Rinie Schenck

Verified

Rinie verified their affiliation via an institutional email.

Learn more

Verified

Rinie verified their affiliation via an institutional email.

Learn more

• BA (SW) BA (SW) Hons, MA (SW), MA (SS), PhD
• DSI/NRF/CSIR Research Chair at University of the Western Cape

The Industry Waste Tyre Management Plan, published by South Africa's Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment in 2024, aimed to create an enabling environment for the collection and recycling of waste tyres in South Africa and the creation of a circular economy. A role player excluded in the waste tyre value chain is the informal waste...

The environmental impacts of disposable diapers in comparison to reusable diapers have been a matter of interest within the life cycle assessment (LCA) community for many years. However, the majority of LCAs have been conducted in developed countries with well-developed waste management infrastructure. This study takes a critical view of the applic...

Day labouring is one of the most visible forms of precarious employment in South Africa as those involved earn low and uncertain levels of income, leaving many of them in a state of deprivation, poverty, and marginalisation. This article aims to contribute to the documentation and analysis of the precarious nature of informal employment and the vul...

This open access book offers an original exploration of how the notion of pluriversalism, an anti-colonial concept that resounds throughout many decolonial methodologies and pedagogies, underlies many current attempts to develop more just and equitable approaches to social work teaching and research. Despite its prominence in other fields, pluriver...

In Suid-Afrika het deurlopende uitdagings met werkloosheid daartoe gelei dat baie individue geleenthede in die informele sektor soek in 'n poging om 'n bestaan te maak. Die aanvang van die COVID-19-pandemie het regeringsinperkingsmaatreëls tot gevolg gehad, wat kwesbare werkers in hierdie sektor wesenlik beïnvloed het. Hierdie studie het die subjek...

Deposit return systems (DRSs) have proven successful in achieving high collection rates of single-use beverage containers when implemented in various countries around the world. In a DRS, consumers pay a small fully refundable deposit when they purchase a packaged beverage. The deposit is then refunded when the used beverage container is returned t...

In developing countries, there is currently no established waste management plan that includes resource recovery from used disposable diapers (DDs) apart from incineration and landfilling. In low-income areas with limited storage space, the complex composition and odour of used DDs make it impossible to manage properly if not supported by effective...

This study aimed to describe the disposable diaper usage, disposal practices and quantity estimation in a specified rural setting within a developing, sub-Saharan country, South Africa. Quantitative and qualitative data collection methods were used to collect primary data, which included survey research, focus group discussions, participatory thema...

To effectively implement the circular economy in Africa, it is crucial to tailor its principles to address Africa's uniquedevelopmental challenges. This requires a citizen-focused approach that prioritizes social equity, quality of life, access, and improved service delivery. Engaging with the aspirations of Africa's growing middle class is of utmo...

Nappies and or sanitary pads, officially known as Absorbent Hygiene Product (AHP) waste, are fast becoming one of the most serious social and environmental health issues because of poor waste management in South Africa. The problem is rooted in an ever-increasing population and a failing municipal service crippled by a lack of capacity and resourc...

In this article, we outline a transnational project shaped by Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 10: “Reduce inequality within and among countries”. SDG 10 provides a cross-cutting approach insofar as the targets refer to income inequality, discriminatory practices and policies, migration policies, and development aid and assist researchers as well...

There is a long-standing issue of poor absorbent hygiene product (AHP) waste management in South Africa, particularly in rural, informal, and backyard dwellings. The problem stems from a lack of policy integration and communication among various government departments. The ambiguity in legislative acts and fragmented authority further hinders effec...

Faced with extraordinarily high unemployment, the long-term unemployed in South Africa increasingly have been securing livelihoods outside of standard waged work. Many are establishing unregistered, micro-enterprises that provide low-cost goods and services to low-income households. This paper presents the results of an exploratory study of unregis...

Children are often left orphaned and without adult supervision when the parent or caregiver dies from HIV and AIDS-related illnesses. There is very little information available in South Africa on the type of interventions to reinforce the care and support provided to children affected by HIV and AIDS (CABHA). This study aimed to explore existing in...

The One Health Forum (OHF) was established in 2021 by the Endangered Wildlife Trust (EWT), Conservation South Africa (CSA), Kruger 2 Canyons (K2C), University of Pretoria (UP), University of Western Cape (UWC) and Environmental and Rural Solutions (ERS). Through the OHF, these organisations are working together to build a community of practice base...

The research aimed to explore diaper usage and disposal practices in unserved rural areas and was conducted in the Kruger to Canyons (K2C) Biosphere Region. The area is a biodiversity hotspot that contains many different ecosystems supporting a significant number/multitude of rare and endemic, but threatened, species. Additionally, the biosphere in...

Single-use disposable diapers have a major impact on climate change due to greenhouse gas emissions from landfills, especially those that are unlined, and particularly when such diapers are not well-managed and dumped in water courses and open spaces or burnt. The aim of this study was to explore the current usage and disposal practices of disposab...

The debates on both circular economy (CE) and Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), as approaches to addressing broader sustainability challenges, are gaining momentum. The CE is framed as a transformative model with economic, environmental and social benefits, while the United Nations (UN) created the SDGs in an attempt ultimately to guarantee soc...

Orientation: The global economic and financial crisis (GEFC) represented a large asymmetric shock, impacting on informal economic activity (for example day labouring) in Southern African countries such as Namibia and South Africa. Research purpose: The aim was to compare pre- and post-GEFC labour market outcomes of day labourers in Windhoek (Namib...

Municipal waste management is a major challenge for local governments in South Africa and Namibia, as in other developing countries. The circular economy concept in waste management is an alternative sustainable development framework that has the potential to combat resource depletion, pollution, and poverty while achieving the SDGs. The purpose of...

Research highlights the complex needs of parents of children with hearing loss. These complex needs include the need for parents to have access to information, be connected with social support networks, consider communication options and have collaborative partnerships with professionals. A mixed-methods approach with a sequential explanatory desig...

This chapter aims to describe Max-Neef’s identified generic, universal and finite Fundamental Human Needs (FHNs) as social indicators for sustainability in the context of waste and waste management in a developing country, such as South Africa. The chapter starts with the description of social dimensions/indicators of sustainability, followed by a...

The concept of circular economy includes three aspects from a human perspective, namely Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle. Studying human behaviour is important in understanding and evaluating the possible success of any of the three elements. We explored the link between household waste practices and local governments’ ability to provide proper waste man...

Student hunger and food-related challenges are a pressing issue for higher education institutions in South Africa and has a negative effect on academic success and overall student well-being. While recent studies focusing on student hunger have explored its prevalence and contributing factors quantitatively, little is known about students' own view...

Electronic waste (e-waste) recycling and artisanal and small-scale mining (ASM) are activities that are increasingly finding uptake as a means of providing livelihoods in the face of high unemployment, especially in the developing world. Informal e-waste recycling is typically practiced by individuals or groups of people who collect end-of-use and...

The impact of limited or non-existing formalised waste management services in rural areas can have severe consequences for both the community and the environment. Unregulated waste management practices often fill the void, such as indiscriminate dumping, littering and burning waste in the open. Using Max-Neef's human scale development theory lens,...

Globally, scholars agree that there is a lack of clarity on the notion of the circular economy (CE) and a lack of consensus on a foundational definition of the term. Some definitions place greater emphasis on the socio-economic dimension of the CE than others. In Africa, notions of the CE are still evolving. This paper highlights the salient aspect...

We present the results from two interactive methodologies (interview and focus groups) that were used as part of a participatory action research (PAR) project to identify the reasons for and solutions to illegal dumping in Fisantekraal, Cape Town, South Africa. Worldwide, PAR has been applied in the context of marginalised groups and in different f...

The transition towards a circular economy is becoming a priority in many countries globally. However, the circular bioeconomy has received relatively less attention. In South Africa, the valorisation of organic waste is a priority area as demonstrated by national goals to divert organic waste from landfill. To support the growth of the organic wast...

This article demonstrates how household solid waste (HSW) generation patterns differ in neighbourhoods of the same town by determining the composition of the residual portion of the HSW stream in 2017 in Stellenbosch. HSW was collected from 10 pre-identified suburbs out of a total of 48. These chosen suburbs and their 17 830 households were represe...

Waste pickers are widely acknowledged as an integral part of the formal and informal economy, diverting waste into the secondary resource economy through urban mining. Urban mining in itself is considered to be a source of livelihoods. We investigated the livelihoods of e-waste pickers through 110 surveys in Cape Town, South Africa. Waste pickers o...

Littering has been defined as the careless and improper disposal of small amounts of waste that results in unwanted and unnatural elements remaining in the environment. People tend to blame external factors for their own littering. A person seldom refers to themselves as being the litterer but will rather place the blame on insufficient infrastruct...

Minibus taxis are the most accessible, convenient and affordable mode of public transport in South Africa. The abundance of commuters and taxi service employees contributes to waste generation and makes waste disposal practices challenging, especially when it comes to littering. This study‘s aim was to explore the perspectives of taxi drivers and c...

South Africa’s waste diversion rate from the landfills is low (11%) and leaves room for growth in the South African recycling industry to contribute to job creation, poverty alleviation, enterprise development and economic growth. The waste economy’s value chain is multi-layered with buyback centres (BBCs) as the point of convergence for informal a...

This document reports on the findings from the DSI/CSIR Waste Roadmap-funded Clean Cities and Towns project, conducted by the SARChi Chair in Waste and Society between 2019 and 2021. This research project aimed to understand the perceived reasons for dirty cities and towns in South Africa and to generate constructive proposals to promote clean citi...

A study was conducted between September 2021 and February 2022 with the aim to determine/explore the barriers to glass collection by landfill waste pickers (LWPs), street waste pickers (SWPs) and buyback centres (BBCs). During this process a review of the existing literature on glass collection and recycling was undertaken as well as the interviewi...

The authors endeavor to investigate the intersection and relationship between sustainability, business models and a circular economy. These three concepts are believed to be at the heart of finding a solution to creating and implementing a circular economy. The three pillars of sustainability (society, environment and economics) have been identifie...

The purpose of this study was to investigate and describe the nutritional status, dietary intake and dietary diversity of waste pickers in South Africa, a socioeconomically vulnerable group who makes a significant contribution to planetary health through salvaging recyclable material from dumpsites. Participants were weighed and measured to calcula...

Understanding solid waste composition has frequently been cited as one of the most valuable resources to those responsible for the proper management of solid waste. The unique contribution of this article lies in the fact that a waste characterisation study, conducted in a remote rural town in South Africa, was combined with an illegal dumping cont...

Precarious employment is becoming more prevalent again in the developed world while being widespread in developing economies. Day labour is precarious wage work that is emerging and re‐emerging in the global North and South. Within the global South context, we explore the socio‐economic and labour market outcomes of day labourers in Mpumalanga. A c...

In South Africa and in other parts of the world, day labourers are often faced with contingencies owing to the unregulated nature of their work. The activities of the day labourers fall within the informal sector, with difficult working conditions. This study sought to investigate and assess the coping strategies that day labourers in East London a...

The well-being of Emalahleni’s residents is linked to the boom and bust cycles faced by the local economy. Many people who lose their jobs as a result of this are forced to seek income earning opportunities in the informal economy and day labouring is one of these employment seeking strategies. This chapter investigates the dynamics and changes in...

Die Suid-Afrikaanse ekonomie was reeds voor die COVID-19-pandemie in ’n benarde posisie. Dagloners en andere in die informele ekonomie was struktureel selfs meer kwesbaar vir so ’n eksogene skok. Die doel van hierdie oorsigstudie was om die impak van die COVID-19-pandemie op die lewensomstandighede van dagloners op die navorsingsagenda te plaas. ’n...

Environmental social work is a growing area of interest in social work globally; yet in South Africa there is still an absence of literature in this field. Building on the definition of environmental social work as assisting humanity in creating and sustaining a biodiverse planetary ecosystem, we researched the relationship between perceptions of w...

Environmental social work is a growing area of interest in social work globally; yet in South Africa there is still an absence of literature in this field. Building on the definition of environmental social work as assisting humanity in creating and sustaining a biodiverse planetary ecosystem, we researched the relationship between perceptions of w...

Informal workers, such as day labourers, are frequently living in rampant poverty; exploited, with no place to go for protection; ill from not having access to clean water or basic social services; maimed, or worse, as there are no basic safety conditions at work; holding little or no hope that life can be better; struggling on a daily basis just t...

The article probes the complexity of dealing with two interrelated wicked problems, namely informal, self-employed street vendors, and their experiences of littering. This paper describes the themes that emerged from 92 qualitative interviews to determine the perceptions of street vendors regarding reasons for littering on the streets where they op...

Property and Pandemics: Property Law Responses to Covid-19 is an edited collection of research essays. It stems from a research project under the auspices of the South African Research Chair in Property Law that was conceptualised early in 2020 when the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic were first becoming evident globally. This collection offers c...

The collection and recycling of electronic waste is an income source for thousands of unemployed people in South Africa and other countries of the Global South. This occupation is informal, includes difficult working conditions, health risks and the pollution of the environment. In recent years however different attempts have been made to improve t...

South Africa's business cycle saw the end of a 99-month upswing in November 2007. Average real GDP growth was three per cent between 1995 and 2005. However, the formal labour market was unable to absorb the increasing labour supply. Thousands of unemployed men resorted to informal wage employment as day labourers. Day labourers are particularly vul...

Indiscriminate dumping may be considered a ‘wicked problem’, as it is regarded as a complex, intractable, open-ended problem and it includes rights-based and justice issues. An understanding of the dynamics of indiscriminate dumping may assist with improving the management of indiscriminate dumping. The results show that indiscriminate dumping in F...

Towns in the Karoo region currently offer few income-generating opportunities, resulting in people seeking informal waste-picking opportunities on the streets and landfills. This article aims to investigate the level of precariousness of waste pickers in the context of the Karoo towns in comparison with the rest of South Africa using Sen's capabili...

The study investigated barriers and enablers that day labourers in East London, in the Eastern Cape Province of South Africa, experience while attempting to access temporary employment opportunities. The focus was on the constraints and enablers of the structures in East London’s local economy. The research adopted a sequential exploratory design,...

Towns in the Karoo region currently offer few income‑generating opportunities, resulting in people seeking informal waste‑picking opportunities on the streets and landfills. This article aims to investigate the level of precariousness of waste pickers in the context of the Karoo towns in comparison with the rest of South Africa using Sen’s capabili...

Unemployment, together with poverty and inequality – “the terrible trinity” – are the most critical challenges facing South Africa and are obstacles to the creation of a sustainable society. Many people are forced into the informal economy where they engage in a variety of survivalist activities that includes offering their labour on street corner...

Parenting forms the cornerstone of family functioning. Parenting factors like the parent-child relationship plays a central role in the parenting styles and practices that are adopted and intergenerationally transferred within families. The effects, be it positive or negative, of this parent-child relationship is often demonstrated in children’s be...

Waste management in rural areas poses a major challenge to local governments in developing countries. Municipalities face limited budgets and obstacles with the collection of waste, as well as a lack of proper equipment, infrastructure, and treatment centres. These obstacles lead to further problems, such as littering and illegal dumping, contribut...

In South Africa, the informal recyclables collection sector has been reported by the Department of Environmental Affairs and the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) as employing up to 150,000 people, contributing 80 to 90% of recyclable material collected in 2014, and saving between R309 - R749 million in landfill airspace nationa...

As noted by Hobson (2016) there is a need for the application of broader analytical lenses in research into the Circular Economy since the latter requires transformative change, not only in terms of design and production, but also in terms of thinking, consumption, use, waste and reuse practices. In particular, the socio-political dimension of the...

This book is a book for beginner social service practitioners and micro community development workers. The book brings together a variety of people-centred ideas in community practice. Many of the practical examples are South African and are a recognition and appreciation of African indigenous knowledge systems and practice

The purpose of the current study was to explore the challenges experienced by hearing parents when parenting a child with hearing loss. Using a qualitative purposive sampling design, interviews were conducted with 13 parents (9 mothers, 4 fathers) residing in Cape Town, South Africa. Four salient themes emerged, namely: 1) communication is difficul...

Indiscriminate dumping of waste is a global problem. It affects diverse regions across both developing and developed countries. With a view to understanding indiscriminate dumping in the South African context, the authors decided to undertake a synthesis literature review, as they wanted to determine the global scope of the research conducted on th...

Orientation: Mainstream development theory views the informal sector as a shock absorber in an economic crisis. South Africa’s informal sector is smaller than that of many developing countries and very little research has investigated underemployment in marginal informal economic activities. Purpose: This study investigated the prevalence of skil...

Parenting approaches of hearing mothers and fathers parenting children with hearing loss Research shows that 90% of children with a hearing loss are born to hearing parents. These parents may experience difficulties in developing effective parent child-rearing approaches and may struggle in their confidence to parent a child with hearing loss. The...

Navorsing toon dat 90% van kinders met gehoorverlies vir horende ouers gebore word (Cole & Flexer 2016; Lederberg, Schick & Spencer 2013). Hierdie ouers kan probleme ondervind om 'n effektiewe benadering tot die grootmaak van kinders te ontwikkel, en hulle kan dit 'n uitdaging vind om 'n kind met gehoorverlies met selfvertroue groot te maak (Calder...

The social work profession has seen significant changes in approach, with more focus on developmental social welfare in response to structural injustices, poverty, inequality, well-being and development. Day labouring is a global phenomenon and typical of the South African informal sector. This study analyses the hardships of day labourers in East...

Introduction Value chains in their entirety, within the South African context, have not been the focus of much research thus far. A plethora of research has been done on the various actors within the value chain, but the rest of the value chain has not been identified and depicted. Failing to understand and describe the entire value chain of polyet...

Orientation: Day labouring is becoming more frequent in developing countries. Long spells of unemployment and the uncertainty of informal wage employment impact negatively on the subjective well-being (SWB) of day labourers. Research purpose: The aim of the article was to investigate the level and possible determinants of the SWB of day labourers...

Waste picking provides between 60 000 and 90 000 informal self-employment opportunities in South Africa. This study investigates the labour market of waste pickers in the Bellville CBD, highlighting their socioeconomic vulnerability. Two-thirds had a previous formal sector job for an average three years. Forty per cent of these lost this job due to...

Die Antroposeen verwys na 'n geologiese epog wat oorheers word deur die mens. Binne hierdie epog verander menslike aktiwiteit atmosferiese, geologiese, hidrologiese, biosferiese en ander aardsistemiese prosesse. Hierdie prosesse kan nie meer bloot toegeskryf word aan die natuur nie. Die verreikende gevolge van menslike aktiwiteit lei tot aardsistem...

Binne die konteks van die groterwordende werkloosheid en armoede in Suid-Afrika is dit belangrik om die kwesbaarheid van persone wat 'n lewe probeer maak in die informele sektor te bepaal, sodat ondersteunende beleid en strukture in plek gestel kan word. Die doel van die artikel was om die strukturele kwesbaarheid van dagloners te ondersoek deur n...

Debates on the role of the informality in the economic transformation of urban economies in Africa remain fraught: is informality benign or malign? Does it evolve to formality or remain as a permanent feature of capitalist urban development? Are the motives of informal actors calculated or imposed by economic circumstances? Pretoria in South Africa...

Waste pickers are widely regarded as among the most marginalised groupings in the informal economy. Theoretically, this can have a negative impact on the evaluation of their well-being. The aim of the research was to investigate possible determinants of subjective well-being in South Africa’s informal economy, using a case study of waste pickers on...

People are seen as resilient when they respond better than expected in the face of adversity. The aim of the article is to provide a description of the risks the unemployed day labourers waiting at a street corner in Cape Town experience daily and the resilience they display. An ethnographic approach was used to gather data. The results show that d...

People are seen as resilient when they respond better than expected in the face of adversity. The aim of the article is to provide a description of the risks the unemployed day labourers waiting at a street corner in Cape Town experience daily and the resilience they display. An ethnographic approach was used to gather data. The results show that d...

Landfill and street waste pickers in South Africa are responsible for collecting substantial volumes of recyclable material, saving municipalities millions and contributing to a generally healthier and cleaner environment. Yet waste pickers continue to operate on the fringes of the economy and are exposed to many risks, particularly health risks wh...

This paper investigates the entrepreneurial opportunities and value-adding activities of buy-back centres in the recycling industry. Using Porter’s firm-level value chain framework as theoretical framework for this analysis, a concurrent mixed method design was used to collect information from 67 buy-back centres across South Africa by means of fac...

Effective management of waste and the promotion and management of recycling activities are necessary for sustainable and liveable cities. A key but unrecognised element in promoting recycling is the efforts of waste pickers who make a living from recycling mainline recyclables. This article aims to describe the approaches used on ten landfills in S...

In this chapter we provide an overview of migration globally and to and within, South Africa and the vulnerabilities and risks to which migrants and refugees are exposed. We discuss the theories which underpins our actions and what and how transformative social policies should be crafted and applied to support migrants, refugees, and displaced peop...