An assessment of the potential for waste minimisation in small and medium size enterprises in South Africa

dc.contributor.advisorPetrie, Jimen_ZA
dc.contributor.authorColeman, Ann Een_ZA
dc.date.accessioned2016-11-07T17:50:57Z
dc.date.available2016-11-07T17:50:57Z
dc.date.issued1994en_ZA
dc.description.abstractAgainst 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.en_ZA
dc.identifier.apacitationColeman, A. E. (1994). <i>An assessment of the potential for waste minimisation in small and medium size enterprises in South Africa</i>. (Thesis). University of Cape Town ,Faculty of Engineering & the Built Environment ,Department of Chemical Engineering. Retrieved from http://hdl.handle.net/11427/22444en_ZA
dc.identifier.chicagocitationColeman, Ann E. <i>"An assessment of the potential for waste minimisation in small and medium size enterprises in South Africa."</i> Thesis., University of Cape Town ,Faculty of Engineering & the Built Environment ,Department of Chemical Engineering, 1994. http://hdl.handle.net/11427/22444en_ZA
dc.identifier.citationColeman, A. 1994. An assessment of the potential for waste minimisation in small and medium size enterprises in South Africa. University of Cape Town.en_ZA
dc.identifier.ris TY - Thesis / Dissertation AU - Coleman, Ann E AB - 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. DA - 1994 DB - OpenUCT DP - University of Cape Town LK - https://open.uct.ac.za PB - University of Cape Town PY - 1994 T1 - An assessment of the potential for waste minimisation in small and medium size enterprises in South Africa TI - An assessment of the potential for waste minimisation in small and medium size enterprises in South Africa UR - http://hdl.handle.net/11427/22444 ER - en_ZA
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/11427/22444
dc.identifier.vancouvercitationColeman AE. An assessment of the potential for waste minimisation in small and medium size enterprises in South Africa. [Thesis]. University of Cape Town ,Faculty of Engineering & the Built Environment ,Department of Chemical Engineering, 1994 [cited yyyy month dd]. Available from: http://hdl.handle.net/11427/22444en_ZA
dc.language.isoengen_ZA
dc.publisher.departmentDepartment of Chemical Engineeringen_ZA
dc.publisher.facultyFaculty of Engineering and the Built Environment
dc.publisher.institutionUniversity of Cape Town
dc.subject.otherChemical Engineeringen_ZA
dc.subject.otherWaste Managementen_ZA
dc.titleAn assessment of the potential for waste minimisation in small and medium size enterprises in South Africaen_ZA
dc.typeMaster Thesis
dc.type.qualificationlevelMasters
dc.type.qualificationnameMSc (Eng)en_ZA
uct.type.filetypeText
uct.type.filetypeImage
uct.type.publicationResearchen_ZA
uct.type.resourceThesisen_ZA
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