CHALLENGES OF SOLID WASTE SEGREGATION AT UNKI PLATINUM MINE IN SHURUGWI, ZIMBABWE

John M. Chihiya, Emmanuel Nhedzi, Jemitias Mapira

Abstract


Waste segregation at the source, which is a pre-requisite aspect in waste management challenges, is a concept that mining sectors in Zimbabwe are yet to completely appreciate and put into practice on a broader scale.  The accumulation of solid waste has become a global challenge in various mining industries. Despite the efforts of Unki Platinum Mine in environmental management participation in solid waste segregation at Unki Platinum Mine is still limited. Since the organization needs to accomplish its aim of zero waste to landfills by 2030, it is critical to encourage source separation practices among its personnel. There is a need to recognize the issues at a general employee level in order to propose appropriate suggestions for enhancing solid waste segregation at the source. The goal of this study was to look into the issues of solid waste segregation at the source at the Unki Platinum Mine in Shurugwi. Several departments at the mine that create significant solid wastes were chosen to participate in this investigation. Within the Mining, Concentrator, Human Resources, Mineral Resources Management, Engineering, and Environmental, Health and Safety and Quality (SHEQ) departments, questionnaire sets were distributed to the targeted audience. This research included a variety of data collection methods, including questionnaires, observations, and guided interviews. The problems with solid waste segregation at the source have been highlighted. These include a lack of adequate awareness and enough receptacles, especially in underground working locations, and failure to recognize substantial waste in sections, as well as behavioral tendencies and indifference on the part of most employees toward solid waste segregation systems. More recyclable waste is being dumped into landfill as a result of poor solid waste segregation at the source. The study findings revealed that inadequate receptacles, trash collection equipment, and a lack of effective instruction to staff are likely infrastructure hurdles to correct solid waste segregation at the source. Solid waste segregation at the source can be achieved by providing adequate receptacles, motivating personnel with incentives, and implementing appropriate instructions, awareness and initiatives.

 

Article visualizations:

Hit counter


Keywords


waste segregation challenges, Unki platinum mine, Shurugwi, Zimbabwe

Full Text:

PDF

References


Aidoo, R. (2005). Waste Management in Offices: A Case Study of the Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital, School of Environmental Sciences, University of East Anglia, Norwich.

Babu, B. R., Bhanu, S. U and Meera, K. S. (2009). Waste minimization in electroplating industries: a review. Journal of Environmental Science and Health Part C, 27(3), 155-177. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/10590500903124158

Baumgärtner, S. (2015). Temporal and thermodynamic irreversibility in production theory. Journal of Economic Theory, N 26, p. 725–728.

Cagno, E., Giulio, D. A. and Trucco, P. (1999). A methodological Framework for the Initial Environmental Review (IER) in EMS Implementation, Journal of Environmental Assessment Policy and Management, 1(4), pp, 505-532.

Cointreau-Levine, S. (2001). Declaration of Principles for Sustainable and Integrated Solid Waste Management. World Bank, Washington, DC

Ehrampoush, M. H. (2005). Survey of knowledge, attitude and practice of Yazd University of medical sciences students about solid wastes disposal and recycling. Iranian Journal of Environmental Health Science Engineering, 2(2), 26-30.

Eugenia, M., Bennagen, C., Nepomuceno, G. and Covar, R. (2002). Solid Waste Segregation and Recycling in Metro Manila: Household Attitudes and Behaviour. Journal of Resources, Environment and Economics, Project (4), pp.3-4.

Gainesville, F. L. (2019). Environmental, Health and Safety. Safety in the Workplace. University of Florida. Available from: http://www.ehs.ufl.edu/programs/chemrad_waste/maint_waste/paint-brushes-paint-rollers-and-rags/ (accessed May 2019).

Gupta, S., Rameshwar, R., Gupta, N. S. and Gupta, N. (2017). Nation Challenges for Solid Waste Management. Journal of Social Welfare and Management, vol 9, no. 2, pp. 77.

Kitula, A. G. N. (2006). The environmental and socio-economic impacts of mining on local livelihoods in Tanzania: A case study of Geita and Mererani. Journal of Cleaner, vol 4, no. 2, pp. 67.

Muchandiona, A. (2013). Challenges and Opportunities in Solid Waste Management in Zimbabwe’s Urban Councils, University of Zimbabwe, Harare

Muttamara, S., Visvanathan, C., Alwis, K. (1994). Solid waste recycling and reuse in Bangkok. Journal of Waste Management & Research, 12(2), 151-163.

Prakriti, K. (2006). Municipal Solid Waste Management in Asia and the Pacific Islands: Challenges and Strategic Solutions. Springer, Singapore.

Shrikant M, N. (2008). Sustainable Solid waste Management: Need of the hour, Nirmal Gram Nirman Kendra, Govardhan (Gangapur) Nashik.

Tchobanoglous, G., Theisen, H. and Vigil, S. (1993). Integrated Solid Waste Management: Engineering Principle and Management Issue. International Ed. McGraw-Hill Book Co. Singapore.

Towhid, B., Haidar, N., Mohammad, M. and Hamid, A. (2018). Identifying Challenges and Barriers to Participating in the Source Separation of Waste Program in Tabriz, Northwest of Iran: A Qualitative Study from the Citizens’ Perspective, https://www.mdpi.com/2079-9276/7/3/53 Resources, 7, 53, (Accessed April 2019).

Training and Research Support Centre (TARSC) and Civic Forum on Housing (CFH). (2010). A Case Study on Solid Waste Management in Three Local Authority Areas of Zimbabwe. TARSC, Harare.

UN-Habitat. (2006). Meeting Development Goals in Small Urban Centres; Water and Sanitation in the World Cities2006, Earth scan Publications, London

Watch, W. (2004). Waste at work information Sheet. Waste Watch, London.

Zhang, D.; Huang, G.; Yin, X. and Gong, Q. (2005). Residents’ waste separation behaviours at the source: Using SEM with the theory of planned behaviour in Guangzhou, China. International Journal of Environment, Resources and Public Health, 12, 9475–9491.




DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.46827/ejsss.v7i6.1363

Copyright (c) 2022 John M. Chihiya, Emmanuel Nhedzi, Jemitias Mapira

Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

The research works published in this journal are free to be accessed. They can be shared (copied and redistributed in any medium or format) and\or adapted (remixed, transformed, and built upon the material for any purpose, commercially and\or not commercially) under the following terms: attribution (appropriate credit must be given indicating original authors, research work name and publication name mentioning if changes were made) and without adding additional restrictions (without restricting others from doing anything the actual license permits). Authors retain the full copyright of their published research works and cannot revoke these freedoms as long as the license terms are followed.

Copyright © 2016 - 2023. European Journal Of Social Sciences Studies (ISSN 2501-8590) is a registered trademark of Open Access Publishing Group. All rights reserved.

This journal is a serial publication uniquely identified by an International Standard Serial Number (ISSN) serial number certificate issued by Romanian National Library. All the research works are uniquely identified by a CrossRef DOI digital object identifier supplied by indexing and repository platforms. All the research works published on this journal are meeting the Open Access Publishing requirements and standards formulated by Budapest Open Access Initiative (2002), the Bethesda Statement on Open Access Publishing (2003) and  Berlin Declaration on Open Access to Knowledge in the Sciences and Humanities (2003) and can be freely accessed, shared, modified, distributed and used in educational, commercial and non-commercial purposes under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. Copyrights of the published research works are retained by authors.