Search

The article probes the complexity of dealing with two interrelated wicked problems, namely informal, self-employed street vendors, and their experiences of littering. This paper describes the themes that emerged from 92 qualitative interviews to determine the perceptions of street vendors regarding reasons for littering on the streets where they operate as well as their experiences of working in these littered environments. By drawing on the themes emerging from semi-structured interviews with vendors, we suggest how stakeholders could engage with the concerns around street vending and littering by means of the use of adaptive management or co-management, engaging, and integrating diverse perspectives, the facilitation of self-organisation, and establishing safe boundaries to evade system thresholds. In this way, complexity-based strategies can promote people-centred urban governance that empowers and includes citizens in attempts to manage the wicked problems of growing cities inclusively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Littering has been defined as the careless and improper disposal of small amounts of waste that results in unwanted and unnatural elements remaining in the environment. People tend to blame external factors for their own littering. A person seldom refers to themselves as being the litterer but will rather place the blame on insufficient infrastructure, such as lack of bins, or on other persons. When referring to other people, they identify problematic behaviour and personal traits such as ignorance, naivety, need for convenience, laziness and inattentiveness as causes of littering. This study addressed the gap in the literature on the socially constructed perceptions people hold about reasons for littering in the South African context, as subjectively perceived reasons for littering may correspond with actual causes and could point towards options for tackling the littering problem. Five lower socio-economic areas in South Africa - particularly those that experience major infrastructural challenges - were included in the study. Qualitative semistructured interviews were held with 322 residents from the respective areas. The data were thematically analysed and the results from the areas compared with each other. The cross-case analysis confirmed that littering is contingent on contextual effects, and unique reasons for littering in the South African context were mentioned. The research reported on in this study highlights that we have only thematically 'identified' or named the socially constructed perceptions about the reasons for littering by the participants. The importance of creating platforms and processes for dialogues to deepen our understanding of people's socially constructed perceptions and subsequent behaviour, is of critical importance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Minibus taxis are the most accessible, convenient and affordable mode of public transport in South Africa. The abundance of commuters and taxi service employees contributes to waste generation and makes waste disposal practices challenging, especially when it comes to littering. This study's aim was to explore the perspectives of taxi drivers and commuters regarding littering. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews with 191 taxi drivers and commuters at four taxi ranks in two local municipalities in South Africa, using convenience and availability sampling. We utilised the lens of Vihersalo's environmental citizenship to formulate thematic categories of analysis to examine the responses received. This lens reveals a normative and descriptive account of environmental citizenship within the context of undesirable waste disposal practices related to taxi transportation. The study suggests that promoting environmental citizenship can contribute towards sustainability goals and environmental protection by encouraging participation in anti-littering behaviour. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Anthropocene refers to a geological epoch dominated by humans. Within this epoch atmospheric, geological, hydrological, biospheric and other earth systemic processes change due to human activity and can no longer only be ascribed to nature. The far-reaching effects of human activity lead to vulnerability of the earth system. One of the consequences of human activity that has a profound impact in the Anthropocene and that acts as a catalyst of vulnerability, is waste. In fact, Hecht (2018:111) has described the Anthropocene as the "apotheosis of waste". Within the context of the Anthropocene this article explores Martha Fineman's vulnerability theory and Louis Kotzé's related and extended framework of earth systemic vulnerability. Both Fineman and Kotzé argue for a destabilisation of traditional legal subjectivity. Their point of departure is not the Western, liberal autonomous subject, but rather the universal vulnerable subject that demands a responsive state. A responsive state should produce sources of resilience to counteract universal vulnerability. Kotzé's theoretical extension of Fineman's universal vulnerability to earth system vulnerability is in step with the nonhuman turn, a movement associated with the late twentieth century, and set on the decentering of humans. Instead, the movement accentuates the agency of nonhumans. By extending the universal vulnerable subject to be more inclusive and encompass the nonhuman subject as well, the vulnerability of other elements of the earth system can also be highlighted. Fineman's response to traditional notions of subjectivity emerged as a critique of formal equality. It is therefore necessary to consider whether the notion of the universal vulnerable subject is relevant in the South African context. The latter is characterised by a human rights approach advocating substantive equality. Although the South African approach to human rights therefore differs from the American one, Kotzé highlights other shortcomings of human rights in the Anthropocene. They create space for vulnerability theory to enhance approaches to complex problems associated with the epoch. The concept of the universal vulnerable subject can, for instance, be utilised to question the anthropocentric approach to subjectivity. After establishing that vulnerability theory and earth system vulnerability can contribute to the South African socio-legal discourse on the Anthropocene, the authors explore earth systemic vulnerability of vulnerable subjects in the context of landfills. These vulnerabilities, cautions Kohn (2014:27), are not innate to the vulnerable subject but are produced by relationships between the subjects and their environments. Building on this proviso, the article demonstrates that earth systemic vulnerability is caused by relationships between vulnerable human and nonhuman subjects and the landfill environment on both micro- and macroecological levels. It traces personal, relational and institutional vulnerabilities of both nonhuman and human entities. The article traces nonhuman and human vulnerabilities related to microecological bacterial relationships in the context of waste decomposition in landfills, personal and relational vulnerabilities caused by relationships between waste pickers, other stakeholders and their environment, and eventually global relationships that expose personal, relational and institutional vulnerability of macroecologies. By introducing a broad and expansive universal vulnerable subject inclusive of nonhuman entities, the authors endeavour to contribute to the legal theoretical foundation of waste management by advocating a progressive approach to waste theory. This analysis is analogous to similar work done within the context of climate change. Within the Anthropocene there is room for theoretical work using a wider lens that not only concentrates on the local context, but rather highlights the vulnerability of micro- and macroecologies. Due to scope considerations two other aspects of the vulnerability analysis will be considered in a forthcoming article, in which we will consider how vulnerable subjects use sources of resilience to counter earth system vulnerability and investigate the role of the responsive state in the creation of sources of resilience. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The concept of circular economy includes three aspects from a human perspective, namely Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle. Studying human behaviour is important in understanding and evaluating the possible success of any of the three elements. We explored the link between household waste practices and local governments' ability to provide proper waste management, as stipulated in the South African Constitution, as well as the factors linked to different waste management practices through a cross-case analysis using a mixed-method research design. Households in Calvinia, Philippolis and Polokwane handle waste differently due to different levels of municipal waste services rendered and the availability of local recycling options. Most households in all three towns indicated their willingness to take part in recycling. Surprisingly, the level of household income has no statistically significant impact on waste behaviour. On the other hand, the one factor that does impact on waste behaviour is the inclusion of recycling projects in school curricula. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Understanding solid waste composition has frequently been cited as one of the most valuable resources to those responsible for the proper management of solid waste. The unique contribution of this article lies in the fact that a waste characterisation study, conducted in a remote rural town in South Africa, was combined with an illegal dumping contents mapping and a household survey. This enabled researchers to gain a more thorough understanding of household waste management practices and challenges in this community, bridging the knowledge gap that is created when illegal dumping and household perceptions are omitted from waste characterisation studies in study areas where illegal dumping is an ongoing concern. The study therefore contributes to understanding the waste behaviour of households within the larger context of the town's waste management practices. Results indicate that, in order for municipalities to fully understand how to manage their waste, the contents of illegal dumping, where present, and household surveys should also be included in waste characterisation assessments. • Waste characterisation studies influence decisions which increase effectiveness in waste management. • Combining waste characterisation, illegal content mapping and a household survey, guide improved waste management. • Poor communities in South Africa struggle to manage several waste fractions. • Managing illegal dumping needs to be done alongside the communities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]