4% of households in EC towns & rural areas recycle some metals and 19.5% in MP, compared to FS, NC and NW with 3.7%, 3.3% and 1.8%, respectively. More research is needed to understand these recycling patterns in towns & rural areas, as well as the barriers that prevent households from recycling all their recyclables.
WasteCon2016, Emperor's Palace, Johannesburg, 17-21 October 2016
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Atmospheric Methane characterisation over the South African interior
Atmospheric Methane characterisation over the South African interior
Feig, Gregor T; Mudau, Tami E; Piketh, S; Labuschagne, C
The concentrations of atmospheric methane have an important impact on the global climate system and are important in the production of tropospheric ozone as it acts as an ozone precursor. The ambient concentrations of methane have increased more than 150% since the beginning of the industrial revolution and are currently greater than levels at any point within the last 800 000 years. The sources of atmospheric methane include natural sources such as wetlands, termites and oceans as well as anthropogenically influenced processes such as energy production, ruminant husbandry, waste disposal and treatment, and combustion processes. Methane is a long lived pollutant with an atmospheric lifetime of approximately 8.5 years, and a global warming potential 23 times that of CO(sub2). Due to the long atmospheric lifetime, ambient methane concentrations are influenced by both local and global processes. The CSIR and NWU have been operating a network of Cavity Ring Down Spectrometry (CRDS) instruments at Kwazamokuhle, Elandsfontein and Lephalale within the Highveld and Waterberg priority areas in the interior of South Africa, measuring at both regional background and low income residential sites. Results from these measurements are characterised in relation to potential local sources and temporal changes in the ambient concentrations that are measured.
Proceedings of the 2016 Conference of the National Association for Clean Air (NACA), 5-7 October 2016, Nelspruit, South Africa
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South African integrated carbon observation network (SA-ICON): CO2 measurements on land, atmosphere and ocean
South African integrated carbon observation network (SA-ICON): CO2 measurements on land, atmosphere and ocean
Feig, Gregor T; Mudau, Tami E; Monteiro, Pedro; Joubert, Warren
It has become essential to accurately estimate the emission and uptake of atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO(sub2)) around the globe. Atmospheric CO(sub2) plays a central role in the Earth’s atmospheric, ocean and terrestrial systems and it has been recognised as the greatest contributor to the anthropogenic greenhouse gas effect. Increasing atmospheric CO(sub2) concentrations have widespread impact on human and natural systems, such that the last three decades have had successively warmer surface temperatures than any preceding decade in the industrial age. Furthermore increasing energy in the climate system has resulted in increased surface ocean warming and decreasing pH, loss of ice mass over the cryosphere (Greenland and Antarctica), increasing global mean sea level, alterations in the global hydrological cycle (changing precipitation, evapotranspiration and melting snow) through increased moisture in the atmosphere. The impact on the biosphere includes shifting species geographic extent, seasonal activities, migration patterns, and abundances as well as species interactions. Roughly 40% of the total anthropogenic emissions since 1750 have remained in the atmosphere, with the balance being removed by the ocean and vegetation sinks. It has become essential for individual countries to develop strategies to reduce emissions, and accurately monitor their national inventories of the carbon cycle. Understanding the changing driving forces of climate change and evaluation of the carbon emission reduction activities requires long-term and high precision measurements of CO(sub2) gas emissions and sinks as well as their evolution. Long term observations are required to understand current and future behaviour of the carbon cycle, as well as the assessing the effectiveness of carbon emission reduction activities on regional atmospheric CO(sub2) levels. This project aims at setting up an integrated national network of CO(sub2) observation facilities to independently measure both the atmospheric concentrations of CO(sub2) over South Africa and the Southern Oceans and the fluxes of CO(sub2) between the atmosphere and the terrestrial and marine ecosystems. A description of the monitoring network and preliminary results will be presented.
Proceedings of the 2016 Conference of the National Association for Clean Air (NACA), 5-7 October 2016, Nelspruit, South Africa
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Household waste recycling behaviour in South Africa - has there been progress in the last 5 years?
Household waste recycling behaviour in South Africa - has there been progress in the last 5 years?
Strydom, Wilma F; Godfrey, Linda K
In 2010, the CSIR conducted the first national survey on household waste recycling behaviour in South Africa. To assess whether household recycling behaviour has improved over time, the CSIR conducted a second survey in 2015, five years after the first national survey. Comparing the results from the 2010 and 2015 surveys shows that the percentage of dedicated recycling households in large urban areas has almost doubled over the past five years, but remains very low at 7.2%. Households in smaller towns and rural areas lag even further behind in terms of dedicated recycling households, at only 2.6%. Of the four paper and packaging recyclables surveyed (plastic, paper, glass, metal), plastic showed the largest increase in percentage of households that recycle this material, followed by glass and metal, with paper showing the smallest growth in the number of recycling households. The data also suggest that it is easier for recycling households to recycle more (quantity and diversity of recyclables), than for non-recycling households to start recycling. The challenge is therefore to find the triggers that will shift consumers “willingness to recycle” into actual “recycling behaviour” and to then put measures and services in place to support ongoing recycling behaviour.
The 23rd WasteCon Conference and Exhibition, 17-21 October 2016, Emperors Palace, Johannesburg
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Sap flow in Searsia pendulina and Searsia lancea trees established on gold mining sites in central South Africa
Sap flow in Searsia pendulina and Searsia lancea trees established on gold mining sites in central South Africa
Dye, P; Naiken, Vivek; Clulow, A; Prinsloo, Eric; Crichton, M; Weiersbye, I
The Witwatersrand Basin Goldfields (WBG) have seen over a century of continuous mining that has generated extensive tailings storage facilities (TSF), together with “footprints” remaining after the residue has been removed for reprocessing or consolidation into larger TSFs. These are now believed to number several hundred and cover a total area of 400–500 km(sup2). Acid mine drainage (AMD) from these structures is widespread and has resulted in contamination of soils, groundwater and surface water systems. Sustainable and long-term control measures are required to limit environmental contamination. The Mine Woodlands Project, initiated by the University of the Witwatersrand and AngloGold Ashanti Ltd, aims to investigate the use of trees for hydraulic control of mine seepage, as well as contaminant immobilization. A variety of exotic and indigenous tree species was planted in high density stands within site species trials located close to TSFs in the Orkney and Carltonville districts. The aim is to evaluate their survival and growth, as well as water use and contaminant uptake or immobilization. This paper describes a study of the annual pattern of sap flow rates in two species of indigenous tree (Searsia lancea (L. F.) F.A. Barkley and S. pendulina (Jacq.) Moffett, comb. nov.) established in plantation form. These species occur naturally in central and western South Africa. Sap flow was monitored continuously over a full year in eight stems representing each species, using the heat ratio version of the heat pulse velocity technique. Plot sap flow was estimated by scaling up according to the number and size of stems, and utilizing functions relating leaf dry mass and leaf area to stem diameter. The deciduous species S. pendulina was found to use 591 mm of water over a full growing season, while the evergreen species S. lancea was found to use 1044 mm over a full year. Differences in sap flow patterns between these species are attributed largely to different leaf dynamics. We conclude that S. lancea has potential for the hydraulic control of mine seepage water in phytoremediation systems in the WBG.
Copyright: 2017 Elsevier. Due to copyright restrictions, the attached PDF file contains the pre-print version of the article. For access to the published version, kindly consult the publisher's website.
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The applicability of the South African census 2011 data for evidence-based urban planning
The applicability of the South African census 2011 data for evidence-based urban planning
Khuluse-Makhanya, Sibusisiwe; Dudeni-Tlhone, Nontembeko; Holloway, Jennifer; Schmitz, Peter; Waldeck, Louis; Stein, A; Debba, Pravesh; Stylianides, Theo; Du Plessis, Pierre; Cooper, Antony; Baloyi, Ethel
In urban planning it is important to understand settlements in terms of demographic, socio-economic, physical and political environmental characteristics. The objective is often to support municipalities, regional and national governments with long-term planning tools for the development of infrastructure, facilities and services. In a municipal context planning relies on spatially explicit estimates of the future demand for services, which depend largely on where households will live, where they will work and how they will commute using the transportation networks available to them. Given the complexity of large cities as a system, modelling and simulation tools are valuable for municipal decisions regarding the likes of environmental quality and safety in settlements and stimulation of economic productivity through provision of infrastructure. Models cannot capture such a complex system entirely; however they do allow integration of data indicative of factors shown in Figure 1 and their dynamics simplistically, for consumption by the relevant stakeholders. That is, they provide evidence upon which spatially equitable and sustainable planning of urban areas can be based.
Southern African Journal of Demography, vol. 17(1): 67-132
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TRESCIMO M2M-IoT testbed: smart cities solutions in Europe and Africa
TRESCIMO M2M-IoT testbed: smart cities solutions in Europe and Africa
Barros, M; Gavras, A; Corici, A; Steinke, R; Mukudu, N; Ventura, N; Mwangama, J; Nehls, D; Coetzee, Louis; Oosthuizen, Dina
Smart City services are becoming more prevalent. These services have the potential to improve the quality of life of citizens (e.g. detecting and managing pollution) and also to make better use of resources (i.e. water and energy). The European and South African contexts vary significantly thus necessitating either different services or significant refactoring of existing services. In order to allow cross-fertilization of solutions from both continents, experimental facilities that support component federation are required. TRESCIMO is a project that created facilities to experiment with services distributed over continents for two IoT domain trials and developed a general solution for scaling the IoT infrastructure in a Proof-of-Concept. This paper analyzes TRESCIMO functional components and presents the results and the value added to the FIRE suite of testbeds.
European Conference on Networks and Communications 2016, 27-30 June 2016, Athens, Greece, p. 304-308
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An overview of cyanobacterial blooms occurrences and research in Africa over the last decade
An overview of cyanobacterial blooms occurrences and research in Africa over the last decade
Ndlela, Luyanda L; Oberholster, Paul J; Van Wyk, JH; Cheng, Paul H
Cyanobacterial blooms are a current cause for concern globally, with vital water sources experiencing frequent and increasingly toxic blooms in the past decade. These increases are resultant of both anthropogenic and natural factors, with climate change being the central concern. Of the more affected parts of the world, Africa has been considered particularly vulnerable due to its historical predisposition and lag in social economic development. This review collectively assesses the available information on cyanobacterial blooms in Africa as well as any visible trends associated with reported occurrences over the last decade. Of the 54 countries in Africa, only 21 have notable research information in the area of cyanobacterial blooms within the last decade, although there is substantial reason to attribute these blooms as some of the major water quality threats in Africa collectively. The collected information suggests that civil wars, disease outbreaks and inadequate infrastructure are at the core of Africa’s delayed advancement. This is even more so in the area of cyanobacteria related research, with 11 out of 21 countries having recorded toxicity and physicochemical parameters related to cyanobacterial blooms. Compared to the rest of the continent, peripheral countries are at the forefront of research related to cyanobacteria, with countries such as Angola having sufficient rainfall, but poor water quality with limited information on bloom occurrences. An assessment of the reported blooms found nitrogen concentrations to be higher in the water column of more toxic blooms, validating recent global studies and indicating that phosphorous is not the only factor to be monitored in bloom mitigation. Blooms occurred at low TN: TP ratios and at temperatures above 12 °C. Nitrogen was linked to toxicity and temperature also had a positive effect on bloom occurrence and toxicity. Microcystis was the most ubiquitous of the cyanobacterial strains reported in Africa and the one most frequently toxic. Cylindrospermopsis was reported more in the dry, north and western parts of the continent countries as opposed to the rest of the continent, whilst Anabaena was more frequent on the south eastern regions. In light of the entire continent, the inadequacy in reported blooms and advances in this area of research require critical intervention and action.
Copyright: 2016 Elsevier. Due to copyright restrictions, the attached PDF file contains the postprint version of the published article. For access to the published version, kindly consult the publisher's website.
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Adsorption of oxyanions of As, B, Cr, Mo and Se from coal fly ash leachates using Al3+/Fe3+modified bentonite clay
Adsorption of oxyanions of As, B, Cr, Mo and Se from coal fly ash leachates using Al3+/Fe3+modified bentonite clay
Vhahangwele, M
South African coal-fired power stations rely on the use of low grade bituminous coal for electricity generation. During coal combustion processes, this type of coal generates large volume of waste materials which include Fly ash, bottom ash, boilers slag, flue gas desulphurization and un-captured particles. From the array of generated residues, coal fly ash constitute 90% and of this only 5% is beneficially used with the rest being disposed-off to land as ash dumps or slurried to ash retention ponds. On disposal, coal fly ash leaches out toxic chemical species on contact with the aqueous media hence posing hazardous effects to the aquatic and terrestrial environment. Of prime concern are Oxyanionic species such as As, B, Cr, Mo and Se. This study aims to investigate the adsorption of As, B, Cr, Mo and Se from coal fly ash leachates on Al3+/Fe3+ modified bentonite clay.
Copyright: 2013 University of Venda. Due to copyright restrictions, the attached PDF file only contains the abstract of the full text thesis. For access to the full text item, please contact the publisher.
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The effect of consumer expectations and perceptions regarding sanitation on access to clean water
The effect of consumer expectations and perceptions regarding sanitation on access to clean water
Duncker, Louiza
In the face of rapid urbanisation and population growth, water in urban areas is becoming more and more polluted by human activities. One of the main sources of pollution is the wash-off from areas with inadequate sanitation and open defecation practices, such as dense informal settlements in and around urban areas. Substantial work is being done in South Africa to provide access to low-water and no-water toilets in an effort to minimise wash-off and to reduce the burden on wastewater treatment works. But, the perceptions and expectations of people, whether factually correct or not, are a major barrier to the acceptance and sustainability of these facilities. Dissatisfaction with anything other than water-borne sanitation has resulted in increasing numbers of social protests, some violent – costing the country millions of dollars in loss of economic productivity and damage to infrastructure. The challenge is to address this disjuncture between what people believe and aspire to, and what is possible in providing sanitation services. The suitability of sanitation facilities and services needs to be grounded in a deep understanding of user perceptions and desires, coupled with meaningful participation and involvement in the urban planning process. Flexibility is needed from government, to integrate non-governmental and community initiatives in its planning, and to allow these initiatives to become common practices.
Journal of Ethical Urban Living, vol. 1(1): 19-36
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Simulation from the first principal theory on the effect of supporting silica on graphene and the new composite material
Simulation from the first principal theory on the effect of supporting silica on graphene and the new composite material
Kiarii, EM; Govender, Krishna K; Ndungu, PG; Govender, PP
Silica has been used as support material with many photocatalytic materials. In this study, silica polymorphs on graphene and epoxy graphene were studied using Density Functional Theory (DFT) to determine the interfacial and optical properties of the composite material. The powder diffraction patterns and Raman spectra for the silica polymorph structural models as well as graphene and epoxy graphene monoxide were generated using Material Studio (2016), and the GGA in PBE first principle method. The electronic and optical properties as well as work function analysis of the polymorphs with graphene and epoxy graphene monoxide starting molecules together with the layers systems were compared. In Our findings the optical properties of the layers generated were sensitive to the visible light in both epoxy-graphene monoxide and graphene composites.
Copyright: 2017 Elsevier. Due to copyright restrictions, the attached PDF file only contains the abstract of the full text item. For access to the full text item, kindly consult the publisher's website.
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Recent progress in the development of semiconductor-based photocatalyst materials for applications in photocatalytic water splitting and degradation of pollutants
Recent progress in the development of semiconductor-based photocatalyst materials for applications in photocatalytic water splitting and degradation of pollutants
Opoku, F; Govender, Krishna K; Van Sittert, CGCE; Govender, PP
Photocatalytic approaches in the visible region show promising potential in photocatalytic water splitting and water treatment to boost water purification efficiency. For this reason, developing cost-effective and efficient photocatalysts for environmental remediation is a growing need, and semiconductor photocatalysts have now received more interest owing to their excellent activity and stability. Recently, several metal oxides, sulfides, and nitrides-based semiconductors for water splitting and photodegradation of pollutants have been developed. However, the existing challenges, such as high over potential, wide band gap as well as fast recombination of charge carriers of most of the semiconductors limit their photocatalytic properties. This review summarizes the recent state-of-the-art first-principles research progress in the design of effective visible-light-response semiconductor photocatalysts through several modification processes with a focus on density functional theory (DFT) calculations. Recent developments to the exchange-correlation effect, such as hybrid functionals, DFT + U as well as methods beyond DFT are also emphasized. Recent discoveries on the origin, fundamentals, and the underlying mechanisms of the interfacial electron transfer, band gap reduction, enhanced optical absorption, and electron–holes separation are presented. Highlights on the challenges and proposed strategies in developing advanced semiconductor photocatalysts for the application in water splitting and degradation of pollutants are proposed.
Advanced Sustainable Systems, vol. 1(7): DOI: 10.1002/adsu.201700006
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Co-operatives as a development mechanism to support job creation and sustainable waste management in South Africa
Co-operatives as a development mechanism to support job creation and sustainable waste management in South Africa
Godfrey, Linda K; Muswema, Aubrey P; Strydom, Wilma F; Mamafa, Thembelihle M; Mapako, Maxwell
South Africa, as with most African countries, is facing the reality of limited economic growth, high levels of poverty and increasing unemployment. At the same time, waste generation is growing, especially in urban centres across Africa, posing a great sustainability challenge. However, the waste sector can provide significant opportunities for improving livelihoods, generating jobs and developing enterprises, through the recovery of valuable recyclables. Co-operatives are recognised as a means of formalising the large number of informal waste pickers in developing countries. This paper attempts to identify the challenges facing waste and recycling co-operatives in South Africa. Results suggest that such co-operatives still face numerous challenges relating to infrastructure, operations, and capability. They still operate largely on the fringe of municipal solid waste management, and have not been integrated effectively into such formal collection systems, making it difficult for them to access sufficiently high volumes of recyclables. In addition, some co-operatives are operating as traditional businesses (e.g. following Pty Ltd business models) with the five co-operative members (minimum required membership for registering a co-operative) taking on management roles and instead employing staff to undertake the collection and sorting of recyclables. This is sometimes done through written contracts, but often it is through verbal contracts or no formal contracts at all. Many co-operatives appear to be opportunistic in their registration, targeting short-term co-operative grants and responding to procurement policies that support co-operative development, rather than aiming for long-term sustainability. With a reported 91.8% failure rate of waste recycling co-operatives in South Africa, and the return of many co-operative members back into the informal sector, this business model is not currently creating sustainable businesses or jobs. The results highlight three criteria which are considered crucial to creating a viable co-operative movement in the solid waste management sector in South Africa; access to materials, access to markets, and business development support.
Copyright: 2017 Springer Japan. Due to copyright restrictions, the attached PDF file only contains the abstract of the full text item. For access to the full text item, kindly consult the publisher's website.
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