Opportunities for value addition to selected Western Cape organic waste streams

This report by GreenCape identifies business opportunities for adding value to livestock waste streams, specifically manure and abattoir waste, within the Western Cape of South Africa. It details the regional distribution of waste sources, current disposal methods, and the regulatory and technical barriers to implementing value-addition technologies like anaerobic digestion and composting.

• The Western Cape generates significant quantities of livestock manure annually, with cattle manure being the largest stream at between 6 million and 10 million tonnes, followed by poultry manure at 370,000 tonnes and piggery manure at 170,000 tonnes.
• Abattoir waste in the Western Cape consists of approximately 24,000 tonnes of red meat waste per annum (comprising 22,000 tonnes of by-products and 2,000 tonnes of waste) and an estimated 75,000 tonnes of poultry waste from condemned slaughters.
• Most abattoirs in the Western Cape do not directly add value to their waste; over 60% of sampled facilities report using on-farm burial or waste disposal facilities. Composting is the primary value-addition method currently used.
• The adoption of anaerobic digestion for livestock waste has been slow due to a lack of technical skills, complex business cases regarding feedstocks and markets, and limited awareness of the technology.
• Regulatory requirements for the disposal of non-infectious animal carcasses create a significant challenge, as only the Vissershok landfill north of Cape Town meets the necessary Class B or G:L:B+ specifications in the Western Cape.
• The sale of compost as fertilizer is hindered by registration and authorization requirements; consequently, many producers sell it as unpackaged and unlabelled "mulch" to avoid these regulations.
• The poultry industry is identified as a potential partner for value-addition initiatives due to margin pressures from international trade and cheap imports, although some companies remain closed to collaboration.

APA

Gogela, U., van Vuuren, P. F. J., & Pineo, C. (2017). Opportunities for value addition to selected Western Cape organic waste streams. GreenCape. https://greencape.co.za/assets/Uploads/BioValSA-Livestock-Opp.pdf

Chicago

Gogela, Usisipho, Pieter Frederik Janse van Vuuren, and Cathy Pineo. Opportunities for value addition to selected Western Cape organic waste streams. GreenCape, 2017. https://greencape.co.za/assets/Uploads/BioValSA-Livestock-Opp.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Gogela |first1=Usisipho |last2=van Vuuren |first2=Pieter Frederik Janse |last3=Pineo |first3=Cathy |title=Opportunities for value addition to selected Western Cape organic waste streams |publisher=GreenCape |date=July 2017 |url=https://greencape.co.za/assets/Uploads/BioValSA-Livestock-Opp.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{gogela2017opportunities, author = {Gogela, Usisipho and van Vuuren, Pieter Frederik Janse and Pineo, Cathy}, title = {{Opportunities for value addition to selected Western Cape organic waste streams}}, institution = {GreenCape}, year = {2017}, month = jul, url = {https://greencape.co.za/assets/Uploads/BioValSA-Livestock-Opp.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }