Human activities inevitably result in wastes. The higher the material turnover, and the more complex and divers the materials produced, the more challenging it is for waste management to reach the goals of “protection of men and environment” and “resource conservation”. Waste incineration, introduced originally for volume reduction and hygienic reasons, went through a long and intense development. Together with prevention and recycling measures, waste to energy (WTE) facilities contribute significantly to reaching the goals of waste management. Sophisticated air pollution control (APC) devices ensure that emissions are environmentally safe. Incinerators are crucial and unique for the complete destruction of hazardous organic materials, to reduce risks due to pathogenic microorganisms and viruses, and for concentrating valuable as well as toxic metals in certain fractions. Bottom ash and APC residues have become new sources of secondary metals, hence incineration has become a materials recycling facility, too. WTE plants are supporting decisions about waste and environmental management: They can routinely and cost effectively supply information about chemical waste composition as well as about the ratio of biogenic to fossil carbon in MSW and off-gas.

Construction industry contributes a large portion of waste to landfill, which in turns results in environmental pollution and CO2 emission. Despite the adoption of several waste management strategies, waste reduction to landfill continues seeming an insurmountable challenge. This paper explores factors impeding the effectiveness of existing waste management strategies, as well as strategies for reducing waste intensiveness of the construction industry. Drawing on series of semi structured focus group discussions with experts from the UK leading construction companies, this paper combines phenomenological approach with a critical review and analysis of extant literatures.Five broad categories of factors and practices are responsible for ineffectiveness of construction and demolition waste management strategies, which subsequently results in waste intensiveness of the industry. These include end of pipe treatment of waste, externality and incompatibility of waste management tools with design tools, atomism of waste management strategies, perceived or unexpected high cost of waste management, and culture of waste behaviour within the industry. To reduce waste intensiveness of the construction industry, the study suggests that six factors are requisites. These are tackling of waste at design stage, whole life waste consideration, compliance of waste management solutions with BIM, cheaper cost of waste management practice, increased stringency of waste management legislation and fiscal policies, and research and enlightenment. The proposed strategies are not only important for achieving low waste construction projects, they are important for reducing waste intensiveness of the construction. Implementation of the suggested measures would drive waste management practices within the construction industry.

The waste hierarchy currently dominates waste management planning in Australia. It is effective in helping planners consider options from waste avoidance or “reduction” through to providing infrastructure for landfill or other “disposal”. However, it is inadequate for guiding context-specific decisions regarding sustainable waste management and resource recovery, including the ability for stakeholders to compare a range of options on an equal footing whilst considering their various sustainability impacts and trade-offs. This paper outlines the potential use of Integrated Resource Planning (IRP) as a decision-making approach for the urban waste sector, illustrated using an Australian case study. IRP is well established in both the water and energy sectors in Australia and internationally. It has been used in long-term planning enabling decision-makers to consider the potential to reduce resource use through efficiency alongside options for new infrastructure. Its use in the waste sector could address a number of the current limitations experienced by providing a broader context-sensitive, adaptive, and stakeholder focused approach to planning not present in the waste hierarchy and commonly used cost benefit analysis. For both efficiency and new infrastructure options IRP could be useful in assisting governments to make decisions that are consistent with agreed objectives while addressing costs of alternative options and uncertainty regarding their environmental and social impacts. This paper highlights various international waste planning approaches, differences between the sectors where IRP has been used and gives a worked example of how IRP could be applied in the Australian urban waste sector.

The waste hierarchy currently dominates waste management planning in Australia. It is effective in helping planners consider options from waste avoidance or “reduction” through to providing infrastructure for landfill or other “disposal”. However, it is inadequate for guiding context-specific decisions regarding sustainable waste management and resource recovery, including the ability for stakeholders to compare a range of options on an equal footing whilst considering their various sustainability impacts and trade-offs. This paper outlines the potential use of Integrated Resource Planning (IRP) as a decision-making approach for the urban waste sector, illustrated using an Australian case study. IRP is well established in both the water and energy sectors in Australia and internationally. It has been used in long-term planning enabling decision-makers to consider the potential to reduce resource use through efficiency alongside options for new infrastructure. Its use in the waste sector could address a number of the current limitations experienced by providing a broader context-sensitive, adaptive, and stakeholder focused approach to planning not present in the waste hierarchy and commonly used cost benefit analysis. For both efficiency and new infrastructure options IRP could be useful in assisting governments to make decisions that are consistent with agreed objectives while addressing costs of alternative options and uncertainty regarding their environmental and social impacts. This paper highlights various international waste planning approaches, differences between the sectors where IRP has been used and gives a worked example of how IRP could be applied in the Australian urban waste sector.

Based on literature review, statistics of waste management at ports in South Africa is hard to come by. The research critically assessed the current waste management practices at Transnet National Ports Authority. Transnet National Ports Authority, Port of Richards Bay (TNPA RCB) was used as a case study to examine the different types and quantities of waste produced, analysing the current waste management model as well as determining TNPA RCB compliance to pertinent waste legislation. A 10 day waste audit was conducted to obtain quantitative data and to identify the different types of waste generated. The baseline data resulting from the waste audit conducted for the first time since the establishment of the TNPA RCB, found 402 kg of general waste generated, 74 kg of this total is segregated for recycling and the remaining 328 kg is landfilled. The overall conclusion gained during compliance audit was that the TNPA RCB was partly compliant with pertinent waste legislation and obligations. Furthermore, questionnaires about waste were sent to staff members working in offices to get an overview of how they deal with current waste management. A number of barriers to sustainable waste management were identified, including: lack of knowledge and awareness; constraints on facilities and human resources; culture that resists change and contamination. To overcome these, there needs to be education, as well as co-operation between top management, staff and waste service providers to help implement new strategies. The primary conclusions from this dissertation are that there are opportunities to divert waste streams from landfill and to attain a sustainable waste management system at TNPA RCB. | M. Sc. (Environmental Management) | Environmental Sciences

Based on literature review, statistics of waste management at ports in South Africa is hard to come by. The research critically assessed the current waste management practices at Transnet National Ports Authority. Transnet National Ports Authority, Port of Richards Bay (TNPA RCB) was used as a case study to examine the different types and quantities of waste produced, analysing the current waste management model as well as determining TNPA RCB compliance to pertinent waste legislation. A 10 day waste audit was conducted to obtain quantitative data and to identify the different types of waste generated. The baseline data resulting from the waste audit conducted for the first time since the establishment of the TNPA RCB, found 402 kg of general waste generated, 74 kg of this total is segregated for recycling and the remaining 328 kg is landfilled. The overall conclusion gained during compliance audit was that the TNPA RCB was partly compliant with pertinent waste legislation and obligations. Furthermore, questionnaires about waste were sent to staff members working in offices to get an overview of how they deal with current waste management. A number of barriers to sustainable waste management were identified, including: lack of knowledge and awareness; constraints on facilities and human resources; culture that resists change and contamination. To overcome these, there needs to be education, as well as co-operation between top management, staff and waste service providers to help implement new strategies. The primary conclusions from this dissertation are that there are opportunities to divert waste streams from landfill and to attain a sustainable waste management system at TNPA RCB. | Environmental Sciences | M. Sc. (Environmental Management)

Thesis | Poor handling of health care waste has posed many adverse health effects for health care workers, the general public and the environment. The vastness of the Northern Cape Province has directly impacted negatively on the poor performance of health care facilities, particularlyin terms of health care waste management. Public health care facilities in the region are the major generators of health care waste (HCW) in the Northern Cape Province. This study reports on the assessment of the HCW management practices in terms of the health care waste life cycle within the Northern Cape Department of Health (South Africa). The results of the assessment were compared with applicable legislative requirements and global practices in HCW management. The study was conducted in five districts of the Northern Cape Department of Health and 11 hospitals were selected randomly as study sites from a total of 17 hospitals. Data obtained from the service provider wereused to determine the quantities of the health waste at each study site. Interviews using a structured questionnaire were also used to assess the knowledge and practices of HCW handlers. An estimated 16 070 kg of health care waste was generated by 36 437 patients per month at the 11 surveyed hospitals. The survey illustrated that the main health care waste types generated in the hospitals were general infectious waste, sharps waste, anatomical waste and pharmaceutical waste. It was concluded that the heath care waste management practices in the hospitals in the Northern Cape Department of Heath, South Africa, did not meet the recommended standards for the management of HCW as recommended by the World Health Organisation (WHO). There was a very low prioritisation of HCW management by top management. Inadequate human and financial resources allocated for HCW management were highlighted. Complete health care waste management requires adequate resource allocation and appropriate support from senior management within the Northern Cape Department of Health. Reprioritisation of funding and human resources towards HCW management in all health care facilities is required to improve the environment and make it safe for humans and animals.

Food waste is a problem with economic, environmental and social implications, making it both important and complex. Previous studies have addressed food waste management options at the less prioritised end of the waste hierarchy, but information on more prioritised levels is also needed when selecting the best available waste management options. Investigating the global warming potential of different waste management options offers a limited perspective, but is still important for validating generations from the waste hierarchy in a local context. This study compared the effect on greenhouse gas emissions of different food waste management scenarios representing different levels in the waste hierarchy in the city of Uppsala, Sweden. A life cycle assessment was performed for six waste management scenarios (landfill, incineration, composting, anaerobic digestion, animal feed and donations), using five food products (bananas, grilled chicken, lettuce, beef and bread) as examples when treated as individual waste streams. For all five waste streams, the established waste hierarchy was a useful, but approximate, tool for prioritising the various options, since landfill proved to be the worst option and donation, anaerobic digestion and incineration with energy recovery the best options, for easily handle products, wet products and dry products, respectively, taking into account the GHG emissions. The greatest potential for reducing greenhouse gas emissions was in the bread waste stream, since bread is an energy-rich product with a relatively low carbon footprint, increasing the possibilities for replacing fossil energy carriers. Lettuce, with its high water content, had the least potential to reduce greenhouse gas emissions when the waste management method was changed. Waste valorisation measures should therefore focus on food products with the potential to replace production of goods and services, rather than on food products that are wasted in large quantities or have a high carbon footprint.

Improved access to dental care has resulted in an increase in waste generation, which became a main concern for national and international authorities from an environment and public health perspectives. Lebanon supports the Global Health Care Waste Project and aims to develop guidelines and policies to alert dental healthcare professionals and improve waste management in dental clinics. This study provides an overview of the existing waste management situation in dental clinics in Lebanon. A survey of waste management practices in 242 randomly chosen dental clinics was conducted during the Annual Congress of The Lebanese Dental Association in 2011 in Beirut. The majority of dentists (90%) acknowledged a lack of written procedures for waste management. The absence of waste segregation at the source was reported by 71% of the surveyed dentists: most of the waste, including amalgam and infectious waste, is manipulated without precaution and ends up in municipal waste. About two thirds of the surveyed dental clinics do not work according to local practices and around half of them do not provide protective clothing or immunisation against hepatit B virus or tetanus. This survey highlights the need for capacity building for dental clinic staff and adoption of effective measures to encourage efficient and responsible dental waste management in Lebanon.

As in other developing countries, solid waste management (SWM) remains a crucial environmental issue in the Philippines. In the year 2000, the Philippine Congress released a new waste management legislation, the Philippine Ecological Solid Waste Management Act of 2000 (Republic Act 9003). This law mandates Local Governments to implement suited measures for waste avoidance, materials recovery and recycling in order to reduce waste disposal and to enhance residual waste management through alternative technologies or sanitary landfills. The total municipal waste generation in the country is estimated at more than 25 Mio tons/year, with organic waste components representing the main fraction with around 50% in cities and up to 70% in rural areas. Although RA 9003 mandates a waste diversion rate of at least 25 % to be realized by municipalities in 2006, most of them fail to implement the waste legislation properly mainly due to budget limitations, lack of know-how and conflicting interests that delay priority setting and political decision-making. In this context, the Philippine government entered into a bilateral official development program with the German government provided through the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit GmbH (GIZ) through its development program Solid Waste Management for Local Government Units (SWM4LGUs) during the time period 2005-2012. As part of this program an in-depth and year-long analysis of main factors that relate to success and failures in municipal SWM was conducted. As main outcome of this development program, the National Solid Waste Management Commission integrated these experiences and developed the new National Solid Waste Management Strategy for the years 2012 to 2016 in order to facilitate implementation of RA 9003.