IN
DEGREE PROJECT TECHNOLOGY,
FIRST CYCLE, 15 CREDITS ,
STOCKHOLM SWEDEN 2018
Sanitation and Waste to
Value for Informal
Settlements
A field study in Johannesburg, South Africa
KRISTIN HOLMLUND
JOHANNA WINDH
KTH ROYAL INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY
Sammanfattning
Människors levnadsstandard i underutvecklade områden kan förbättras genom att möjliggöra tillgång till adekvat sanitet och ren förnybar energi. Det kan också generera positiva effekter såsom minskad arbetslöshet och bättre hälsa vilket i sin tur leder till minskad kriminalitet och segregation i samhället.
Detta kandidatexamensarbete utfördes inom det större projektet “Sanitation and Waste to Value for Informal Settlement Project” som en förstudie i Johannesburg, Sydafrika. Syftet med arbetet var att ta fram ett underlag om rådande situation i studieområdet för att i ett senare skede kunna utveckla och implementera ett sanitetssystem som möter samhällets behov och utvinner förnybar energi från avfall. Målet med sanitetssystemet är att det ska bidra till en bättre levnadsstandard i samhället genom att införa ett lokalt kretslopp som innefattar energi, sanitet och socioekonomi.
Abstract
Access to adequate sanitation and renewable clean energy can improve the living standards in developing communities in informal settlements. This can also generate effects such as reduced unemployment and better health, which in turn can contribute to less violence and less segregation.
This work was conducted as a pre study within a bigger project which includes development of a new sanitation system intended to provide renewable energy, proper toilets and create job opportunities in Jackson, an informal settlement in Gauteng, South Africa. The objectives of this study was to identify the strengths, (S), weaknesses, (W), opportunities, (O) and threats, (T) that an implementation of a new sanitation system could face from a sustainability point of view. Investigations were made to define currently used energy sources, sanitation facilities and the socio-economic situation. To be able to reach the objectives of the research question, data were collected through a workshop with a focus group and distributions of questionnaires in the study area was made.
Acknowledgement
We would like to express our very great appreciation to the University of South Africa, especially the Institution for the Development of Energy for African Sustainability who hosted us and were very helpful during our stay in Johannesburg. Regarding funding for this study, we would like to thank Åforsk and Palmefonden for their financial support.
List of figures
Figure 1. Circular economy of the Sandati™ system (Nersjö et al., 2018) ... 9
Figure 2. The design of the future sanitation facilities (Nersjö et al., 2018) ... 11
Figure 3. Jackson, Johannesburg (Google Earth, 2018) ... 14
Figure 4. Households and road conditions in Jackson ... 15
Figure 5. sSWOT model based on the original idea from Metzger, et al., (2012) ... 18
Figure 6. Use of energy sources in Jackson ... 19
Figure 7. Paraffin use per week ... 21
Figure 8. Accessibility and collection of water ... 22
Figure 9. Construction of toilet... 23
Figure 10. Satisfaction of current toilets ... 24
Figure 11. Experience of criminality regarding toilets ... 24
Figure 12. Experience of going to toilet at night ... 25
Figure 13. Willingness to pay for a new sanitation facility ... 26
Figure 14. sSWOT idenfied from defined system ... 28
Figure 15. sSWOT identified from Q and S ... 29
Figure 16. sSWOT identified from the workshop ... 30
Figure 17. sSWOT identified from Q, W and S ... 31
List of tables
Table of content
1 Introduction ...8
1.1 Aim and objective... 8
2 Background ...9
2.1 The sanitation system ... 9
2.1.1 First phase ... 10
2.1.2 Second phase → Sandati™ ... 10
2.2 Socio-economic situation in South Africa ... 11
2.3 Energy and environmental situation in South Africa ... 12
3 Methodology... 14
3.1 Site description ... 14
3.2 System definition ... 15
3.3 Field work and questionnaires ... 15
3.3.1 Questions ... 16
3.4 Workshop with focus group ... 16
3.5 sSWOT based on defined system, questionnaires and workshop ... 17
3.5.1 Threats and Opportunities ... 18
3.5.2 Strengths and Weaknesses ... 18
4 Results ... 19
4.1 Results from questionnaires ... 19
4.1.1 sSWOT-analysis based on defined system ... 28
4.1.2 Socio-economic sSWOT-analysis based on questionnaires ... 29
4.2 Results from the workshop with focus group ... 30
4.3 Final sSWOT-analysis ... 31
5 Discussion ... 33
5.1 Interpretation and analysis of results ... 33
5.1.1 Consequences with providing renewable energy... 33
5.1.2 Quality of life ... 34
5.1.3 Project Management ... 35
5.1.4 Willingness and acceptance... 35
5.2 Limitations and significance ... 37
6 Conclusion ... 39
6.1 Future work ... 39
1 Introduction
South Africa is a country of 56 million people inhabitants (UNCTADstat, 2018). Statistics shows that 22.3 % of the households of South Africa are non-formal dwellings and that 22.1 % do not have access to improved sanitation, meaning facilities that are hygienical enough for non-human contact with human excreta (Statistics South Africa, 2013). Informal settlements are often unplanned and illegal, inhabited by poor people, these areas are highly disposed to inadequate sanitation and solid waste management systems (UNHabitat, 2003). Hence, the lack of proper hygienic facilities could cause serious health and safety issues (Mwanza, 2003).
Implementing new sanitation systems in informal settlements will provide the communities with renewable clean energy, job opportunities as well as adequate and secure sanitation. This will not only increase the human well-being in rural areas but also have an impact towards reaching the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals. (Amigun et al., 2012).
1.1 Aim and objective
This work was conducted as a part of a pilot project with the goal to develop a new sanitation system for rural areas called Sanitation and waste to value for informal settlements. The purpose is to contribute to better living standards in underdeveloped communities as it will generate effects, such as reduced unemployment and better health, which in turn will contribute to less violence and segregation.
This bachelor thesis aimed to provide useful data for future development of the sanitation system to meet the needs of the people in an informal settlement, Jackson, South Africa. The goal was to deliver a sSWOT analysis (sustainability aspects of the Strength, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats identified). Hence, following research question was developed:
2 Background
Firstly a definition of the sanitation system is presented, followed by a theoretical background describing the sanitation, socio-economic, energy and environmental situation in South Africa.
2.1 The sanitation system
A pilot project called Sanitation and Waste to value for informal settlements was initiated during 2017 with the vision to create a circular economy system that will produce low-cost renewable energy and increase job opportunities while providing clean, safe and sustainable sanitation, see Figure 1. The initiator of the project is the company Mundati which develop a sanitation system named Sandati™, facilities intended to be implemented in areas where there is no supportive infrastructure and no adequate sanitation system. The purpose with the implementation is to contribute to better living standards in underdeveloped communities as it will generate effects, such as reduced unemployment and better health, which in turn will contribute to less violence and segregation. (Nersjö et al., 2018).
Figure 1. Circular economy of the Sandati™ system (Nersjö et al., 2018)
2.1.1 First phase
The first stage of the project aimed at collecting data to design a successful and accepted system for a particular research area named Jackson, an informal settlement in South Africa. For this part of the project, UNISA was the main stakeholder as the local representative. Their role was to work as project leader with front-end responsibility towards the Jackson community and the research needed from the area. (Nersjö et al., 2018)
2.1.2 Second phase → Sandati™
Once the required data from Jackson is compiled and analyzed, the next phase of the project will consist of implementing public simple sanitation cabinets and a biogas facility in the area. The aim of this phase is to conduct a user study that will be necessary for the final design of the Sandati™ system. The end user facilities will be provided with energy from built-in solar panels that will be connected to lightning and radio modules. (Nersjö et al., 2018)
Figure 2. The design of the future sanitation facilities (Nersjö et al., 2018)
2.2 Socio-economic situation in South Africa
Most of the informal settlements in South Africa appeared during the post-Apartheid period which mean that people living in these areas have different cultural backgrounds and various socio-economic conditions. Some of the people live in the informal settlements for a short period of time, while others stay in the area their whole lives which can complicate cohesion creation within the community. (Mels et al., 2009).
Richard et al., (2007) identified the key factors contributing to the quality of life in an informal settlement outside Johannesburg, being employment status, having access to entertainment, clean streets, roads, and services, such as flush toilets and community services. Dissatisfaction was found to be clearly connected to crime and violence, along with drug abuse and the lack of government officials to deal with these problems. In addition, stress, low number of employment opportunities and being unhealthy were factors that were found having a strong influence on the quality of life (Richard et al., 2007).
Due to the lack of resources in informal settlements, sanitation systems are often shared among several households (Mels et al., 2009). Conflicts between households, regarding maintenance care of the sanitation system therefore often appear and lead to vandalism, damage, and destruction of the systems. (Mels et al., 2009). Another result of having shared sanitation systems and toilets far from the house is that people refuse to go to the toilet because they are afraid of being assaulted or robbed on their way to the facilities (Hangulu et al., 2017).
To encourage people to use sanitation facilities it is important to have in mind the cultural and social aspects while designing new systems (Hangulu et al., 2017). A helpful parameter would be to involve members from the communities in the design phase to create sustainable sanitation (Hangulu et al., 2017).
2.3 Energy and environmental situation in South Africa
A study conducted to address sanitations problems in rural areas made by Sibanda et al. (2013), showed that biogas from human waste as primary source of energy could involve savings of wood and paraffin. It could also lead to reduced CO2 emissions and therefore decrease the environmental impact (Sibanda et al., 2013). A high percentage of South Africa’s population does not have access to adequate sanitation systems which is a primary source for human well-being and an improved system could increase the quality of life (Richard et al., 2007).
Areas that are disposed to inadequate sanitation systems are mostly informal settlements due to poor maintenance of the facilities. A crucial parameter for maintenance of sanitation systems is the accessibility. A study named “Sanitation services for the informal settlements of Cape Town, South Africa” made by Mels et al., (2009) shows that due to flooding prone areas and lack of infrastructure, only 22% of the settlements are reachable for trucks and tankers to empty toilet waste. In addition, a numerous of settlements are situated on private land which means that service staff will need permission to enter and to perform their duties. (Mels et al., 2009).
3 Methodology
The bachelor’s thesis consisted of gathering the Energy & Environmental and Socio-Economic aspects to create a sustainability SWOT-analysis. The methods that were used were dialogues with the company Mundati to define the sanitation system, distribution of questionnaires to people living in Jackson, Johannesburg, along with a workshop with a focus group which will be described further in this chapter.
3.1 Site description
The field study took place in Jackson which is an informal settlement located in Gauteng, South Africa. Jackson is surrounded by farming and consists of approximately 1500 households, see Figure 3.
The community is built on private land which makes it an illegal settlement. The people live in shacks which do not have access to electricity and the infrastructure, such as roads and sewage systems is poor in the area (Figure 4).
Figure 4. Households and road conditions in Jackson
3.2 System definition
The sanitation system was defined through dialogues, meetings and email conversations with the company Mundati.
3.3 Field work and questionnaires
To process the questionnaires, UNISA had established contact with Elethu Themba Public high school situated next to Jackson. A class of students got to hand out the UNISA made questionnaires a couple of times to neighbors and family two weeks before the main distribution of questionnaires was held in Jackson. Seminars were held together with the high school to discuss the accuracy of the findings from the first questionnaires and to awaken interest of students in sustainability and technology. This way the questionnaires could be tested, and changes could be made to adjust the questions to be more understandable and clear. The final questionnaire can be found in Appendix A. The purpose of having the children help handing out the questionnaires was to collect many responses and to build trust between the community in Jackson and the research group. The data from the questionnaires were compiled in Google Forms and Excel before they were analyzed
3.3.1 Questions
The main issues regarding energy, environment, sanitation and socio-economic aspects that address the research question of the study in Jackson were evaluated through the questions below:
1. What are the energy sources used for cooking, lightening, heating of house and boiling water?
2. What are the worries and thoughts about the energy sources (Paraffin, Gas, Wood, Coal, Generator/petrol, Electricity) used in the household?
3. What are the cost of buying the energy source used in the household?
4. What are the living conditions regarding sanitation, water accessibility and waste management in Jackson?
5. What are the experience of using current sanitation system?
3.4 Workshop with focus group
on the questionnaires. Additional purposes of the workshop were to widen the perspective and get more input that might not have been covered by the questionnaires.
The workshop started with an introduction of how a sSWOT-analysis is conducted and how the project could gain from using the tool. Before initiating the group discussion, all participants got to create a sSWOT individually to make sure everyone got the chance to reflect on their own opinions and avoid influence other participants. During the individual task, the questions below were displayed for the participants to have in mind when writing down their own reasoning.
● The current sanitation system in Jackson? ● The current use of energy in Jackson?
● The current solid waste handling system in Jackson?
● What will be changed with the new implementation of the planned sanitation system in
Jackson?
3.5 sSWOT based on defined system, questionnaires and
workshop
Figure 5. sSWOT model based on the original idea from Metzger, et al., (2012)
The analysis based on the questionnaire data was compiled in three sSWOTs, one based on the defined sanitation system and one containing the results from the questionnaires. One additional sSWOT with the same structure were created based on the analysis of the workshop. The three sSWOTs were compiled in one final sSWOT to present the most crucial parameters for making a future prioritization and act accordingly. The main factors of the analysis will be explained further in the following two sections.
3.5.1 Threats and Opportunities
The startup of the analysis consisted of identifying the main parameters with an external point of view to highlight threats and opportunities. The investigation of threats was based on finding obstacles with direct and indirect impact for implementation of a new sanitation system in Jackson, Johannesburg. Once the threats were identified opportunities were listed to eliminate the challenges (Metzger et al., 2012).
3.5.2 Strengths and Weaknesses
4 Results
The outcome of the field study in Jackson was 104 fully or partly answered questionnaires. The findings from the questionnaire are explained further in the following chapters. 49% of the respondents were women and 25% were men, the remaining percentage did not answer the question about gender. Among the respondents who answered the question about gender, 48% have an education level lower than grade 10. The currency used to describe prices is South African Rand, 1 rand (R1) equals 0.70 Swedish Krona (VA Finans, 2018).
4.1 Results from questionnaires
The findings are explained further in the next couple of chapters.
1. What are the energy sources used for cooking, lightening and heating of house?
The statistics presenting the usage of energy sources are shown in Figure 6. The most common energy source used for cooking is paraffin with a percentage of 69.9%, followed by gas with a percentage of 33%. Regarding heating the households, the most common energy sources are wood, coal and paraffin heater. Candles are the main source used for lighting.
2. What are the worries and thoughts about the energy sources (Paraffin, Gas, Wood, Coal, Generator/petrol, Electricity) used in the household?
The respondents were asked to rate their worry for usage of their particular energy sources on a scale from 0 to 5, 0 being not worried and 5 being very worried every time I use it. The result from these questions is shown in Table 1 below.
Table 1. Data outcome of question regarding worries about usage of energy sources
0 1 2 3 4 5 Paraffin 20,3% 1,4% 0,0% 1,4% 4,1% 73,0% Coal 33,3% 6,7% 0,0% 0,0% 0,0% 60,0% Wood 43,9% 5,3% 0,0% 1,8% 1,8% 47,4% Gas 52,5% 2,5% 2,5% 0,0% 0,0% 42,5% Candles 13,1% 6,6% 0 3,3% 3,3% 73,8%
If the respondents experienced worry when using their energy source, they were asked to explain the reasons further. 73% of the respondents are very worried every time they use paraffin and the most common explanations was the disliking of smoke and that the paraffin affects eyes, lungs and the food cooked by it. People also shared their worries about having children mistaking the paraffin for water and drinking it.
“My small children can harm and they can also drink it”.
“It smells and it is not good for people’s health, it also causes headache”.
Coal users have worries about the smoke and the risk of fire spreading. 66.2% of the wood users get their wood by collecting it from the bush. Hence, people are worried about the distance it takes to walk there and not finding enough wood. In addition, the respondents are worried about the smoke caused when making fire from wood.
The data in Table 1 shows that gas users are more confident with their energy source. Respondents explain positive parameters about gas usage, such as fast cooking and long-lasting containers. The worries about gas were about the risk of leaking containers and explosions.
“Like that it cooks very fast and makes light to the house and dislike that it can cause fires if its left opened.”
“It may explode and catch up flames and it can affect you in chest pains. It is easy to burn”
73% of the candle users are worried every time they light candles. A majority of the respondents explain that they are scared of candles causing a fire.
“It is dangerous, if you forget to blow them out it can burn the whole house”
3. What are the cost of buying the energy source used in the household?
The majority of paraffin users (86%) uses 1-5 liters of paraffin per week, 11.6% uses 6-10 liters and remaining respondents use 11-16 liters per week (Figure 7).
The cost of paraffin per liter is R10 according to 54% of the respondents. However, the data compiled regarding the cost of paraffin, coal and wood was highly scattered.
4. What are the living conditions regarding sanitation, water accessibility and waste management in Jackson?
The result from the questionnaires says that it is most common to have 2-4 persons living in each household in Jackson and only 34.7% (95 responses) share their yard with other households. It is common that 1-7 people stay in the same yard and 86% (43 responses) say they share one toilet. The drinking water is mostly collected from taps located outside the houses (70.1%) or community taps (23.7%) and 6.2% (97 responses) have their tap for drinking water inside the house (Figure 8). Regarding accessibility of water, 77.4% ( 93 responses) does not experience any problem while the remaining percentage do (Figure 8).
93.8% ( 96 responses) have a non-flushing toilet and 90.5% (95 responses) have a pit toilet. The toilets were built by the government according to 95.8% (96 responses) and the remaining amount was built by the family or previous owner of the house (Figure 9).
Figure 9. Construction of toilet
5. What are the experiences of using the current sanitation system?
The satisfaction rate identified was that 47.2% (89 responses) is not satisfied while the rest is very satisfied with their current toilet (Figure 10).
Figure 10. Satisfaction of current toilets
35.2% (54 responses) has experienced criminals who steal or break things in the toilets (Figure 11).
An issue that could be identified was that 60.8% (97 responses) does not feel safe enough to use their toilet at night (Figure 12).
Figure 12. Experience of going to toilet at night
The reasons for this was explained through people who feel afraid of criminals in the area and the darkness since the toilets does not have lighting. However, most of the respondent do not have any problem, except from the smell, of going to the toilet during daytime.
“At night time, I am scared of criminals and darkness” “At night, it is dark and I'm having fear of being robbed”
“Yes, someone could catch me, kill me, or do anything bad to me.”
Table 2. Importance of different improvement areas regarding sanitation facilities
1 2 3 4 5
…smell free? 3,2% 0,0% 2,1% 3,2% 91,6%
…close to the house? 24,0% 2,1% 7,3% 5,2% 61,5%
…just for your family? 7,4% 1,1% 3,2% 5,3% 83,0%
…provided with lighting? 10,4% 1,0% 4,2% 2,1% 82,3%
…efficiently and regularly removed from sewage? 4,1% 2,1% 6,2% 2,1% 85,6%
…safe and secure? 5,1% 0,0% 2,0% 5,1% 87,8%
…not in need of cleaning? 34,0% 3,1% 3,1% 4,1% 55,7%
…clean? 3,1% 0,0% 1,0% 4,1% 91,8%
…contamination free? 5,6% 0,0% 4,5% 3,4% 86,5%
From the question regarding what the people believed what a new and better toilet would cost them, the majority of 54.3% (81 responses) answered R500 - R1000 and 59.3% (91 responses) answered Yes to the question if they would be willing to pay for it (Figure 13).
Figure 13. Willingness to pay for a new sanitation facility
4.1.1 sSWOT-analysis based on defined system
The sSWOT-analysis in Figure 14 presents the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats based on the defined sanitation system.
sSWOT based on defined system
STRENGTHS WEAKNESSES
• Renewable energy provider
• Usage of solar panels to light up the toilets
• Usage of solar panels to connect
electronics to analyze the use of cabinets • Smell free and clean toilets
• IT-system for waste management • The system will provide lighted toilets • The system will provide water for hygiene
purposes
OPPORTUNITIES THREATS
• Chemical fertilizers can be partly phased out by organic fertilizers
• Using biogas as a source for cooking, lightning and heating up water will reduce the use of paraffin, coal, wood, and candles, and reduce the environmental impact and health risks
• The system will increase job opportunities • The system will provide low cost and
renewable energy source for cooking, lighting and heating
4.1.2 Socio-economic sSWOT-analysis based on questionnaires
The sSWOT-analysis in Figure 15 presents S, W, O and Ts related to the socio-economic, energy and environmental factors of the user study collected from the questionnaires.
sSWOT based on questionnaires
STRENGTHS WEAKNESSES
• Lighted toilets are considered very important by the community
• 86.5% of the community finds it very important that their toilet is contamination free
• One of the biggest dissatisfaction factor is the odor of the current toilets
• The people of Jackson already have an accepted and free of charge sanitation system
• 61.5% of the respondents find it very important to have nearby toilets*
• 43% would not pay for a public toilet that is safe, clean and serviced*
• 83% of the households find it very important to have a toilet only for the family
• 40.7% would not pay for a better private toilet because they are unemployed and cannot afford it
• The community of Jackson already has an accepted and free of charge sanitation system
OPPORTUNITIES THREATS
• A majority of the people are worried every time they use their current energy sources: paraffin, candles, wood and coal
• The current gas users like the fast heating for cooking
• 82.3% of the respondents would like to improve their toilet with lighting
• 47.2% of the respondents is not satisfied with their current sanitation system • 87.8% of the respondents finds it very
important to have a safe and secure toilet • The majority of the community members
want to improve the solid waste handling in the area
• Littering and the waste handling system is an issue in Jackson
• 26.8% of the community throws other waste than toilet paper in the toilet
• Rats are common in the area and damage properties
• High occurrence of murders, robberies and people being locked inside toilets prevent people from using toilets at night
• Majority of the people wish to have a flushing toilet
* Refers to the implementation of a public sanitation system
4.2 Results from the workshop with focus group
Two master students, one PhD student and three researchers working within the project participated in the workshop. The findings are presented in Figure 16.
sSWOT based on workshop
STRENGTHS WEAKNESSES
• Good relationships and partnerships • Real need for new toilets
• Currently used energy sources are poor • Multidiscipline: civil engineers, chemical
engineers, mechanical engineers and social scientist can provide different aspects on the project
• Positive Involvement of the community: through the high school students • People are excited
• A big test site consisting of 1500 households • Uncertainties regarding where to build the
bio-digester — need space and permission • Residents who are not willing or do not have
the resources to pay for a toilet
• The project does not have a clear project management, dedicated team and resources to manage the progress
• Low level of education within the community
OPPORTUNITIES THREATS
• Possible employment opportunities
• Possibility for clean environment to reduce health issues
• Better facilities that will reduce
contamination of water and environment • Provide clean energy — reduce the carbon
footprint
• The project can get subsidies • Improve current sanitation
• Improve safety regarding energy use — gas as substitute for paraffin
• Educating the community regarding
renewable energy, health and sustainability in connection to the implementation
• Understanding how to conduct similar projects in other places in the future • Catalyze economic activities — circular
economy, keep the resources within the project and community
• There is an existing identified source for biomass to produce renewable energy
• Safety of the proposed sanitation facility — the risk of theft of toilet parts
• Could be a bad attitude towards the new sanitation system since people might be satisfied with current system
• Community issues — criminality, lack of cohesion
• Municipality might not be willing to have the project installed
• No acceptability due to cultural issues • Legal constraints
• Lack of interest of people to get involved • The community might not be able to
understand the objectives of the project • Natural disasters: floods and hail storms • Disappointment of the people if the
expectations are not met, for example job opportunities, sanitation and energy
• People within the community might not have work ethics to take ownership of daily job
4.3 Final sSWOT-analysis
The final Strengths and Weaknesses that was compiled as the most crucial parameters from the defined sanitation system [S], questionnaires [Q] and workshop [W] are presented in Figure 17. The compiled Opportunities and Threats are presented in Figure 17 below.
sSWOT
STRENGTHS WEAKNESSES
• Renewable energy provider [S, W] • Usage of solar panels to light up the
toilets [S] — lighting is considered very important by the community [Q] • Smell free and clean toilets [S] — one of
the biggest dissatisfaction factors is the odor of the current toilets [Q]
• Poor energy sources — a majority of the people are worried every time they use their current energy sources: paraffin, candles, wood and coal [Q, W]
• Multidiscipline: civil engineers, chemical engineers, mechanical engineers and social scientist can provide different aspects on the project
• Positive involvement of the community: through the high school students [W]
• The people in Jackson already have an accepted and free of charge sanitation system [Q, W]
• 61.5% of the households finds it very important to have nearby toilets* [Q] • 83% of the households finds it very
important to have a toilet only for their family* [Q]
• 43% would not pay for a public toilet that is safe, clean and serviced* [Q]
• 40.7% would not pay for a better private toilet because they are unemployed and cannot afford it [Q, W]
• A big community for a pilot project (1500 households) [W]
• The project does not have a clear project management system, a dedicated team and resources to manage the progress [W] • Some of the current gas users are worried
about explosions and leakages [Q] * Refers to the implementation of a public sanitation system
sSWOT
OPPORTUNITIES THREATS
• There is an existing identified source for biomass to produce renewable energy [W] • Chemical fertilizers can be partly phased
out by organic fertilizers [S]
• Possible employment opportunities [S, W] • Possibility for clean environment to reduce
health issues [W]
• Better sanitation facilities that will reduce contamination of water and environment [S] — 86.5% of the community find it very important that their toilet is contamination free [Q, W]
• Provide clean, low cost, and safe energy — reduce the carbon footprint — Using biogas as a source for cooking, lighting and heating will reduce the use of paraffin, coal, wood, and candles, and reduce the environmental impact and health risks [Q, S, W]
• Educating the community regarding
renewable energy, health and sustainability in connection to the implementation [W] • Catalyze economic activities — circular economy, keep the resources within the project and community [S, W]
• The current gas users like the fast heating for cooking [Q]
• 82.3% of the respondents would like to improve their toilet with lighting [Q] • 47.2% of the community are not satisfied
with their current sanitation system [Q] • 87.8% of the households find it very
important to have a safe and secure toilet [Q]
• Littering and the waste handling system is an issue in Jackson [Q]
• Safety of the proposed sanitation facility — the risk of theft — Community issues — criminality, disliking of neighbors [Q, W] • Could be a bad attitude towards the new
sanitation system since some of the people are satisfied with their current system [Q, W] • Municipality might not be willing to have the
project installed [W]
• No acceptability due to cultural issues [W] • Legal constraints [W]
• Lack of interest of people to get involved in the project [W]
• The community might not be able to
understand the objectives of the project [W] • Low level of education within the
community [W]
• Disappointment of the people if the expectations are not met, for example job opportunities, sanitation and energy improvements [W]
• High occurrence of murders, robberies and people being locked inside toilets prevent people from using toilets at night [Q]
• Majority of the people wish to have a flushing toilet [Q]
• 26.8% of the community throws other waste than toilet paper in the toilet [Q]
* Refers to the implementation of a public sanitation system
5 Discussion
This chapter contains an analysis and interpretation of the results of the study, it also explains the limitations and significance of the research and results. The first part highlights the aims and objectives of the study, what the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats are regarding the implementation of a new sanitation system in Jackson, Gauteng. The limitations, reliability and validity are presented in the second part.
5.1 Interpretation and analysis of results
This user study was conducted with the purpose to gain understanding of an area to be able to proceed to the next step of the project, the design phase of a new sanitation system. The findings from the three methodologies could be used to reply to the research question about what the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats are with implementing a new sanitation system in Jackson. From the results, three main areas could be identified as particularly important for the continuance of the project.
5.1.1 Consequences with providing renewable energy
The sSWOT-analysis highlights the system advantages that could have an improved effect on living conditions for the people of Jackson. The current living situation in Jackson is primitive with no access to electricity, adequate sanitation, infrastructure, and a high level of unemployment. The intended system is supposed to provide renewable energy and create a circular economy to keep the money within the areas of the project. Job opportunities that follow the implementation of the system could mean that the people of Jackson get a steady income which in turn could increase the living standards. An effect of this could be that people now will afford to move to proper settlements or settle down even more in the illegal settlement of Jackson. The latter could be considered as a threat for the Government who might want to take actions to prevent the implementation since the people of Jackson are considered as illegal occupants of privately owned land (Mels et al., 2009).
could increase human well-being by improved indoor air quality (Sibanda et al. 2013). The worries in the area about the use of current energy sources such as paraffin, coal, and wood are proved to be high through the questionnaires. This could be a contributing factor for people’s willingness to implement a new energy system in the community which can be considered as an opportunity for the implementation. But on the other hand, people are afraid and worried about using gas as an energy source for cooking, which will be a disadvantage for the implementation of biogas in Jackson.
The worries about using gas for cooking and heating might be based on the low level of education within Jackson, shown from both questionnaires and workshop and is strengthened by Webb and Ronan (2014). The education level might also be a threat to the project, not having people understand the long-term objectives of the implementation of a new sanitation system which was pointed out at the workshop. Hence, an opportunity for the project could be to educate and make people in Jackson understand the importance of renewable energy, health, and sustainability in connection with the implementation of the new sanitation system. This would not only increase the level of education within the community but could also contribute to reducing the ecological footprint (Lambert & Kao Cushing, 2017).
5.1.2 Quality of life
5.1.3 Project Management
From the workshop, it was revealed that the management system of the project was more or less non-existent through the explanation that different roles of the project and its main phases have not yet been defined. This is an important threat to take into consideration for future plans as the time consumption will be longer if people are not completely committed to the project and do not have clear goals to work towards (Lindgren et al., 2014). The students and researchers at UNISA have so far conducted their part of the project on the side of their day-to-day work and no person in South Africa dedicates full-time work for the project. To make this project work and be accepted by the people it is important to not give out false hopes and disappoint the community of Jackson which could be a result of long waiting for change, while nothing happens. As explained in The more things change the more they remain the
same by Darkey and Visagie (2012) to avoid disappointment it is also important to develop,
plan and implement the sanitation system with the people in Jackson and it should not be imposed on the community.
However, a high level of commitment can be found within the project where for example high school students have a positive attitude to make their contribution to the project and learn about renewable energy. Additionally, there are postgraduate students involved from different areas of studies such as civil, mechanical, and chemical engineering which is an opportunity for the project to be provided with multidisciplinary perspectives on the implementation. Thus, the need for a clear project management is important with this high number of people involved in the project’s progress. It is also important to have a clear project management and a project plan to motivate the involved people and avoid disappointment since they are sacrificing and spending their time on the project (Lindgren et al., 2014).
5.1.4 Willingness and acceptance
with free pit latrines from the government. The people complain about the smell and the desires that could be identified through the questionnaires regarding the improvement of sanitation were that people would like to have a private toilet that could flush. Hence, one weakness that could be identified is that the first test implementation of the system might not meet these desires as the plan is to first provide the community with dry public toilets.
In addition, the identification of criminality in the area can be considered as a threat since people have experienced getting parts of their toilets stolen and are afraid of going to the toilet at night, which is also strengthened by Hangulu, L and O. Akintola (2017). Public toilets might increase the risk of thefts and amplify the fear of using the toilets after sunset. However, the toilets are planned to be safe, secure, and provided with lighting that might simplify the usage of toilets during nighttime, but will not reduce the fear of walking to the toilets at night since there are no street lights and the criminality rate is high in Jackson. Crime and violence occur as a cause of dissatisfaction with life and low living standards (Richard et al., 2007). The dissatisfaction rates in Jackson could be decreased by implementing a new sanitation system that is intended to catalyze economic activities within the area. As a result, there will be improved sanitation systems and the unemployment rates could be decreased, which in turn will increase the quality of life and decrease criminality (Richard et al., 2007).
The result gave the indication that 49.4% of the people are satisfied with their current sanitation facilities, 83% would like to have a private toilet only for the family and 61.5% would like a toilet that is close to their house. To make the people in Jackson willing to use the new facilities instead of their current toilets this has to be taken into account when developing the first test cabinets. Other things to have in mind when designing the facilities for the first phase is the risk of theft and the high criminality rate in the community. Since the inhabitants of Jackson would like to improve their solid waste management system and experience pests, such as rats as a big issue, the system could approach this problem with integrating recycling waste management in the sanitation system.
5.2 Limitations and significance
The research was limited to three methodologies consisting of a user study, conducted by questionnaires, system definition and a workshop with focus group. The thesis highlights socio-economic, energy and environmental aspects with implementing a sanitation system through an sSWOT-analysis. Investigations that were not included in the scope of this thesis, were among others: energy system analysis, how the criminality and violence rates could be decreased in Jackson, how the intended fertilizers will affect and be used in the surrounded farming and what impact the regulations and laws in South Africa will have on the implementation. These investigations are important for the future implementation of the sanitation system, due to the limitation of time and resources; this were not be covered in this work.
to identify any trends regarding gender, age and education level that could be connected to the experience of the people regarding energy sanitation and waste in the households.
The inhabitants of Jackson were not the direct respondents of the questionnaires, instead, the learners noted the responses through interviewing a number of people from Jackson. This might mean that the collected responses could have been influenced by the learners’ way of interpreting the questions and the way of asking them to the interviewees. But not to forget, the learners’ contribution to the project was crucial to collect that high amount of data in such short matter of time. The high school students were also a major part in the establishment of the relationship and trust between UNISA and the community which is, as mentioned earlier, of great importance to gain acceptance from the inhabitants of Jackson.
The perspective on the SWOT-analysis that was revealed from the workshop was important as the focus group consisted of locals who know the society of South Africa and are aware of the situation in informal settlements. The outcome of the workshop was mainly parameters that highlighted the project as whole and not specified details such as the data from questionnaires.
6 Conclusion
The findings from the study indicate that the biggest threats and weaknesses are highly connected to the acceptability of the people while the opportunities and strengths are linked to the bad living standards in Jackson. The latter implies that the disappointment factors are the ones to approach during the technology development to be able to implement an improved system from the user’s point of view. Crucial disadvantages that were found from the study are the lack of project management and knowledge of possible legal constraints. The fact that the households in Jackson already have an accepted and free of charge sanitation system along with people who does not want to share public toilets are also identified as central weaknesses. Future work should be focused on prioritizing what actions should be taken next to minimize the weaknesses and threats.
The benefits that will be gained from the implementation of the sanitation system are effects of providing the community of Jackson with adequate sanitation, job opportunities and renewable energy. This will not only increase the human well-being in the informal settlement, but also have an impact towards reaching the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals.
6.1 Future work
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6. Do you have electronics? (TV, Radio, Laptop, Computer..) Mark only one oval. YES No 7. If YES, where do you get power to run them? Mark only one oval. Electricity Batteries (like car batteries) Solar Panel Generator Other: GENERATOR 8. If you use a GENERATOR how many litres PETROL do you use per week? (one litre is like a medium size coke bottle ) Mark only one oval. Less than 1 litre per week 15 litres per week 610 litres per week 1115 litres per week More than 16 litres per week 9. What is it that you like and dislike about using a GENERATOR? 10. Do you have any worries about using a GENERATOR? Mark only one oval. 0 1 2 3 4 5 No, I'm not worried
at all Yes, I'm worried every time I usea GENERATOR
13. How much does it cost you to buy PARAFFIN per litre? 14. What is it that you like and dislike about using PARAFFIN? 15. Do you have any worries about using PARAFFIN? Mark only one oval. 0 1 2 3 4 5 No, I'm not worried
at all Yes, I'm worried every time Iuse PARAFFIN
20. Do you have any worries about using COAL? Mark only one oval. 0 1 2 3 4 5 No, I'm not worried at all Yes, I'm worried every time I use COAL 21. If you are worried, what are you worried about? WOOD 22. If you use WOOD where do you get it? Tick all that apply. Buy it Collect it form the bush or in the neighborhodd Other: 23. If you buy wood how much do you use? Mark only one oval. 1 bag per day 2 bag per day 3 bag per day 4 bag per day 5 bag per day Other: 24. If you buy WOOD how much does it cost you per bag? 25. What is it that you like and dislike about using WOOD? 26. Do you have any worries about using WOOD? Mark only one oval. 0 1 2 3 4 5 No, I'm not worried
at all Yes, I'm worried every time Iuse WOOD
27. If you are worried, what are you worried about?
GAS 28. If you use GAS, what size of gas cylinder (bottle) do you buy? Mark only one oval. 3 kg 9 kg 15 kg Other: 29. How long does the GAS last? Mark only one oval. 1 week 2 week 1 month Other: 30. What is it that you like and dislike about using GAS? 31. Do you have any worries about using GAS? Mark only one oval. 0 1 2 3 4 5 No, I'm not worried at
all Yes, I'm worried every time Iuse GAS
36. If you are worried, what are you worried about? CANDLES 37. If you have CANDLES, how many do you use per week? Mark only one oval. 15 per week 610 per week 1115 per week 1620 per week Other: 38. What is it that you like and dislike about using CANDLES? 39. Do you have any worries about using CANDLES? Mark only one oval. 1 2 3 4 5 No, I'm not worried at
all Yes, I'm worried every time I useCANDLES
