Development of a GIS database prototype for effective solid waste management in Thohoyandou CBD and its environs, Limpopo Province

Abstract

The biggest environmental challenge affecting developing countries is the rapid growth of solid waste and its consequent poor management. Management of waste requires data from different entities associated with solid waste, and Geographic Information Systems (GIS) has the capability to integrate data from different sources. The lack of knowledge and data concerning waste attributes due to the inability of municipalities to manage data from different sources contributes to poor management of waste. Therefore, this study aimed to develop a GIS database prototype for efficient solid waste management in Thohoyandou Central Business District (CBD) and its environs. Previous studies have never tried to create a database which contains data on the nature, and the handling of solid waste generated by households, business establishments, and institutions; there is also lack of information on the locational suitability of landfill; and the compliance of landfill with the environmental, health and safety regulations in Thohoyandou. The study adopted qualitative and quantitative methods of data collection. Field observation, questionnaires, and Global Positioning Systems (GPS) were used to elicit data on the nature and handling of waste generated from households, institutions and business establishments. Descriptive statistics was used to analyse the data, and the results were presented in the form of graphs. To establish the extent to which Thohoyandou Landfill complies with the environmental, health and safety regulations, a checklist was derived from the minimum requirements for the disposal of waste by landfill and the Occupational Health and Safety Act 85 of 1993. Descriptive statistics was used to analyse the data, and the results were presented as narrative and graphs. GIS and Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP) were used to evaluate the locational suitability of the Thohoyandou Landfill. The criteria used were slope and proximity to residential areas, cultivated areas, fragile ecosystems, rivers, and town. Euclidian distance, Reclassify and Majority filter tools were used for data analysis, and the results were presented as a suitability map. The study found that organic waste was dominant in households, while, paper/ cardboard was dominant in business establishments and institutions. There was lack of segregation of waste from the households. The study found that the landfill complied with the health and safety regulations. However, the study also found that with respect to the environmental regulations, Thohoyandou Landfill was partially compliant due to inadequate equipment, fencing, and waste acceptance procedures. The financial challenges contributed to the lack of compliance with some of the environmental regulations. Thohoyandou Landfill was in an unsuitable location due to slope and its proximity to rivers, residential area and road. The location of the landfill poses a threat to the environment. The results were uploaded onto a relational database with the use of Microsoft Access. The data from Microsoft Access was exported to Caspio cloud. Query of data is possible.