Environmental impact assessment of the current, emerging, and alternative waste management systems using life cycle assessment tools: a case study of Johannesburg, South Africa.

Proper information regarding the performance of waste management systems from an environmental perspective is significant to sustainable waste management decisions and planning toward the selection of the least impactful treatment options. However, little is known about the environmental impacts of the different waste management options in South Africa. This study is therefore aimed at using the life cycle assessment tool to assess the environmental impact of the current, emerging, and alternative waste management systems in South Africa, using the city of Johannesburg as a case study.

Application of artificial neural networks for predicting the physical composition of municipal solid waste: An assessment of the impact of seasonal variation.

Sustainable planning of waste management is contingent on reliable data on waste characteristics and their variation across the seasons owing to the consequential environmental impact of such variation. Traditional waste characterization techniques in most developing countries are time-consuming and expensive; hence the need to address the issue from a modelling approach arises. In modelling the complexity within the system, a paradigm shift from the classical models to the intelligent models has been observed.

Prediction of municipal solid waste generation: an investigation of the effect of clustering techniques and parameters on ANFIS model performance.

The present waste-management system in most developing countries are insufficient to combat the challenge of increasing rate of solid waste generation. Accurate prediction of waste generated through modelling approach will help to overcome the challenge of deficient-planning of sustainable waste-management. In modelling the complexity within a system, a paradigm-shift from classical-model to artificial intelligent model has been necessitated.

A streamlined life cycle assessment of a coal-fired power plant: the South African case study.

Non-renewable energy sources have detrimental environmental effects, which directly and indirectly affect the biosphere as environmental deposits from their use for energy generation exceed a threshold. This study performs a streamlined life cycle assessment (LCA) of a coal-fired plant in South Africa. The cradle-to-grave LCA focuses on the coal cycle to determine hotspots with high environmental impacts in the process.