In the absence of legal requirements, the CSIR undertook a study to determine the triggers for recycling in South Africa. The National Environmental Management: Waste Act, 2008 came into effect on 1 July 2009 and is the first South African law that drives recycling. However, recycling is not new to South Africa. The recycling statistics for South Africa paint a positive picture for recycling, yet little is documented about the actual driving forces behind these positive recycling figures.

This study was performed in order to understand what work has been completed regarding the application of reactive surfaces primarily for pollution abatement in urban areas. The hope is that these surfaces could then be applied to South African infrastructure for the benefit of the people.
Journal articles from peer-reviewed journals were studied in order to understand the level of work that has so far been completed. It was found that a great deal of research is currently underway in this topic globally and that titanium dioxide reactive surfaces show good potential for depolluting and self-cleaning applications. There is a large amount of published work on this topic, consequently not all of the relevant articles and studies could be read for inclusion into the literature review. However it is thought that the important details and findings are included.
Titanium dioxide reactive surfaces have been shown to work under real life conditions and have real potential to be used in basic urban infrastructure. Utilization of such surfaces could become a standard building practice within South Africa.

There are many objectives that must be pursued simultaneously during the course of a plant design. Some of these objectives are often interrelated and, to make things more difficult, many are downright conflicting. In order to arrive at a satisfactory design, many decisions have to be made along the way. This is why it is important to keep in mind these objectives at all times, especially when comparing competing technologies or evaluating alternative designs. 

The author worked for 20 years at Lummus Technology (formerly known as ABB Lummus), a world-renowned technology licensor, where he designed and commissioned several ethylbenzene and styrene monomer units in various countries and participated in a number of ethylene, polystyrene, butadiene extraction, and C3/C4 alkylation projects. His areas of expertise include modelling and simulation, basic process design, equipment design, and P&ID development. He also offers seminars in Fundamentals of Process Plant Design to select clients worldwide. Email: jguimaraes@plantdesign.net.