FG Abfallwirtschaft (ehemals)
Refine
Document Type
- Doctoral thesis (2)
Has Fulltext
- yes (2)
Is part of the Bibliography
- no (2)
Year of publication
- 2007 (2) (remove)
Language
- English (2)
Keywords
- Abfallwirtschaft (2)
- Abfall (1)
- Constraints (1)
- Environmental management systems (1)
- Ghana (1)
- Grenzen (1)
- ISO 14001 (1)
- Management (1)
- Nachhaltige Entwicklung (1)
- Nachhaltigkeit (1)
Institute
While much is known about ISO 14001 and EMAS environmental management systems in general, comparatively little knowledge is about the application of these management instruments in non-industrial sectors, including the municipal waste sector. Consequently, the intention of this paper is to assist municipal waste treatment facilities with the development of environmental management systems in which the continual improvement of environmental performance can be coupled with an increased economic efficiency and quality of delivered services. For this purpose, a manual that provides sample polices, programmes and approaches to the successful realisation of the ISO 14001 environmental management system was written. Due to more stringent requirements for the sound management of municipal solid waste, a growing number of Polish municipal waste treatment facilities have implemented or intend to implement the ISO 14001 system. By the end of 2005, 25% of facilities were formally certified to the ISO 14001 EMS, 60% of which have integrated it with the ISO 9001 QMS. The facilities, despite encountering a number of difficulties, for instance during the identification and assessment of significant environmental aspects, are also gaining numerous benefits, resulting in an improved environmental performance. Ipso facto, 37.5% of municipal waste treatment facilities in Poland have admitted that the environmental-improvement potential of EMSs is higher than economic-human costs related to its introduction and operation. All the presented information, if other sources are not adequately referenced, are based upon the author’s research, encompassing quantitative and qualitative study methods, conducted among municipal waste treatment facilities in Poland in years 2004 – 2006. The response rate of 68% guarantees credibility of the collected data.
In the quest of finding sustainable solution to solid waste management problems in Ghana, this research formulated as its goal, to mitigate policy constraints to sustainable solid waste management in Ghana. This research goal and objectives were addressed through an empirical study that involved interviews and administration of two sets of questionnaires, one set to members of parliament and the other to members of the general public. The development of questionnaires was influenced by a conceptual policy development model “The Bridge Model of Policy Development”. Administration of questionnaires to members of the general public was accomplished through random sampling within churches and mosques in three cities in Ghana; Accra, Kumasi, and Takoradi. The percentage response for members of the general public was 38.9% and that for members of parliament was 18%. Prioritization of policy options was achieved through “Differentiated Perception Ranking”, a method devised by this research process. The results revealed the relative importance of constraints to sustainable solid waste management in Ghana, the relative difficulty of mitigating constraints, and the relative difficulty of implementing policy options among others. These results were integrated with the principles of sustainability into producing a policy package for sustainable solid waste management in Ghana.