Browsing by Subject "Waste products as building materials"

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    Construction and demolition waste management : assessment of demand and supply of recycled materials in the Western Cape
    (2003) Delaware, Kamil; Shakantu, Winston
    Concern for environmental degradation has been a motivating factor in the efforts to reuse or recycle construction and demolition waste. The intention is not only to reduce environmental desecration, but also to recycle the construction and demolition waste into potential building materials to be reused elsewhere. This study investigated the supply and demand of recycled construction materials in the Western Cape, and aimed to determine the perception held by important stakeholders about these materials. A qualitative analysis of the case study results revealed that poor waste management plans implemented on construction and demolition sites have affected the quality, supply and price of recycled materials. In addition to this it was also revealed that the negative perceptions regarding recycled materials were the major barriers to creating an established secondary market. Inadequate knowledge and experience were major contributors to resistance to change of perceptions. A case study was conducted on Malans Quarries Recyclers in order to determine the supply of raw materials (construction and demolition waste) reaching the recycling plant; the supply of recycled materials to the end user (consumer); and the recycling process that takes place. A sample of fifteen respondents from a variety of large, medium and small construction contractors, as well as consultants and civil engineering companies, completed a questionnaire to determine the demand for and perceptions about these materials. The qualitative analysis of the results of the questionnaires showed that the majority of respondents still preferred to use primary materials over recycled materials. However, it appears that the gap between respondents who prefer to use primary materials, and those who utilize recycled materials, has narrowed in comparison to results obtained in previous studies. It seems that there may be more usage of recycled materials in the future. The results also revealed that tax cuts, could be a good economic incentive to encourage the use of recycled material. The questionnaire results also revealed that the majority of the respondents believed that landfill taxes where not effective in discouraging the illegal dumping of waste, and that the lack advertisements, and difficulties in obtaining recycled materials played a crucial role in the under-use of recycled materials.
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    The mayinje house : an architecture of activism
    (2004) Ferrari, Jonathan E
    My initial interest in undertaking a research project in Cape Town, was locked by my outsider's gaze into vibrant urban images of townships and informal settlements. It was nurtured by a free South Africa's much publicized need for decent housing, and my projection of involvement with design efforts to develop viable housing options for the great number of beautiful people living in lovely, crowded, fire-prone shack communities. I had been nurturing a conviction for the possibility of utilizing waste-stream resources -'trash'- in an evocative, ecological production of architecture - an interest spawned through the concept of industrial ecology, and my background in the biological sciences. A coinciding potential seemed ripe. It has been said that necessity is the mother of invention. Nowhere is this perhaps truer than in South Africa. The informal settlements of South Africa are a marvel of ingenuity and creativity where the processes of invention are continually fuelled by necessity's perpetual dance through the mazes of adversity; mazes, which are strewn with the fallout of a consumer society - created and driven by market forces. One of the most prevalent creations of the township is the 'shack.' In a condition where neither the state nor the private sector can provide appropriate housing in sufficient quantity, these dwellings are the people's solution to the immediate need for shelter. Many of the material resources used in the construction of shacks come from the waste stream of the country's consumer market. Formally, and materially shacks bear little resemblance to traditional South African dwellings. The two types are similar however, in that their material value exists primarily through their social and individual uti.lity and their location. A traditional dwelling has little economic value as a commodity ty because it is constructed with free building materials available in the natural environment. 1 The shack's use of free waste materials and relatively inexpensive used materials similarly confounds the capitalist system's commodification of the dwelling. Ironically, a dwelling with little to no market value can restrict entry into a capitalist society. Home ownership is one of the passes required in order to access credit - which is needed to become a 'cardholding' member of the consumer society, with all its benefits and demands. 2 There are however, numerous examples from the informal settlements and townships where goods of significant economic value are created from free resources. Folk artwork and craftwork from South African Townships is recognized all over the world and has significant market value. Scale replicas of Harley Davidsons are made from scrap wire and oil tins, plastic sheeting, and plastic bags. Telephone wire is used as a substitute for reeds to weave intricate baskets in