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This article demonstrates how household solid waste (HSW) generation patterns differ in neighbourhoods of the same town by determining the composition of the residual portion of the HSW stream in 2017 in Stellenbosch. HSW was collected from 10 pre-identified suburbs out of a total of 48. These chosen suburbs and their 17 830 households were representative of all the HSW from all households in the catchment area of the Devon Valley Landfill Site. A separation at source programme was in place in nine of the suburbs. The confidence level and level of precision were set at 95% and ±8%, respectively. A total of 1543 bags of HSW were collected with a total mass of 5748.01 kg and an uncompacted volume of 84.87 m3. The samples were sorted into 7 main and 18 final fractions. The main contributor to the total waste stream was organic waste by weight (35%) and plastic wrap and packaging by uncompacted volume (32%). The average HSW generation was 0.68 kg/capita/day. Households with access to a separation at source programme tended to have lower levels of highly recyclable materials in their samples. Roll-out of a separation programme is recommended for all 48 suburbs in the study area to save landfill airspace. Correlation analysis showed that household size influenced three of the seven main waste fractions, and household income five of the seven. No statistically significant results were obtained relating to household density and waste generation. Statistically significant results were obtained through an analysis of variance for all waste fractions, excluding organics, when considering household income, indicating that both household size and income could be explanatory socio-economic factors for variations seen. Other variables, such as human behaviour, could potentially also contribute to the differences and should be further explored. [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]