The by-products of solid waste deposited in a landfill has adverse effects on the surrounding environment and humans living closer to landfill sites. This study sought to test the hypothesis that the deposition of waste on landfill has an impact on the surrounding environment and residents living closer to it. This was achieved by evaluating the perception of the respondents drawn from people living close (100–500 m) and far (1–2 km) from the landfill site, concerning environmental issues, health problems, and life satisfaction. Results from the study showed that 78% of participants living closer to the landfill site indicated serious contamination of air quality evident from bad odours linked to the landfill site. Illnesses such as flu, eye irritation and weakness of the body were frequently reported by participants living closer to the landfill than those living far from the landfill. More than half of the participants (56%) living closer to the landfill indicated fear of their health in the future. Thus, the participants living closer to the landfill site were less satisfied with the location of their community with respect to the landfill, than those living far from the landfill site. Therefore, the need for a landfill gas (LFG) utilisation system, proper daily covering of waste and odour diluting agents are necessary to reduce the problems of the residents living closer to the landfill site.

This review evaluates the current Landfill Gas (LFG) utilisation technology across Africa and gives general overview on the global context. With the increase in global Municipal Solid Waste (MSW), the world has embraced landfilling to be its major way of MSW management. About 85% of the world’s MSW is deposited in landfills. This has brought increased concerns of gases emitted from landfill sites. These gases have contributed enormously to the global anthropogenic Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emission which are detrimental to the world’s environmental media. Although significant progress has been made on the utilization of landfill gases but this is limited to some developed countries, while in Africa, there has been limited strategies and control of LFG emissions. This review spotted several reasons that could have influenced the low development of LFG utilisation in Africa as ranging from lack of skilled expertise, inadequate knowledge of the technology involved, lack of political will, inadequate funding for LFG utilization projects and monopoly of the power sector among others. It is recommended that urgent attention should be given to LFG utilisation as it can aid in acquiring carbon credits, reduction in obnoxious smell and odours, and provide the much-needed energy which is crippling the economy in Africa as well as reducing the consequences associated with the release of greenhouse gases to the environment.

Landfill gas composition comprises mainly of methane and carbon dioxide emissions and other Nonmethane Organic Carbons (NMOCs). Methane gas has a global warming potential that is estimated to be 25–36 over 100 years. Interestingly, methane generated from landfills is a renewable source of energy that has been used over the years as a source of electricity generation especially in developed and in some developing countries. However, methane from landfills has been underutilized in South Africa. Due to the recent unreliable electricity disruptions (load shedding) in South Africa, which is caused by a variety of factors. Prioritizing methane produced from landfills for use as a fuel for electricity generation is critical. This will assist to minimize the over-reliance on coal and, reduce the ongoing landfill gas generation. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to estimate the amount of methane emitted from Weltervenden landfill site using the LandGEM version 3.02 and Afvalzorg models and to evaluate the potential utilization of the gases emitted. The study was also aimed at determining the cost and benefits related to the implementation of a landfill gas utilization technology. The findings of this study show that methane emissions from the landfill will peak in the year 2023 with values of 4613 Mg/year and 3128 Mg/year for LandGem and Afvalzorg models, respectively. Also, the total methane emissions from the year 1999 to 2050, are 111,799.25 Mg/year and 27,898.93 Mg/year for both LandGEM and Afvalzorg models, respectively. The LFGcost web model simulations showed that the implementation of a LFG utilization project using Microturbine and CHP microturbine engines are economically feasible. This is considering the sales of electricity to the people. However, considering the sales of electricity generated and Certified Emission Reductions (CER) (carbon credits) to the global market all engines used in this study will be economically feasible. Implications: The methane emitted from the Polokwane landfill estimated from LandGEM and Afvalzorg models will peak in year 2023 at 4613 Mg/year and 3128 Mg/year, respectively. Also, the total methane emissions from the year 1999 to 2050, are 111,799.25 Mg/year and 27,898.93 Mg/year for both LandGEM and Afvalzorg models, respectively. The LFGcost web model simulations showed that the implementation of a LFG utilization project using Microturbine and CHP microturbine engines are economically feasible. This is considering the sales of electricity to the people. Therefore, implementation of LFG utilization is economically feasible from sales of electricity generated and Certified Emission Reductions

The increase in solid waste generation has been a major contributor to the amount of Greenhouse gases (GHGs) present in the atmosphere. To some extent a great chunk of these GHGs in the atmosphere is from landfill. This study assesses two theoretical models (LandGEM and Afvalzorg models) to estimate the amount of landfill gas (LFG) emitted from Thohoyandou landfill site. Also, the LFGcost Web model was used to estimate the cost and benefits of the implementation of a LFG utilisation technology. The Thohoyandou landfill started operations in the year 2005 and it is proposed to reach its peak at approximately, year 2026. The LandGEM calculates the mass of landfill gas emission using methane generation capacity, mass of deposited waste, methane generation constant and methane generation rate. Meanwhile, the Afvalzorg model determines the LFG emissions using the Methane correction factor, yearly waste mass disposal, waste composition, Degradation Organic Carbon, methane generation rate constant, LFG recovery efficiency. The study findings’ indicate that the methane (CH₄) and carbon dioxide (CO₂) emitted from the landfill estimated from LandGEM will peak in the year 2026 with values of 3517 Mg/year and 9649 Mg/year, respectively. Results from the Afvalzorg model shows that CH₄ emission will peak in the year 2026 (3336 Mg/year). The LandGEM model showed that the total LFG, CH₄ and CO₂ emitted from the landfill between 2005 and 2040 are 293239.3 Mg/year, 78325.7 Mg/year and 214908.6 Mg/year, respectively. The simulation from the Afvalzorg model found that the CH₄ emitted from the years 2005 – 2040 is 74302 Mg/year. The implementation of a LFG utilisation technology was economically feasible from consideration of the sales of electricity generated and Certified Emission Reductions (CER) (carbon credits).

South Africa is a semi-arid, water-stressed country. Adequate measures should be put in place to prevent water wastage. This paper aims to assess domestic water wastage and determine the proper attitude towards household water management in rural and urban communities in South Africa. This study was conceptualised in two stages. Firstly, critical observations were used to examine the attitude of households towards water usage in both urban and rural communities (Durban and Thohoyandou, respectively). Secondly, structured questionnaires and interviews were used to identify the factors that influenced the participants’ attitudes towards domestic water usage. This study concludes that, irrespective of the literacy level, accessibility to limited water supply, information available through advertisements about water scarcity, and better water management in an urban community, the rural community has a better attitude towards domestic water usage and water management. The result (83.3%) also indicated that the rural community strongly agreed to be water savers in their homes. However, in the urban community, the results from the participants were somewhat evenly distributed; the participants strongly agreed and disagreed at 36.2% and 32.2%, respectively. Other results of the study also showed that variables such as family upbringing, inaccessibility of domestic water, and advertisement play a major role in influencing the attitude of the rural community to water usage. These variables were statistically significant at p < 0.001. However, the immediate environment was shown to be not statistically significant at p < 0.911. Based on the study results, it is recommended that households should be encouraged to generate greywater collection systems to reduce water use and improve water reuse. The government could introduce a rationed allocation (shedding) of domestic water in urban communities to draw attention to the prevalence of water scarcity in the nation.

The government-accredited GA 2000 landfill gas analyzer was used to monitor the landfill gas (methane (CH₄) and carbon dioxide (CO₂)) generated from the subsurface of a landfill. Eighteen gas sample probes were constructed and placed approximately 100 m apart on the boundaries of the landfill site. The monitoring of the gases was conducted over a period of two years, taking into consideration the different seasons of the year. Results from the study show that as the LFG migrates toward the boundaries of the landfill in the subsurface, higher CO₂ levels are recorded when compared to CH₄. This could be a result of the oxidation process and some other factors present in the landfill. CH₄ emissions ranged from 0.54 to 2.22% v/v in 2020. For the year 2021, the CH₄ concentration ranged from 0.24% v/v to 2.33% v/v. In addition, the CO₂ concentration for the year 2020 ranged from 4.66 to 6.37% v/v. In the year 2021, the CO₂ concentration ranged from 3.5 to 6.56% v/v. Furthermore, higher gaseous concentrations were found in the surrounding active cells, where there is currently deposition of municipal solid waste (MSW). However, the monitoring probes situated in areas far away from the landfill recorded lower gaseous levels. This study recommends that there should be continuous monitoring of the LFG emission from the Thohoyandou landfill due to the different results obtained over the temporal variation. Frequent monitoring will help prevent the potential risk of fire hazards and pollution in the future.