Topics
4 Comment
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Re: Looking for a List of Free On-Line Reputable Environmental Websites/Resources that Can Be Used as Webinars to Educate Employees During Earth Week
2009-02-12 03:46:36 UTC
HI Kevin
greatings from sunny and hot Cape Town. Please receive some of the green tips and links that an Environmental Consultancy (Jeffares & Green) forwarded to their clients on World Environment Week last year. I hope you find this useful
Regards
Susan
Susanne Dittke
EnviroSense
SouthAfrica -
Looking for Alternatives to Conventional Paper and Cardboard Recycling
2008-01-23 10:58:52 UTC
Dear Colleagues
I am currently researching the manufacturing of exiting new products from paper and cardboard waste as an alternative to simply "downcycling" those items in a paper mill. So if you have come across some novel idea paper recyled products (including paper/cardboard waste to art products, furniture etc) that could be made by communities as part of a low tech high labour intesive job creation initiative please let me know. Thank you very much for your support.
Regards
Susan
Susanne Dittke
Integrated Resource and Waste Management Specialist
EnviroSense CC
61 Peninsula Road
Zeekoevlei 7945
envirosense@xsinet.co.za
www.cleanerproduction.co.za
tel: fax: mobile: Skype ID: 021-706 9829
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Finding International Best Practice Models for CFL Diversion from Household Waste and Recycling Options
2007-12-21 18:37:46 UTC
Dear List Member of FSB
Our South African parastatal energy provider ESKOM has recently embarked on a Demand Side Management programme for both households and businesses to fight the increasing amount of power failures all over the country due to severe energy generation capacity problems. In response, in 2006 the company handed out 5.5 million energy saving CFL's in the Western Cape province alone mostly to poor and medium income households via a free give-away through local retailers. Now, only one year later, some of these CFLs imported from Asia have already started to fail. In response, both the Provincial Government and the City of Cape Town Municipality held various brainstorming workshops with Eskom and other key stakeholders (including manufacturers) to jointly find a solution to the potential mercury waste problem we face now. In response and to fulfill their corporate social responsibility, Eskom recently appointed a team of consultants (including myself) to conduct a study to propose how to remove CFLs from the general household waste stream to a hazardous landfill site for safe disposal (immediate focus). Based on the resulting feasibility study findings and sustainability focus the consultant team will then look at the diversion and complete closed loop cycling and material reclamation options (long term focus). The main goal of these investigations is to develop a pilot project for the responsible disposal of CFLs in the Western Cape for roll out to the rest of South Africa, and to compile an associated recycling plant/facilities and material reclamation strategy.
I would appreciate any information on international best practice with regard to :
1) how to divert CFL's from general household waste
2) treatment and recycling options of CFLs
3) different collection and finance models for CFL recovery
4) successful public educational programmes to drive those initiatives.
Since this study will have to adivse on strategies that work for the entire Western Cape province a range of different take-back and collection strategies need to be developed in response to both rural and urban communities cross-cutting from high income to low income households. Thank you very much for any support you could give me with your expertise to develop a viable CFL strategy for the Western Cape and ultimately South Africa.
Regards
Susan
Susanne Dittke
Integrated Resource and Waste Management Specialist
EnviroSense CC
61 Peninsula Road
Zeekoevlei 7945
envirosense@xsinet.co.za
www.cleanerproduction.co.za
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Looking for Viable Organic Waste Treatment Options for Johannesburg Municipal Solid Waste
2006-12-07 06:45:31 UTC
Dear CBSM Listserve Members
Greetings from South Africa. My name is Susanne and as an environmental consultant I am part of a team who has been given the challenging task to develop a Strategic Road Map for the Johannesburg City Council utiltiy waste service company Pikitup to reduce waste to landfill by 50% within the next six years with the further aim to develop a zero waste to landfill plan by 2010. Pikitup currently serves 100% of all JHB households and small businesses and it has some very large commercial clients as well. From our first waste volume information we find that a considerable part of the waste going to landfill is of organic nature (other than clean garden and parks waste which is already increasingly diverted and composted and will continue to do so in future). The situation of other organic waste streams currently disposed off but in principle recoverable for further treatment appears to be as follows (where no numbers where available we used estimates) and all numbers are calculated annually: Putrecibles combined housholds, business weekly collection : 53 000 tons (we work here on an estimated 70% recoverable portion based on a successfully working dry/wet waste separation) Fines and residues (also ash) from domestic waste sources : 16 000 tons (this number is based on estimated recovery potential of 10%) Dailies - mostly food waste from restaurants, grocers etc collected daily : 34 000 tons (based on a 70% recovery rate) Annual total: 103 000 tons In addition there might be sludge from various water treatment works we could add. There are also a huge amounts of nappies that could be recovered as part of a "dirty" material recovery facility operation but since they are containing plastics I am not sure if those would be suitable for any organic waste treatment at all- generally we estimate this could be around another 25 000 tons. I appreciate any assistance greatly you could give me to find information about feasible technical options for treating mixed organic Muncipal Solid Waste (MSW) (but also advising on how to combine some of those organic waste streams listed above (where possible) and which ones to keep separate for suggested treatment) .
What technology would be suitable and hopefully affordable to treat the organic MSW fraction on a large scale capacity in addition to promoting more small scale onsite anaerobic digestion systems, worm farms and composting facilities ? I did a fair deal of desktop research but found very few technical solutions for treating organic MSW directly and what I found sounded suspiciously like unproven snake oil seller's sales claims (e.g. Alphakat ; Green Power- claiming to be able convert mixed organic MSW into biodiesel). If you can shed some light on what works elsewhere (ideally low tech and high labour intensive) your input or guidance will be of invaluable assistance to me as I really try to avoid expensive mistakes here (this is not my specialist professional area) and I do not want to reinvent the wheel either.
Regards
Susan
Susanne Dittke
Integrated Resource and Waste Management Specialist
EnviroSense CC 61 Peninsula Road
Zeekoevlei 7945
envirosense@xsinet.co.za
www.cleanerproduction.co.za
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