Following the successful completion of the Status Quo phase and the first Waste Sector Survey for South Africa, the Department of Science and Innovation (DSI) began the final stage in the development of the Waste Research, Development and Innovation (RDI) Roadmap in January 2014. The development of the Roadmap included the following steps –
- Determining the economic value of waste in South Africa
- Reviewing the local and global trends in waste management
- Identifying local waste sector opportunities
- Preparing the implementation framework and Roadmap
Waste RDI Roadmap
» Waste RDI Roadmap for South Africa (2015-2025) (Summary report)
» Executive summary of the Waste RDI Roadmap
Economic value of waste
National policy has set the enabling environment for South Africa to move waste up the waste management hierarchy away from landfilling, towards prevention, reuse, recycling and recovery. However, due to the perceived higher cost of alternatives relative to landfilling, South Africa still landfills an estimated 90% of all waste generated. Fundamentally shifting the argument away from the cost of waste management to the value of waste as resource, this research explored the value of waste, as a secondary resource, that is lost to South Africa’s economy every year.
» Economic benefits of moving up the waste management hierarchy (Full report)
» Economic value of South Africa’s Waste (Preliminary) (Workshop presentation)
Trends in waste management
Waste management in South Africa, as in the rest of the world, is undergoing a major paradigm shift. The social, environmental and economic opportunities in waste prevention, reuse, recycling and recovery are recognised. This review of local and international literature sums up the current local and global trends in waste management and the drivers behind these trends. Current trends in South Africa were further unpacked through three regional workshops held in Johannesburg, Durban and Cape Town.
» Trends in waste management (Full document)
» A global perspective on waste trends (Workshop presentation)
Invited expert presentations on waste sector trends and opportunities
Johannesburg workshop (18 February 2014)
» Trends and opportunities – Mining and metal waste (M Gericke)
» Trends and opportunities – Hazardous waste (J Schoonraad)
» Trends and opportunities – Plastics waste (A Hanekom)
Durban workshop (20 February 2014)
» Trends and opportunities – Organic waste (B Sithole)
» Trends and opportunities – Electronic waste (K Anderson)
» Trends and opportunities – Waste-to-Energy (G Purnell)
Cape Town workshop (26 February 2014)
» Trends and opportunities – Municipal waste (B Coetzee)
» Trends and opportunities – PET (plastic) recycling (C Scholtz)