Industry brief 2021

This 2021 industry brief by GreenCape outlines the market opportunity for circular economy solutions to manage wastewater sludge in the City of Cape Town (CCT). Driven by national and provincial landfill bans on liquid and organic wastes, the CCT is transitioning toward anaerobic digestion via Biosolids Beneficiation Facilities (BBFs) to produce treated digestate cake and recover energy and nutrients.

• The City of Cape Town (CCT) generates approximately 199 dry tonnes per day of dewatered wastewater sludge, which represents 74% of the total provincial sludge production in the Western Cape. The CCT spends roughly R60 million annually on the disposal or land application of this sludge, which has an average moisture content of 83%.
• Regulatory changes are forcing a shift away from landfilling. A nationwide ban on liquid waste disposal to landfill took effect in August 2019. Additionally, the Western Cape Integrated Waste Management Plan requires municipalities to reduce organic waste landfilling by 50% by 2022 and 100% by 2027.
• To address these liabilities, the CCT is investing in the establishment of two regional Biosolids Beneficiation Facilities (BBFs) over the next 15 years, with a third planned for future demand. These facilities aim to produce A1a class treated digestate cake for unrestricted use and generate electricity from biogas.
• CCT's wastewater sludges, including primary sludge and waste activated sludge (WAS), are classified as low in contaminants (class a) and reasonably stabilised (class 1 or 2), making them suitable for beneficial utilisation.
• Various circular economy options for sludge and digestate beneficiation have been identified, ranging from existing solutions like land application and composting to theoretical options such as pyrolysis, carbonization, and the production of bioplastics or artificial rocks.
• Beyond sludge, the CCT has other organic waste opportunities, including the chipping of garden greens (55,242 tonnes diverted from July 2019 to June 2020), animal carcass disposal, and food waste trials. The city is also planning integrated waste management facilities at the Athlone Refuse Transfer Station and in Bellville.
• Beneficiation facilities generally require a Waste License via an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) and a Water Use License due to high water content. However, new draft norms may allow organic waste treatment up to 100 tonnes per day and composting over 10 tonnes per day to operate without these licenses if specific procedures are followed.

APA

GreenCape (2021). Industry brief 2021. https://greencape.co.za/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/Sludge-Beneficiation-Brief_30_6_21-3.pdf

Chicago

GreenCape. Industry brief 2021. 2021. https://greencape.co.za/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/Sludge-Beneficiation-Brief_30_6_21-3.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=GreenCape |title=Industry brief 2021 |date=2021 |url=https://greencape.co.za/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/Sludge-Beneficiation-Brief_30_6_21-3.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{greencape2021industry, author = {{GreenCape}}, title = {{Industry brief 2021}}, institution = {GreenCape}, year = {2021}, url = {https://greencape.co.za/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/Sludge-Beneficiation-Brief_30_6_21-3.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }