Waste Management Practices in the Theewaterskloof Municipality, Grabouw, Western Cape

Abstract

 Abstract — Waste management is one of the challenges facing municipalities over the world, in Africa and in some parts of South Africa. The study evaluated waste management practices in Grabouw, Theewaterskloof Municipality. A waste management practices survey (using questionnaires and interviews) was carried out in Grabouw for the duration of 8-months. Four (4) residential areas were selected in Grabouw for undertaking the study. The selected residential areas were Rooidaka, Smarty Town, Zola and Marikana. These residential areas were selected based on the initial visit to Grabouw, where piles of waste on the streets and within the river systems were observed. Additionally, certain organizations were randomly selected based on their involvement in waste management. The selected organizations were Community Development Workers (CDW), Community Workers Programme (CWP), Theewaterskloof Municipality (TwK), and the Community Members (CM). The study used both qualitative and quantitative methods. The study revealed that waste management practices in the study area are misunderstood, inefficient and fragmented. Furthermore, the study showed that community members were not involved in waste management planning, waste receptacles allocated to households were too small and only two trucks were servicing the Theewaterskloof Municipality for waste collection. The waste management practices applied within Grabouw were limited to collection, transportation and disposal. The major issues that affected waste management practices in Grabouw, Theewaterskloof included organizational structure, insufficient waste management investment i.e. financial and human resources, lack of waste management planning, education and awareness that included uncoordinated political interference on the application of waste management practices. The study discussed and provided waste management practices applied globally, in Africa, and in other parts of South Africa as well as within the study area, which