Sustainable solid waste management in South Africa: a study of the people’s perceptions on the impact of solid waste management on human health and the environment in the informal settlement of Diepsloot, Johannesburg, South Africa

Abstract

Solid Waste Management (SWM) has become a monumental human health and environmental risk world over, particularly in the Developing countries. Governments, led by environmentalists are frantically trying to mitigate this global catastrophe but the battle promises to surge due to increasing production of goods and booming populations, particularly in Developing countries. As such, governments are adopting expensive state of the art technologies to minimise waste on landfills. Communities in localities where waste is poorly managed can be a credible source of information with regards to the actual situation on the ground. However, when governments adopt the aforementioned technologies, they tend to overlook the valuable insights that can be derived through studying the communities that produce the solid waste. It is for this reason that this research studied community perceptions regarding the impact of SWM on human health and the environment in Diepsloot, Johannesburg, South Africa. The rationale behind the choice of Diepsloot is justified by the observations that Diepsloot is characterised by scattered illegal dumps on street corners while water courses frequently get targeted for illegal dumping of household waste and construction rubble. The research was further guided by two important interrogations; first, a focus on what could be the associated consequences of solid waste mismanagement in Diepsloot, Johannesburg, South Africa. Second, a focus on how can the impact of solid waste mismanagement on human health and the environment in Diepsloot be mitigated. Using qualitative and quantitative research methods, data for this research were collected from thirty-five (35) purposively selected participants in two localities of Diepsloot i.e. Diepsloot West Reception Area (DWRA) and Diepsloot West Extension 1 (DWE1). An additional three participants were recruited from three organisations i.e. Greater Kyalami Conservancy (Gecko), “Roots and Shoots” and Pikitup, a branch of the municipality responsible for waste management. The results of the study revealed that participants from the Diepsloot community had limited knowledge of the impact of SWM on human health and the environment. However, some were able to point out land and air pollution as well as respiratory complications as the possible impacts. Greater insights were harvested from NGO officials. According to these officials, the impacts on the environment were as follows; water course pollution, habitat destruction, depletion of bullfrog population, etc. The insights were, however, limited with regards to the impacts on human health because they lacked expertise in environmental health and epidemiology. For these officials, this was compounded by the lack of epidemiological iii information from the responsible authorities such as the Departments of Health and of Water and Sanitation which fail to make the information public. However, the perceived direct impacts on humans were as follows; seasonal drowning of minors, air pollution due to decomposing waste, proliferation of rodents (rats) as well as rat bites at night. Poor service delivery by Pikitup was at the centre of the poor plight of SWM in Diepsloot. This was realised through poor service delivery; poor distribution of containers for waste storage, Inadequate distribution of communal dumping areas and poor environmental programmes. In my view, these inadequacies explain the widespread environmental unawareness by the residents of Diepsloot. In the greater scheme of knowledge, the results of this study indicate the persisting threats on human health and the environment due to poor SWM. This is centred on poor urban governance in Developing countries where SWM is not considered a priority. To alleviate these issues, we proposed for both short term and long term solutions. Among other means, the proposed short term measures were excavation of drains to redirect sewerage effluent, establishment of new buy back centres and intensification of existing ones. The long term measures were the widening of streets to accommodate waste trucks, establishment of a co-management system and buffering water courses, among other ways.