Evaluating the performance (effectiveness and efficiency) of waste management and minimization practices in the district municipalities (Umkhanyakude and Zululand) in the KwaZuluNatal Province, South Africa

Abstract: During the last two decades, South Africa has witnessed significant legal and regulatory reforms for improving environmental management at strategic and operational levels, including new provisions for effective and efficient solid waste management. One of these provisions entail improved municipal solid waste management for pollution prevention and a prioritization of steps towards increased minimization of all waste streams through the recovery, re-use, and recycling of waste materials. However, there is limited knowledge on how different stakeholders such as municipalities and residential communities are responding to these new legislative imperatives and the national goal towards zero waste by the year 2022. Moreover, much of the research effort has focussed on mostly urban areas, especially in the large metropolitan municipalities of South Africa. Knowledge generated from such studies is vital for assessing how much progress is being made towards effective waste management and what are the barriers for increased solid waste recycling. ..Ph.D. (Environmental Management