1,720,973 research outputs found
Industry perceptions of South African Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) Regulations: Challenges and opportunities for the paper and packaging industry
No full textMaster of Environmental Management with Waste
Management , North-West University, Potchefstroom CampusThe waste management environment in South Africa is undoubtedly characterised by collection and landfilling with a limited amount of recycling. Landfills have several detrimental environmental effects, including air pollution from burning waste and methane gas release, soil and water
pollution from seepage from the landfill cells, leachate collection systems, uncontrolled spillages and discharges, and more. In addition, most of the landfills in South Africa particularly those located in urban areas have or are nearing the end of their lifespan. On the other hand, there is a shortage of suitable land to establish new landfills. To combat the littering and landfilling issues, there is an urgent need for better waste management through promotion of recycling and reuse of End-of-Life (EOL) products. South Africa recently introduced the Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) Regulations to address the problems of waste management in the country. The EPR has now emerged and is now recognised worldwide as an effective and efficient waste management principle that promotes reuse and recycling of EOL products. The EPR is also regarded as a catalyst or pathway to attaining a Circular Economy (CE). The EPR is conceptualised from the polluter pays principle (PPP) whose basic feature is that producers are responsible for managing the waste generated by the products they put on the market. The “cheapest cost-avoider” (the producer) is the main actor within the value chain who is in the best position to provide a solution or the “best briber” (producer) who is best suited to transmit the stimulus of the EPR policy to the most suitable stages. The successful implementation of EPR therefore largely depends on the practices and actions of producers. The aim of the research is to assess the paper and packaging industry’s perceptions of the opportunities and challenges associated with the EPR Regulations in South Africa. The EPR is a new concept in South Africa and there is very little research on the subject in this country. This research is therefore exploratory and qualitative. The research lays a foundation for future research. Data was principally obtained through semi-structured interviews with producers and Producer Responsibility Organizations (PROs) in the paper and packaging industry. The results showed that in principle, there is widespread support of EPR by the packaging industry in South Africa. However, the industry has certain reservations about the EPR regulations. From the research, the following challenges were identified: disproportionate allocation of responsibility to the producers, the costs of rolling out accessible EPR collection points, weak or absence of monitoring and enforcement by Government and concomitantly the
problem of free riders. Although EPR presents immense benefits to the environment, the research established that there are no or very little financial benefits of EPR to the producers at least in the short term. Recommendations are made to alleviate these challenges. This research will
contribute towards future research that looks to undertake an empirical investigation of the economic and financial benefits of EPR to producers. Further research can be conducted in several areas pertaining to EPR such as exploring South African companies’ readiness to implement EPR.Master
Determining the regulatory awareness and knowledge of small business owners regarding waste management in the Nquthu Municipality, KwaZulu-Natal
No full textMaster of Environmental Management with Waste
Management , North-West University, Vanderbijlpark CampusWaste management plays a crucial role in preserving the environment, promoting resource efficiency, reducing pollution, and safeguarding human and ecosystem health. It requires collaboration among individuals, businesses, governments, and communities to effectively address the challenges associated with waste generation, treatment, and disposal. Small businesses, like all economic entities, contribute to waste generation through the operations. As waste generators, small businesses can adopt waste reduction, recycling, and proper disposal methods to create a cleaner environment and healthier communities. However, many small business owners lack awareness and understanding of waste management laws, preventing from fulfilling the responsibilities as waste generators in accordance with legal requirements. Therefore, this study aimed to assess the regulatory awareness and knowledge of small business owners in the Nquthu Municipality, KwaZulu-Natal. Initially, a literature review was conducted on international, African, national, and municipal waste management legislation, as well as the obligations of waste generators and how awareness and knowledge of these laws contribute to sustainable waste management practices. Subsequently, a structured questionnaire consisting of closed and open-ended questions was administered to 143 consenting small business owners. The study results revealed a low level of awareness among small business owners regarding the implementation of provisions outlined in the National Environmental Management: Waste Act (NEMWA) for the businesses. Many small businesses were unaware of the National Waste Management Strategy (NWMS) 2020 and lacked understanding of how it applied to the operations. Additionally, approximately half of the participants were aware of the norms and standards for waste storage (Government Notice 505 of 2014), while there was limited knowledge of the Municipal Solid Waste By-laws. Based on these findings, targeted awareness campaigns, educational programs, resource support, monitoring and compliance checks, incentives, and recognition strategies are urgently needed to address the lack of awareness and knowledge among small business owners regarding waste management.Master
Analysing Integrated Waste Management Plan quality: the case of the Western Cape District Municipalities
No full textThe North-West University, Master of Environmental Management with Waste
Management, Potchefstroom CampusCountries worldwide experience increases in waste generation rates. If not managed effectively, waste poses an immediate threat to human well-being and environmental health. Waste management is not a new concept, as history reflects that centuries ago, measures to mitigate and manage waste were implemented. Common challenges experienced globally pertaining to waste management include increased waste generation rates, increased population growth,
industrialization, lack of institutional capacity, lack of financial resources, lack of infrastructure and lastly, the lack of knowledge. Integrated Waste Management Planning, as a concept, has been present in the South African legislative framework since 1999. The goal of Integrated Waste Management Planning in the South African context is to provide municipalities with the opportunity to plan and manage waste-related activities within their jurisdictional area. South Africa has made the right steps towards Integrated Waste Management Planning, but flaws in the system persist. The aim of this research is to analyse the quality of Integrated Waste Management Plans of the district municipalities of the Western Cape. Three research objectives were set to achieve the research aim; to provide an overview of waste management and the context of waste management planning in South Africa; to adapt and design a unique Integrated Waste Management Plan review package for South African District Municipalities and to analyse five case study IWMPs with an adapted and unique review package. This study focuses on the quality of Integrated Waste Management Plans of district municipalities of the Western Cape Province of South Africa. A qualitative research approach was applied through means of an adapted Lee and Colley review package, used to analyse the quality of the IWMPs.
The findings on the overall quality of the reviewed IWMPs were unsatisfactory as major omissions were noted in the IWMP content. Institutional capacity constraints, insufficient stakeholder communication, lack of awareness campaigns, unclear provision of roles and responsibilities, insufficient coordination between local and district municipalities and budgetary constraints are the main factors influencing the quality of the analysed Integrated Waste Management Plans.
Strengthening of communication, coordination and institutional capacity within municipalities has the potential to improve the quality of the Integrated Waste Management Plans. Focusing to strengthen all the identified weaknesses in the IWMPs will lead to better report quality
Going Beyond Counting First Authors in Author Co-citation Analysis
No full textThe present study examines one of the fundamental aspects of author co-citation analysis (ACA) - the way co-citation
counts are defined. Co-citation counting provides the data on which all subsequent statistical analyses and mappings
are based, and we compare ACA results based on two different types of co-citation counting - the traditional type that
only counts the first one among a cited work's authors on the one hand and a non-traditional type that takes into
account the first 5 authors of a cited work on the other hand. Results indicate that the picture produced through this non-traditional author co-citation counting contains more coherent author groups and is therefore considerably clearer. However, this picture represents fewer specialties in the research field being studied than that produced through the traditional first-author co-citation counting when the same number of top-ranked authors is selected and analyzed. Reasons for these effects are discussed
Investigating climate change mitigation and adaptation measures in integrated water and waste management plans: The case of coal mines in Mpumalanga
No full textThesis (MSc. Environmental Management)) -- North-West University, 2024Despite initial disagreements on climate change, there is now a widely accepted consensus that the phenomenon exists. Owing to escalating greenhouse gas emissions (GHG), the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) predicts that the world's temperature will rise above preindustrial levels, which will lead to variation in rainfall patterns, increased intensity of floods and droughts and the alteration of hydrological cycles, which will harm human and natural systems. The mining industry will suffer severe consequences from climate change, especially the coal mining industry in South Africa. Given the country’s heavy dependence on coal for electricity generation, this situation could have adverse socio-economic consequences. It is, therefore, crucial for the mining industry to integrate climate change adaptation and mitigation strategies into its business approaches. Integrated water resource management (IWRM)—the basis for Integrated Water and Waste Management Plans (IWWMPs), is a promising instrument for mainstreaming climate change mitigation and adaption measures into water management. Considering this background, this research investigated whether climate change mitigation and adaptation measures are considered in IWWMPs for coal mines in Mpumalanga. A case study approach with document analysis was implemented for the research. Seven case studies were selected based on predetermined selection criteria. Two key performance areas (KPAs) with 21 associated key performance indicators (KPIs) were developed based on relevant policies, legislation, and guideline documents related to climate change mitigation and adaptation. The content of each IWWMP was evaluated against the developed KPIs and allocated a score namely, A - adequately, B – partially, and C - inadequately considered. Based on the evaluation, the primary study findings indicate that climate change mitigation and adaptation measures are disregarded in the IWWMPs for the selected cases in Mpumalanga. It is, therefore, recommended that coal mines in Mpumalanga incorporate climate change mitigation and adaptation measures in IWWMPs to manage climate risk. Furthermore, interviews should be conducted with the three significant participants involved in the drafting and approval of IWWMPs to establish the reasons why climate change mitigation and adaptation measures are omitted in IWWMPs as required by policies, legislation, and guidelines
Variations on the Author
No full text“Variations on the Author” discusses two of Eduardo Coutinho’s recent films (Um Dia na Vida, from 2010, and Últimas Conversas, posthumously released in 2015) and their contribution to the general question of documentary authorship. The director’s filmography is characterized by a consistent yet self-effacing form of authorial self-inscription: Coutinho often features as an interviewer that rather than express opinions propels discourses; an interviewer that is good at listening. This mode of self-inscription characterizes him as an author who is not expressive but who is nonetheless markedly present on the screen. In Um Dia na Vida, however, Coutinho is completely absent form the image, while Últimas Conversas, on the contrary, includes a confessional prologue that moves the director from the margins to the center of his films. This article examines the ways in which these works stand out in the filmography of a director who offers new insights into the notion of cinematic authorship
Appropriate Similarity Measures for Author Cocitation Analysis
No full textWe provide a number of new insights into the methodological discussion about author cocitation analysis. We first argue that the use of the Pearson correlation for measuring the similarity between authors’ cocitation profiles is not very satisfactory. We then discuss what kind of similarity measures may be used as an alternative to the Pearson correlation. We consider three similarity measures in particular. One is the well-known cosine. The other two similarity measures have not been used before in the bibliometric literature. Finally, we show by means of an example that our findings have a high practical relevance.information science;Pearson correlation;cosine;similarity measure;author cocitation analysis
Dispelling the Myths Behind First-author Citation Counts
No full textWe conducted a full-scale evaluative citation analysis study of scholars in the XML research field to explore just how different from each other author rankings resulting from different citation counting methods actually are, and to demonstrate the capability of emerging data and tools on the Web in supporting more realistic citation counting methods. Our results contest some common arguments for the continued
use of first-author citation counts in the evaluation of scholars, such as high correlations between author rankings by first-author citation counts and other citation
counting methods, and high costs of using more realistic citation counting methods that are not well-supported by the ISI databases. It is argued that increasingly available digital full text research papers make it possible for citation analysis studies to go beyond what the ISI databases have directly supported and to employ more
sophisticated methods
- …
