An evaluation of strategic management of landfill sites: A case study of Thohoyandou Block J. landfill site, Vhembe District Municipality, Limpopo Province

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the strategic management of the Thohoyandou Block J landfill site. There are limited documented materials on strategic management of landfill sites in South Africa. As a result, this study sought to close this gap and expose new insights that it deemed to be of great importance in the management and operations of landfill sites. The capacity of a TBJ landfill site in terms of its efficiency in disposing waste, adherence to rules and procedures and the overall management of the site are the key areas of this study. The dominant types and sources of solid waste disposed at the TBJ landfill site, efficiency and effectiveness of operation of TBJ landfill site and operational challenges are the main areas covered in this study. The study adopted the mixed methods approach, involving both qualitative and quantitative research methods. Both primary and secondary data were acquired. Primary data were obtained through a questionnaire, an interview and field observation, using an observation checklist. Secondary data were obtained from ArcGIS Desktop Help 9.2 and documented materials from the Thulamela Local Municipality and the TBJ landfill site, the Integrated Waste Management Plan, Integrated Development Plan, TBJ landfill site’s monthly report, audit report and landfill site’s operating plan. Basically, field observation and a questionnaire completed by the waste manager, landfill operator and supervisor, were used to collect data on the operational challenges of TBJ landfill site and to obtain data on the efficiency and effectiveness at which the TBJ landfill site is operating. Waste pickers were interviewed and field observation was undertaken, to identify the dominant types and sources of waste disposed at the TBJ landfill site. A questionnaire completed by TBJ landfill operator, ArcGIS Desktop Help 9.2 for field measurement, reports of the amount of waste recorded and the municipality’s database, were utilized to elicit data regarding the determination of the capacity of TBJ landfill site. The results obtained revealed that the TBJ landfill site’s remaining capacity is 317 085 m3, which will be exhausted in the next 4 years. Plastics were found to be the dominant waste disposed at the TBJ landfill site, at 40%, followed by card-boxes, which constituted 32%. The dominant sources of solid waste generation in the TBJ landfill site were households, at 51%, followed by commercial, at 31% and industrial, at 11%. The absence of a weighbridge, to weigh loads of waste, frequent break down of equipment, lack of equipment required to operate the TBJ landfill site efficiently and the presence of fire hazards, were some of the