A review of organic waste management in 2022

South Africa sees an estimated 10 million tonnes of food go to waste annually – which equates to about a third of the food produced each year. An audit by the CSIR found that 40% of all waste that ends up in landfills in South Africa is organic or biodegradable.

In 2022, we saw more attention on a national, regional and local level being given to different alternative waste treatment (AWT) technologies and processes that can divert organic waste and process it into a resource.

According to Brian Küsel, director of BiobiN South Africa, 2022 saw some important milestones reached within the organic waste industry.

“The big one that we were all watching was the Western Cape’s proposed 50% organic waste reduction requirement.”

In 2017, the Western Cape Government made a policy decision to restrict 50% of organics being sent to landfill by 2022 and the prohibition of all organics to landfill by 2027. The landfill restriction and prohibition on organics will ensure that national waste diversion targets are met. In the Western Cape, 40% of all waste delivered to landfill is organic waste, estimated at more than 3 million tonnes annually.

Significant shifts have been seen over the past year, but Küsel asserts that there needs to be more monitoring and waste data collected on-site, in order to understand where the province is in terms of the percentage that industry diverts using technologies like composting units.

“The Western Cape is a good region to keep our eyes on with a complete organic waste diversion target on the cards by 2027.”

As stated above, 10.3 million tonnes of food and beverages are wasted per year in South Africa, yet 9.34 million people in the country suffer from acute food insecurity and almost 20% of its households have inadequate access to food.

Specific to the retail sector, the Food Loss and Waste Voluntary Agreement sets out to respond to this challenge through a public and collaborative declaration of intent, to reduce food and beverage waste, redistribute the edible food surplus and process the non-edible food stream to become a secondary resource that can be used on-site or sold locally.

This agreement works between the Consumer Goods Council of South Africa; the Department of Trade, Industry and Competition; and the Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment.

“Many big retail groups committed to this agreement and have also started reporting on their organic waste processing initiatives,” says Küsel.

“In 2022, we have also seen more consumers increasing their home composting efforts. The City of Cape Town rolled out home composting bins in some areas and this came with an increased level of awareness towards the importance of composting and why it should be done on a larger scale within retail, agriculture and hospitality.”

With regard to consumer environmental awareness, a study published in 2021 – with data from across 24 countries – revealed that 58% of adults are more mindful of their impact on the environment, and 85% said they’re willing to take personal action to combat environmental and sustainability challenges.

With an increased level of consumer awareness, tightening waste regulations and the economic benefits of composting, more businesses started to commission on-site composting projects, from enclosed units like BiobiN to windrows.

“The most efficient and odour-free way of composting food and organic waste is within a contained unit that is aerated and uses filters to avoid leachate build-up that can cause bad odours,” stresses Küsel.

On-site composting reduces waste landfilling tariffs and transport costs, while creating a valuable resource that can be used on-site or at a local community food garden. Many big food retailers opted to support local food initiatives with the compost streams that are produced from food and organic waste.

With an increased amount of organic waste now being processed via on-site units, there is a need for more regional composting businesses for the intake of this stream.

“We have seen a lot more big retailers and businesses diverting and processing huge volumes of organic waste and, because of this, there is a huge economic opportunity for more composting businesses to start up and join the food and organic waste value chain,” says Küsel.

South African waste management regulations, specific to organic waste composting, support and encourage more regional on-site composting solutions. BiobiN South Africa has seen its most successful year yet, with a total of 3 500 tonnes of food and organic waste diverted from landfill and processed via its on-site composting units.

Küsel asserts that there will also be increased organic waste repurposing across multiple sectors.

“Retail, hospitality and agriculture all saw the rapid adoption of circular and organic waste repurposing systems, like composting units. This can be attributed to regulatory pressure with landfill diversion targets and the voluntary food-loss and waste agreement aimed at redistributing the edible food supply. As a result, on-site composting has proven to be a working model for these sectors,” says Küsel.

Given the success of this model, other sectors are likely to adopt circular waste management models for processing organic waste.

“One industry in which we predict this will likely happen quite rapidly in 2023 is the property market,” says Küsel.

“Green housing estates that give residents the opportunity at a more sustainable living situation are becoming increasingly popular in many parts of the country. A typical green housing estate boasts large gardens, green open spaces and detailed landscaping. To support this type of estate design, an on-site composting solution not only provides residents with a more sustainable way to discard their food waste but also provides the estate with all its compost for the gardens.”

In addition to that, Küsel predicts that South Africa will see more centralised waste processing management and hubs.

“We have seen community waste depots and recycling buy-back centres for solid recyclables, and we will see more central organic waste processing plants, especially enclosed composting units.

“Whether it be in an estate, university, office park or retail distribution centre, having one central point to bring organic waste to is a great way for a number of businesses to collaborate and save costs associated with landfill disposal and transporting waste.”

More business-to-business collaboration and centralised waste management systems will result in more organic waste diverted and a significant secondary resource injection into a local circular economy.