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An assessment of the potential for waste minimisation in small and medium size enterprises in South Africa
Against a background of a chemical engineering degree and a few years of industrial experience, I undertook this M.Sc. degree with the conviction that chemical engineering skills have a unique role to play in addressing environmental problems of pollution generated by industrial activity. Moreover,...
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| Format: | Thesis |
| Language: | English |
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Department of Chemical Engineering
2016
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| _version_ | 1867613150707187712 |
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| access_status_str | Open Access |
| author | Coleman, Ann E |
| author2 | Petrie, Jim |
| author_browse | Coleman, Ann E Petrie, Jim |
| author_facet | Petrie, Jim Coleman, Ann E |
| author_sort | Coleman, Ann E |
| collection | Thesis |
| description | Against a background of a chemical engineering degree and a few years of industrial experience, I undertook this M.Sc. degree with the conviction that chemical engineering skills have a unique role to play in addressing environmental problems of pollution generated by industrial activity. Moreover, given that, of industrial activity, it is chemical processing industries (CPI) and mining industries which are the major contributors to generation of waste, hazardous waste in particular, it is appropriate that the chemical engineering profession, which populates such industry activities, should assume such responsibility. In response to increasingly vociferous demands for more stringent environmental control over industrial activity, and regulatory compliance with stricter constraints on emissions of pollutants, there is a tendency to rely on readily available end-of-pipe solutions to resolve environmental management problems. This strategy is embodied in current practices in South Africa at effluent treatment- and landfill disposal facilities. Yet this is a costly solution in the long term, with implications for increasing operating costs, investment costs for development of new facilities, as well as closure and potential liability costs for old facilities. Furthermore, this strategy fails to address problems of resource depletion and the potential for resource recovery from materials considered to be "waste". Waste minimisation offers an alternative waste management strategy which seeks to reduce the generation of waste before end-of-pipe management is required, and to recover resources for reuse, thereby reducing resource consumption. The Department of Environment Affairs in the South African government has recommended that there should be research in the application of waste minimisation. While clearly there is a need for fundamental research into particular technological problems (such research is being undertaken at some institutions), the approach I adopted was to investigate potential for effecting meaningful waste minimisation solutions using procedures and techniques which constitute popular waste minimisation assessment methodologies. I focused specifically on small and medium scale industry operators which traditionally do not employ chemical engineering skills and which need a practical tool to improve in-house environmental management capability. |
| format | Thesis |
| id | oai:open.uct.ac.za:11427/22444 |
| institution | University of Cape Town (South Africa) |
| language | eng |
| last_indexed | 2026-06-10T12:31:34.243Z |
| license_str | Not specified — see source repository |
| provenance_str_mv | Harvested via OAI-PMH from UCTD — University of Cape Town Open Access Repository |
| publishDate | 2016 |
| publishDateRange | 2016 |
| publishDateSort | 2016 |
| publisher | Department of Chemical Engineering |
| publisherStr | Department of Chemical Engineering |
| record_format | dspace |
| source_str | UCTD — University of Cape Town Open Access Repository |
| spelling | oai:open.uct.ac.za:11427/22444 An assessment of the potential for waste minimisation in small and medium size enterprises in South Africa Coleman, Ann E Petrie, Jim Chemical Engineering Waste Management Against a background of a chemical engineering degree and a few years of industrial experience, I undertook this M.Sc. degree with the conviction that chemical engineering skills have a unique role to play in addressing environmental problems of pollution generated by industrial activity. Moreover, given that, of industrial activity, it is chemical processing industries (CPI) and mining industries which are the major contributors to generation of waste, hazardous waste in particular, it is appropriate that the chemical engineering profession, which populates such industry activities, should assume such responsibility. In response to increasingly vociferous demands for more stringent environmental control over industrial activity, and regulatory compliance with stricter constraints on emissions of pollutants, there is a tendency to rely on readily available end-of-pipe solutions to resolve environmental management problems. This strategy is embodied in current practices in South Africa at effluent treatment- and landfill disposal facilities. Yet this is a costly solution in the long term, with implications for increasing operating costs, investment costs for development of new facilities, as well as closure and potential liability costs for old facilities. Furthermore, this strategy fails to address problems of resource depletion and the potential for resource recovery from materials considered to be "waste". Waste minimisation offers an alternative waste management strategy which seeks to reduce the generation of waste before end-of-pipe management is required, and to recover resources for reuse, thereby reducing resource consumption. The Department of Environment Affairs in the South African government has recommended that there should be research in the application of waste minimisation. While clearly there is a need for fundamental research into particular technological problems (such research is being undertaken at some institutions), the approach I adopted was to investigate potential for effecting meaningful waste minimisation solutions using procedures and techniques which constitute popular waste minimisation assessment methodologies. I focused specifically on small and medium scale industry operators which traditionally do not employ chemical engineering skills and which need a practical tool to improve in-house environmental management capability. 2016-11-07T17:50:57Z 2016-11-07T17:50:57Z 1994 Master Thesis Masters MSc (Eng) http://hdl.handle.net/11427/22444 eng application/pdf Department of Chemical Engineering Faculty of Engineering and the Built Environment University of Cape Town |
| spellingShingle | Chemical Engineering Waste Management Coleman, Ann E An assessment of the potential for waste minimisation in small and medium size enterprises in South Africa |
| thesis_degree_str | Master's |
| title | An assessment of the potential for waste minimisation in small and medium size enterprises in South Africa |
| title_full | An assessment of the potential for waste minimisation in small and medium size enterprises in South Africa |
| title_fullStr | An assessment of the potential for waste minimisation in small and medium size enterprises in South Africa |
| title_full_unstemmed | An assessment of the potential for waste minimisation in small and medium size enterprises in South Africa |
| title_short | An assessment of the potential for waste minimisation in small and medium size enterprises in South Africa |
| title_sort | assessment of the potential for waste minimisation in small and medium size enterprises in south africa |
| topic | Chemical Engineering Waste Management |
| url | http://hdl.handle.net/11427/22444 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT colemananne anassessmentofthepotentialforwasteminimisationinsmallandmediumsizeenterprisesinsouthafrica AT colemananne assessmentofthepotentialforwasteminimisationinsmallandmediumsizeenterprisesinsouthafrica |