Innovation – Interwaste Holdings Ltd

Built on Solid Ground: Transitioning South Africa to a Circular Economy

wont.socialise@gmail.com — Sun, 29 Jun 2025 20:00:06 +0000

South Africa’s waste management practices have laid a solid foundation of compliance and innovation, addressing the challenges of responsible waste disposal. However, reducing landfill dependency and shifting toward a circular economy remain critical next steps. By viewing waste as a resource, South Africa can redefine its waste landscape, ensuring a sustainable future for both the environment and the economy.

This transition requires integrating cutting-edge technologies, leveraging existing systems, and fostering collaboration among stakeholders.

The Foundation of Responsible Waste Management

South Africa’s waste management system has prioritized compliance, safety, and efficiency. Engineered landfill sites, like Interwaste’s Klinkerstene landfill in Gauteng, exemplify these principles by adhering to strict environmental standards and embracing innovative practices. The facility includes state-of-the-art leachate management systems that minimize environmental risks while optimizing landfill operations.

Pioneering Solutions for a Circular Economy

South Africa is already seeing progress through initiatives that transform waste into valuable resources:

Effluent Treatment and Resource Recovery
Interwaste’s Effluent Treatment Plant (ETP) can process over 43 million litres of industrial effluent annually, recovering up to 90% as clean, reusable water. This innovative approach not only meets regulatory standards but also supports sustainability by reducing the need for freshwater extraction.
Plastic Recycling Advancements
Industry initiatives like Polyco are transforming plastic waste into valuable raw materials. These programs promote eco-design and support innovative recovery methods, significantly increasing South Africa’s recycling rates and reducing landfill contributions.
E-Waste Recycling
AST Recycling is one of South Africa’s leading companies specializing in e-waste recycling and precious metal recovery. By collecting and processing e-waste, they prevent hazardous materials from reaching landfills while recovering valuable resources such as gold, platinum, and copper. This initiative contributes to sustainability and creates economic opportunities.

Challenges Hindering Progress

Despite these advancements, several challenges remain:

Infrastructure Gaps: Many rural and informal settlements still lack adequate waste collection and recycling infrastructure, perpetuating illegal dumping.
Public Awareness: Limited understanding of waste separation practices among consumers hampers recycling efforts.
Policy Enforcement: Inconsistent implementation of waste management regulations across regions slows systemic change.

Addressing these barriers requires stronger collaboration among government, businesses, and communities to scale existing solutions. While engineered landfills like Klinkerstene play an essential role in responsible waste disposal, the goal is to minimize reliance on these facilities. Circular economy practices, such as industrial symbiosis, material recovery, and product redesign, offer sustainable alternatives that benefit both the environment and the economy.

Transforming Waste into Opportunity

South Africa has the tools, technology, and talent to redefine its waste management systems. By focusing on innovative solutions like the Interwaste ETP and leveraging responsible landfill practices like those at Klinkerstene, the country is well-positioned to lead the way toward a circular economy.

Waste is no longer an endpoint – it’s the beginning of new opportunities. Together, we can build a future where waste drives sustainability, fosters economic growth, and protects our planet for generations to come.

Accelerating South Africa’s Path to Sustainability

wont.socialise@gmail.com — Mon, 31 Mar 2025 20:00:04 +0000

Time is of the essence.
As waste accumulates, ecosystems degrade, and climate challenges intensify, the imperative for swift, effective action becomes undeniable. South Africa stands at a pivotal juncture: continue on a path of neglect or embark on bold strides toward a sustainable future. April’s theme, “Make Haste, Not Waste,” urges us to expedite efforts in waste management and sustainability, ensuring that today’s actions pave the way for tomorrow’s solutions.

The Urgency of Action

South Africa generates approximately 107 million tonnes of general waste annually, with a staggering 90% – or 84 million tonnes – ending up in landfills or stockpiles. This overwhelming reliance on landfills not only strains available space but also poses significant environmental hazards.

A promising initiative addressing this challenge is the City of Cape Town’s waste-to-energy project at the Coastal Park Landfill site in Muizenberg. This project aims to convert landfill gas into electricity, showcasing a proactive approach to waste management and energy production.

Innovations Leading the Way

Sustainable waste management transcends mere reduction of disposal; it involves reimagining waste as a valuable resource. South Africa is home to several pioneering projects spearheading this transformation:

Biogas Energy Projects

The City of Cape Town has raised R36 million through the auction of carbon credits for its waste-to-energy initiatives. These projects focus on converting landfill gas into electricity, thereby reducing greenhouse gas emissions and generating renewable energy.

Plastic Road Pilot Project

In KwaZulu-Natal, a pilot program has successfully incorporated recycled plastic into road construction. These “plastic roads” are more durable and cost-effective than traditional materials, offering a sustainable solution for plastic waste.

Circular Economy Startups

Enterprises like the EcoBrick Exchange are transforming non-recyclable plastics into building materials, addressing both waste and housing challenges through innovative means.

Collaboration Is Key

While innovation is vital, scaling these efforts necessitates collaboration across sectors. Government policies, private-sector investment, and community engagement must converge to achieve substantial progress.

Government Leadership: The National Waste Management Strategy (2020) outlines clear objectives for reducing landfill dependency and advancing a circular economy. Effective enforcement and adequate funding are crucial to realizing these goals.
Corporate Responsibility: Businesses adopting Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) schemes, such as PETCO in the plastics industry, exemplify corporate leadership in sustainability.
Community Participation: Initiatives like the Separation at Source program rely on public cooperation to ensure proper sorting and processing of recyclable materials.

Stopping the Clock: A Future Worth Making Haste For

The race toward sustainability is not just about reducing waste – it’s about reshaping our mindset and systems for a cleaner, healthier future. Every moment we delay compounds the challenges, but every action we take moves us closer to lasting solutions. In South Africa, the time to act is now.

Each piece of waste mismanaged is a missed opportunity to protect our ecosystems, conserve our resources, and build an economy that thrives on innovation. By making haste with purpose, we can transform the ripple effects of neglect into waves of positive change.

The vision of a waste-free South Africa is within reach – but only if we commit to it. Let this be the moment we choose to act swiftly and intentionally, embracing innovation, collaboration, and accountability. Together, we can ensure that waste no longer defines our future but becomes the cornerstone of our transformation.

Climate action and economic preservation can coexist

wont.socialise@gmail.com — Thu, 30 Nov 2023 19:30:29 +0000

How waste management fits

The waste management industry has faced several operational challenges during this year, notwithstanding the immediate impact due to load shedding. Yes, waste can be affected by load shedding, as the critical facilities that handle both general and hazardous waste are treated by electricity-powered equipment, and without power, it results in delays in the waste management processes. As a result, we have seen waste build up in neighbourhoods, business districts, and public areas – which is not only unsanitary but raises raising the risk of disease transmission.

Load shedding has also had a severe impact on incinerators and recycling plants, because they too need a consistent supply of electricity. Without electricity, waste treatment processes can be suspended or interrupted and of course, then more waste could end up being disposed of to our already burdened landfills.

Further to the impacts of load shedding, is the increase in operational costs due to the significant increases in the cost of living in the past two years, and the waste management industry has felt the pinch. This is true for all consumers and the entire business sector in our country. Add the rampant loadshedding, unfavourable exchange rates and higher lending rates, every organisation is still feeling the effects.

In a recent article, the government revealed that over R168 million was spent in purchasing waste collection fleets – a very steep cost.

So, if we consider that our electricity challenges are likely to exist for a while, what then would we like in 2024 for the waste sector?

Well, the reality that exists is that we must consider that we are in a juxtaposition between fighting climate change and fighting economic turmoil – and which one comes first, or can they coexist?

The good news is that climate action and economic preservation can coexist and in fact, should. Waste and effective waste management presents a large economic opportunity to establish new industries and/or revenue streams. Our hope is that 2024 is used to really drive solutions that deliver on this opportunity – all at levels within the public and private sector. We have always advocated that waste to energy production is a good place to start and will create more jobs and opportunities, and with the availability of technologies available we can convert different types of waste to energy – in the form of electricity, steam or gas.

And it is not just electricity where waste can have an impact, but our water too. Our wastewater can be re-used as well -and when treated to the required standards, nearly all effluent waste can be recycled and offer a strong solution for water sustainability and access – water that was previously not deemed safe for consumption.

In fact, the global waste-to-energy market is expected to grow from to almost 43 billion U.S. dollars in 2024 – so you can see the massive opportunity that exists. Additionally, the International Renewable Energy Agency has also stated that renewables have the potential to employ more than 40 million people by 2050. These figures are not just big but represent growth for economies that embrace them.

So, in 2024, we would like to see climate action and economic preservation coexisting, where waste and effective waste management not only establish new industries and/or revenue streams, but helps companies meet their legislative requirements as we fight climate change. It’s a win for everyone.

As we wrap up the year, and start preparing for the new one, we are excited to be building on our existing services and launching some new service offerings in 2024, which not only align to legislation but support our clients ecological transition to the circular economy.

World Food Day

wont.socialise@gmail.com — Thu, 05 Oct 2023 10:56:31 +0000

The role of emerging technology in addressing food waste.

16 October marks World Food Day – a day set to raise awareness about the importance of sustainable food systems and combating hunger worldwide.

According to an article published in Scientific American, the global food system contributes to around a third of human-generated greenhouse gas emissions. However, what has never been clear is how much of this is due to lost or wasted food. While a further article reveals that methane, from landfills, produced by the global food supply, is much more powerful at warming the planet than carbon dioxide itself – which is a sobering thought.

In a nutshell, food waste really does have a negative impact on the environment and society. The good news though, is that this waste can be managed effectively, not only from a household perspective, but right across the food supply chain.

The truth about food waste

There is a common misconception that food waste is only leftover food that is discarded by households. However, food waste occurs from the moment food is farmed all the way through to retail stores and ultimately into your homes. Not only does it occur at the production level due to several factors, including climate change, soil quality, diseases and/or lack of labour, but given that retailers place a premium on quality, produce that does not meet their quality standards can be rejected and thus, wasted. As a result, landfills are significantly impacted by food waste that was never actually consumed postproduction.

Considering the magnitude of the food waste challenge in South Africa (it is estimated that 30% of all food produced is wasted), addressing it goes beyond just households – and means that retailers, restaurants, and the agricultural industry at large need to become more actively involved in the reduction of food waste. While sustainability policies are helping curb this challenge – especially from a business perspective – there is a pressing need for solutions that can help these industries tackle food waste, to have a measurable impact on our food system and the environment.

The role of emerging technology

Technology and innovation play an important role in waste reduction and beneficiation by not only giving us new methods to manage waste more sustainably – especially from a supply chain perspective, but given the scale of waste these innovations, also include aspects like using this waste as a secondary resource. When considering food or organic waste, processes such as composting and anaerobic digestion are able to re-purpose this waste for another use, such as soil regeneration or energy.

Anaerobic digestion is a process by which biogas is created through naturally occurring bacterial processes. This gas is harnessed and used to generate electricity. Anaerobic digestion is an established process which requires specific expertise and technology, but essentially it reduces the amount of organic waste going to landfill, as well as a decrease in the emission of harmful greenhouse gases.

Furthermore, the platform can act as an on-site model that ensures that waste is managed immediately, as it is generated, and is then disposed of in hygienic and compliant manner.

So, in order to achieve our zero waste to landfill goal as a country, we all need to take part in making a change. Start with small changes in your purchasing habits, but in instances where food waste cannot be avoided, consider recycling that into compost as an example, or examine various other options within the waste management segment that could work for you and/or your business.

This World Food Day, think about your food waste – how you manage it – don’t just throw it away – it can be used and benefit the environment and all mankind.