Abstracts

101 face various hardships due to lack of personal protective equipment, toxic and unsafe work environments, and unfair treatment from purchasing agencies. Furthermore, these pickers are known to face high levels of violence and theft as they often carry valuable materials and cash (Schenck et al., 2019). Most waste in urban areas is not source separated into organic and nonorganic wastes, which presents a large problem for the waste pickers since the most desirable, and profitable, materials may be contaminated with organic (e.g., food) matter, which decays rapidly and is valueless. This leads to a great deal of effort devoted to manually cleaning the materials. Once materials are collected and separated, they are transported to trading points referred to as buyback centers. These often are private enterprises known for nefarious practices and underpaying the pickers (Hettiarachchi et al., 2018). The buyback facilities serve as a bridge between the informal and formal sectors. The centers sell the cleaned, separated, and organized waste to manufacturers and other downstream recycling facilities. Although the overall recycling rate in South Africa is only 10%, 34% of all nonorganic recyclable materials are recovered from the waste stream (PlasticsSA, 2018). This level of recoverable materials recycling rivals European and American standards, where widely adopted environmental laws and regulations are enforced. This high- level collection of recyclable materials is due primarily to South Africa’s waste management system, particularly in poorer and urban areas, being driven by economic incentives rather than by well-enforced, environmentally focused legislation and regulation. High unemployment and a low supply of formal work arrangements force low-skilled and poor individuals to become scavengers (Godfrey & Oelofse, 2017). The Waste Act requires government officials at all levels to increase waste management activity strictly on the basis of its ability to improve the environment and public health, making no mention of the informal workers and their contributions to the economy and society. The Waste Act fails to mention the economic impacts of waste management and how waste resources and the informal picker- based economy can be valorized and leveraged to potentially increase efficiency, reduce waste management costs, and create sustainable value and growth within local economies. Environmental sustainability is a valid reason to motivate waste management practices; however, efforts from government also should leverage existing informal structures. The Challenges of Organic Waste A 2016 University of Johannesburg study empirically measured and analyzed the composition of waste in Johannesburg by looking at affluent areas as well as poorer townships. The study concluded that affluent areas of the city produce 14% organic waste by mass, whereas the poorer surrounding townships produce closer to 34% organic waste (Ayeleru et al., 2018). The lack of infrastructure in poorer areas, combined with higher levels of organic waste, leads to larger-scale environmental problems. In open dumps, the organic waste is left to naturally biodegrade. When this process occurs, large amounts of biogas (including common greenhouse gases) are released into the atmosphere, and rainfall moving through the dump creates leachate that enters the water and soil. The waste also creates unpleasant sights and odors for residents nearby. The organic waste component’s tendency to contaminate inorganic waste is a pressing matter for all recycling-related activities, which, if resolved, could at the same time ameliorate existing recycling efforts and increase economic value. An emphasis on greater source separation up-front undoubtedly would induce better recycling rates for the recoverable materials segment in the townships (Hettiarachchi et al., 2018). Currently, there is little value attributed to the organic waste fraction; hence, a method that increases value from this component, while also addressing increasing energy needs, surely can enhance waste management efforts. Anaerobic Digestion: A Solution in Waiting? Waste-to-energy solutions in the form