Food and organic waste management

This industry brief by GreenCape provides guidance for businesses in the Western Cape on managing food and organic waste to reduce landfilling costs, generate income, and comply with regional regulations.

• The Western Cape Government has established a timeline to phase out the landfilling of organic waste, aiming for a 50% reduction by 2022 and a complete ban on all organic waste by 2027.
• Organic waste management solutions in the Western Cape are categorized into five primary types: 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).
• To maximize financial benefits and value recovery, businesses are advised to implement 'separation at source' by separating dry and wet waste streams. Recommended best practices include appointing an in-house waste champion, segregating waste at the point of generation, using a two-bin system, involving staff, establishing a designated waste management area, managing foul odours (e.g., using Bokashi), and including waste specifications in procurement contracts.
• Waste generators must adhere to several regulatory frameworks, including the National Environmental Management: Waste Act (59 of 2008), which requires reasonable measures to reduce, re-use, recycle, and recover waste. In the City of Cape Town, businesses must follow the Integrated Waste Management by-law of 2009 (amended 2010 and 2015), which requires waste management companies to be accredited and certain industrial waste generators to register and develop waste management plans.

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} }