Browsing by Author "De Beer, Thys"
Now showing 1 - 1 of 1
Results Per Page
Sort Options
- ItemSustainable waste management : a decision support framework(Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University, 2013-03) De Beer, Thys; Von Leipzig, Konrad; Stellenbosch University. Faculty of Engineering. Dept. of Industrial Engineering.ENGLISH ABSTRACT: The aim of this thesis is to address the need for sustainable development within waste management. It explores how sustainability can be assessed and used as the basis for high level decision making within waste management. Stellenbosch University (SU) was used as a case study to demonstrate how information can be gathered and used for decision support. The literature reviewed, showed a wide area of focus within which sustainability is defined and how businesses and organisations shift towards a model of corporate responsibility. The concept of sustainability was then presented within waste management. Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) and Multi-Criteria Decision Analysis (MCDA), were presented as management tools that could facilitate the assessment and decision making process within a sustainable waste management framework. The two management tools, Sustainable Life Cycle Analysis (SLCA) and Analytical Hierarchal Process (AHP) (branches of LCA and MCDA respectively), were used to develop a framework to be applied to SU Waste Management System. By integrating the two tools, a framework was established that could measure the sustainability of current waste management practices and provide a decision support tool. The framework was validated by applying it to the Stellenbosch University waste system. The framework that was developed delivered a set of sustainable results from which decision makers could base policy decisions. The framework then facilitated the decision making process and a sustainable waste management policy was selected. The application modelled the decision makers preferences and resulted in a policy being selected which favoured high levels of recycling and waste prevention. The results represented an approach which, when compared to the current practice, was more expensive but more environmentally friendly and socially acceptable. The findings provide an exciting basis for future research, where decisions are based on sustainable principles. The framework has potential to be expanded into other areas of management and is not limited to a university environment.