Semiformal waste management at the community level: a case study of employment opportunity creation in Cape Town, South Africa
type: CreativeWork
description: In order to effectively tackle the pressing matter of municipal solid waste management, particularly in developing countries, it is imperative to employ inventive and sustainable approaches. At the core of these approaches lie waste workers, who assume an essential function within Solid Waste Management Systems (SWMS). The contributions of their efforts yield substantial advantages for both society and the environment; nonetheless, they frequently encounter obstacles such as societal marginalization, stigmatization linked to diminished social standing, and sometimes a perception of engagement in illicit behaviors. Literature done in South Africa on informal waste workers have identified some of these issues. With a population over 60 million individuals, the nation generates a substantial quantity of waste, approximated at 122 million tones on a yearly basis. Despite the considerable scale of this matter, the proportion of waste that undergoes recycling remains very modest, amounting to approximately 10% as of 2022. The majority of the remaining waste is typically disposed of in landfills or improperly discarded, dumped, or incinerated, resulting in significant environmental and health issues. Within this particular setting, the ZeroToLandfill (ZTL) project emerges a noteworthy endeavor. ZTL, situated in the suburbs of Rosebank and Mowbray in Cape Town, is primarily dedicated to the mitigation of landfill waste by means of recycling, composting, and horticultural practices. Beyond environmental impact, it also aims to provide much-needed employment opportunities for unemployed individuals in neighboring communities and within the Cape Town Metropolitan area. The project's impact extends beyond environmental factors, as evaluated through the application of the Sustainable Livelihood Framework (SLF). This methodology facilitated the assessment of the effects of ZTL on the well-being and livelihoods of its part-time employees, taking into account five categories of cap…
abstract: In order to effectively tackle the pressing matter of municipal solid waste management, particularly in developing countries, it is imperative to employ inventive and sustainable approaches. At the core of these approaches lie waste workers, who assume an essential function within Solid Waste Management Systems (SWMS). The contributions of their efforts yield substantial advantages for both society and the environment; nonetheless, they frequently encounter obstacles such as societal marginalization, stigmatization linked to diminished social standing, and sometimes a perception of engagement in illicit behaviors. Literature done in South Africa on informal waste workers have identified some of these issues. With a population over 60 million individuals, the nation generates a substantial quantity of waste, approximated at 122 million tones on a yearly basis. Despite the considerable scale of this matter, the proportion of waste that undergoes recycling remains very modest, amounting to approximately 10% as of 2022. The majority of the remaining waste is typically disposed of in landfills or improperly discarded, dumped, or incinerated, resulting in significant environmental and health issues. Within this particular setting, the ZeroToLandfill (ZTL) project emerges a noteworthy endeavor. ZTL, situated in the suburbs of Rosebank and Mowbray in Cape Town, is primarily dedicated to the mitigation of landfill waste by means of recycling, composting, and horticultural practices. Beyond environmental impact, it also aims to provide much-needed employment opportunities for unemployed individuals in neighboring communities and within the Cape Town Metropolitan area. The project's impact extends beyond environmental factors, as evaluated through the application of the Sustainable Livelihood Framework (SLF). This methodology facilitated the assessment of the effects of ZTL on the well-being and livelihoods of its part-time employees, taking into account five categories of cap…
author: Impson, Blair Nicholas
keywords: Solid Waste Management Systems, SWMS
date published: 2024
date modified: 2026-07-22T22:23:14Z
provider: University of Cape Town
publisher: Networked Digital Library of Theses and Dissertations
type: WebPage
source organization: Department of Environmental and Geographical Science

PropertyValue
property ID: Handle
value: http://hdl.handle.net/11427/40939