Abstract
M.Sc. (Environmental Management)
Waste management is a global challenge mainly due to the increasing generation of waste quantities from various human activities. The management of waste is usually provided by municipal authorities to keep areas under their jurisdiction clean and unpolluted. Waste recycling is adopted as a sustainable option for reducing solid wastes that are generated by the commercial and industrial sector, households, communities as well as schools. Recycling of municipal solid waste has an advantage of minimising increased utilisation of natural resources such as water and fossil fuels for energy generation while minimising environmental pollution. Environmental education programmes that are offered at school level can play a key role in building and fostering environmental knowledge on solid waste management amongst the learners. It is crucial to change school learner’s environmental outlooks including, the instilling of positive attitudes and behavioural dispositions towards the adoption of environmentally responsible actions such as waste recycling.
In this dissertation, the role of waste management practices and recycling behaviour amongst primary school learners in the Mamelodi Township in the City of Tshwane Metropolitan Municipality (CTMM) was evaluated. Making use of a mixed-method research design, the following results came out of the surveys which were carried out for the research. Results show that learners selected for the study are interested and concerned about the state of waste mismanagement in their school environments and communities. Most learners were able to describe or define the constituents of solid waste at their schools, probable sources of the waste stream as well as what can be done to circumvent or at least minimise quantities of waste generated. The most preferred option for disposing solid waste amongst the primary school learners was found to be reuse, burning of waste, landfilling and illegal waste dumping on open spaces. On a negative note, littering and illegal dumping of waste is the major factor hampering successful waste management by municipal authorities. Based on quantities of waste that was recycled by primary school learners during experiments at various schools, it became clear that learners selected for this study were willing to become actively involved in their school recycling schemes. Therefore, environmental education should be encouraged among primary school learners to achieve waste minimization. A few recommendations have also been provided towards improved solid waste management measures at the respective schools, the surrounding communities and other parts of the municipality.