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12 August 2021 | Story Leonie Bolleurs | Photo Supplied
Tinus Viljoen (second from the left) is responsible for waste management at the university. Here he is pictured at the new chemical waste facility on the western side of the Bloemfontein Campus. With him, on his left, is Nico Janse van Rensburg, Senior Director, University Estates; Prof Danie Vermeulen, Dean of the Faculty of Natural and Agricultural Sciences; and on the far right is Benedict Mochesela, officer at University Estates.

A new chemical waste facility on the western side of the Bloemfontein Campus started functioning in July 2021 and will enhance the safe storage of hazardous materials on campus.

Since the safety of its staff and students are a key priority for the university, as stipulated in its strategic plan, a facility such as this plays an essential role in reducing any health risks and even the possibility of an explosion.

Tinus Viljoen, a Lecturer in the Department of Genetics, concurs that this facility makes the university a safer place because there are less toxic and flammable waste lying around in the labs. 

Besides his role as lecturer, he is responsible for waste management, including the collection of hazardous waste internally, classifying it, and arranging for it to be collected by accredited waste companies. 

A safer space

Waste previously stored in the Genetics Building is now kept at the new facility. Viljoen is of the opinion that this new space is safer because fewer students and staff have access to the western campus. “The chemical waste tends to smell, and on this part of the campus it is out of the way,” he says.

He also says that it helps to have a central place to store the waste, because of logistical reasons. “It makes the overall waste management easier.”

It is mainly inorganic and organic liquid/solid waste, contaminated glass, contaminated solids (e.g., filter paper and gloves), acid waste, and expired chemicals that are stored at the facility. 

This facility makes the university a safer place because there are less toxic and flammable waste lying around in the labs. – Tinus Viljoen

Adhering to legislation

He explains that he is notified by departments in the Faculty of Natural and Agricultural Sciences when they have waste to collect and that he then collects it on Fridays.

Viljoen continues: “The chemical waste is then classified according to the various waste streams and stored in large 210 l drums. When the drums are full, I contact an accredited hazardous waste company to remove, transport, and dispose of the various waste according to strict legislation, constituting the National Environmental Management Act (Act 107 of 1998), the National Environmental Management: Waste Act, 2008 (Act 59 of 2008), the Hazardous Substances Act (Act 5 of 1973), and the National Road Traffic Act, 93 of 1996 (NRTA).”

“The majority of the waste is transported to a hazardous landfill in Gauteng and the rest are incinerated,” he concludes. 

News Archive

UFS commemorates 50th anniversary of Africa Day
2013-05-19

14 May 2013

Programme (Pdf)

The University of the Free State will celebrate the 50th anniversary of Africa Day, focusing in depth on issues affecting the continent. Academics from across disciplines will take part in a colloquium on the Bloemfontein Campus on 22 May 2013 discussing issues that influence the development and history of the continent, the challenges it faces, and the opportunities that lie ahead.

Hosted by the Centre for Africa Studies, celebrations will culminate with the annual Africa Day Memorial lecture to be presented by Prof Henning Melber, who will be inaugurated as an extraordinary professor at the centre. Prof Melber will speak on "Africa and Africa(n) Studies: confronting the (mystifying) power of ideology and identity".

Africa Day marks the founding of the Organisation of African Unity (OAU) on 25 May 1963. The OAU underwent a name change in July 2002 to become the African Union (AU), but the day is still commemorated to symbolise Africa’s independence from foreign political control and affirms Africa’s quest for durable peace and unity.

The Africa Day Memorial lecture and colloquium will be hosted in the CR Swart Auditorium. Registration for the colloquium takes place from 08:00 until 16:00. The Memorial Lecture begins at 18:00.

Short Biography: Prof Henning Melber (Pdf)

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