In a world marred by shortages, rapidly depleting natural resources, and mounting landfill waste, South Africa could grow increasingly dependent on circular economy systems in the near future as companies grapple to satisfy growing consumer demand.
While the global circular economy market is valued at over R550 billion globally, as per an analysis by Spherical Insights, South Africa is severely lagging behind the rest of the world. According to the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research, the country has a socio-economic cycling rate of only 2%, indicating an alarmingly low rate of recycling and reuse of materials throughout the economy. Moreover, it’s estimated that about 90% of waste ends up at landfills instead of being reintegrated into production processes. Patricia Schröder, President of the Institute of Waste Management of Southern Africa (IWMSA), warns, “We are stuck in a cycle of managing waste and dealing with overburdened landfill sites. The answer to South Africa’s waste challenges is not waste management, but rather waste minimisation. The most effective way forward is to bring more companies of every size into the circular economy and reduce the amount of waste we dump on our landfills.”What is the circular economy?
In a perfectly circular economy, all materials are fully utilised through various stages in the production process, with no waste being created. “This is more the ideal, rather than what’s plausibly achievable under real-world conditions. Most materials degrade in quality and, thus, usability over time, and some modern products have many layers of tightly integrated materials that would require large amounts of energy to separate and recycle properly,” explains Schröder. But, she believes, just because something is complex and imperfect doesn’t mean society as a whole shouldn’t work to be better every day. The goal is rather a near-circular economy, which companies can help drive by implementing circular strategies into their operations, and encouraging the same throughout their supply chain. IWMSA’s recommends that businesses minimise waste by, first, reducing the resources needed in the production process and limiting surpluses. Then, use any remaining material in other aspects of the production process. What can’t be reused needs to be recycled following the correct recycling protocols. From there, waste management sector participants may be able to reclaim some material to make other products, and waste that can be used as fuel should be utilised to generate electricity. Only after each of these avenues has been exhausted should any remaining waste be sent to a landfill.
To close the production loop and significantly reduce waste, companies can improve product designs to reduce the resources required, extend lifespans, make them easily repairable, and improve recyclability. Additional closed-loop recycling systems can be introduced that, for example, chemically break down plastics for reuse in high-quality applications, or recovering metals like aluminium and steel for reuse.
Companies also need to make use of biodegradable materials like bioplastics or natural fibres where possible, and utilise renewable energy in production and recycling processes to further limit negative impacts on the environment.Industry trends and challenges in the circular economy
To ultimately achieve an acceptable level of circular economy implementation in South Africa, Schröder lists several critical barriers that urgently need to be overcome in the next few years. Having grown by over 835,000 people within the space of year, South Africa’s population exceeded 63 million in July 2024, with life expectancy having risen by nearly 13 years over the past two decades. Larger populations that live longer have significant benefits for the economy, but also place considerable strain on resources and create more waste.
Patricia Schröder, President of the Institute of Waste Management of Southern Africa
