Food and organic waste management

The document outlines the economic and sustainability benefits of organic waste separation for Western Cape businesses, highlighting a provincial goal to ban the landfilling of all organic waste by 2027. It categorizes available waste-to-value solutions—including waste-to-pharma, food, feed, soil, and energy—and provides a framework for onsite management, such as appointing a waste champion and implementing source separation. The brief also details relevant legal frameworks, including the National Environmental Management: Waste Act and City of Cape Town by-laws, emphasizing the need for accredited service providers.

• The Western Cape Government has established a timeline to phase out organic waste in landfills, aiming for a 50% reduction by 2022 and a total ban on all organic waste by 2027.
• Organic waste management offers businesses three primary advantages: reducing overheads through lower landfill and collection costs, generating income from sorted waste, and meeting sustainability goals for integrated reporting.
• There are five main categories of organic waste solutions available in the Western Cape: Waste-to-Pharma/Chem (fine chemicals), Waste-to-Food (redistribution to feeding initiatives), Waste-to-Feed (animal/livestock feed), Waste-to-Soil (compost and soil enhancers), and Waste-to-Energy (fuels, heat, or electricity).
• Effective onsite organic waste management requires a combination of personnel and process: appointing an in-house waste champion, separating waste at the point of generation using a two-bin system, establishing a designated storage area, and managing foul odours using techniques like Bokashi.
• Businesses must adhere to several regulatory frameworks, including the National Environmental Management: Waste Act (59 of 2008), which mandates a duty of care to reduce and recycle waste, and City of Cape Town by-laws requiring the use of accredited waste management companies.

APA

Smout, S. (2017). Food and organic waste management. GreenCape. https://greencape.co.za/assets/Uploads/NF-1-Industry-Brief-GreenCape.pdf

Chicago

Smout, Sam. Food and organic waste management. GreenCape, 2017. https://greencape.co.za/assets/Uploads/NF-1-Industry-Brief-GreenCape.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Smout |first1=Sam |title=Food and organic waste management |publisher=GreenCape |date=2017 |url=https://greencape.co.za/assets/Uploads/NF-1-Industry-Brief-GreenCape.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{smout2017food, author = {Smout, Sam}, title = {{Food and organic waste management}}, institution = {GreenCape}, year = {2017}, url = {https://greencape.co.za/assets/Uploads/NF-1-Industry-Brief-GreenCape.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }