What does zero waste really mean? Kate Stubbs – the strategy, marketing and business development director at EnviroServ – sheds some light around the realities, misconceptions and practical steps behind the zero waste journey.

“Zero waste is a strategy or philosophy with the goal of designing waste out of a system. In practice, it means managing material flows across the value chain. This starts with sourcing raw materials and continues through to manufacturing, operations and consumption. The aim is to avoid waste first. Materials should then be reused, recycled or recovered, with disposal as the last resort. This is very much in line with the global hierarchy of waste management. Zero waste is much broader than a recycling management philosophy and an operating model. It is a strategic, data-driven approach to materials management that starts with reduction, depends on segregation and traceability, and succeeds through the right combination of recovery, beneficiation and responsible disposal,” explains Stubbs.

She goes on to explain what zero waste is not.

“Zero waste is not producing absolutely no waste at all. It is not achieved at zero cost. It is not a recycling target. It is not a waste contractor key performance indicator. It is not a single technology or a single recycling stream.”

The zero waste journey

Every zero waste journey begins with a baseline assessment. This determines what waste an entity generates, where it originates, in what volumes, how often it occurs, what it costs, and where it ultimately goes. This assists in prioritising the right interventions and measuring progress.

“Through a baseline assessment, EnviroServ can identify quick wins, and then match each waste stream to the most appropriate solution across reduction, reuse, recycling, recovery or compliant disposal,” says Stubbs.

The best way to get visibility into the type and quantity of waste produced is to combine waste audits, source-level segregation, digital tracking and management reporting with internal objectives and communication campaigns.

It is important to track what leaves the gate, where it goes, who processes it, and what recovery outcome is achieved.

We translate data visibility into practical diversion options. Our most mature clients treat waste data much like financial data; they require regular reporting, traceability, verification and management review,” explains Stubbs.

Internationally recognised programmes such as TRUE Zero Waste Certification and UL Solutions’ UL 2799 Zero Waste to Landfill validation are based on documented waste measurement and high diversion performance rather than self-declared claims. TRUE is focused on minimising non-hazardous solid waste and improving resource-use efficiency, while UL 2799 validates landfill diversion claims and states that 90% diversion is required for a Zero Waste to Landfill designation excluding waste-to-energy.

“For South African companies, certification can be useful — but only if it sits on top of robust data, auditable processes and genuine operational change. The market is increasingly wary of green claims that are not supported by evidence,” says Stubbs.

The most credible organisations embed a zero waste culture across the entity. They set site-by-site targets, understand their waste profile, separate materials at source, and build reliable off-take channels for multiple waste streams. By doing this, zero waste can become a strategic commitment and, for some facilities, a verified operational standard. Investing in ongoing training, education and awareness is a key element to embedding a sustainable culture and ensuring long-term change.

“What matters is that companies avoid making zero waste a slogan and instead treat it as a disciplined programme built on data, infrastructure, supplier alignment and accountability,” states Stubbs.

Green procurement

She adds that green procurement is one of the most powerful levers when adopting a zero waste philosophy. “Companies should buy with end-of-life in mind, prioritising reusable systems, recyclable materials, responsible packaging choices, supplier take-back schemes and partners that provide traceable downstream solutions”

In practical terms, procurement teams need to include waste criteria in tenders and contracts, not just price and service scope. Buying materials that cannot realistically be recovered in the South African market is effectively buying future disposal cost and environmental risk. South Africa’s extended producer responsibility (EPR) framework is also reinforcing the principle that product design and post-consumer management need to be linked.

The theory sounds simple but in practice, green procurement is complex to manage and is still in its early stages in South Africa.

Misconceptions and mistakes

Zero waste is a long-term strategic commitment. For most companies, the realistic path is not ‘perfect zero’, but rather a progressive move towards very high diversion and far better material efficiency. The complexity of the processes required to develop and ensure sustainable beneficiation of materials is almost always underestimated. Often, there is a focus only on office recyclables while ignoring the more difficult streams such as organics, contaminated packaging, process waste, sludge, hazardous waste or mixed industrial waste.

“Another common mistake is believing that recycling rebates will cover waste management costs. In reality, rebates fluctuate with market conditions and can help offset costs, but they rarely cover the full cost of effective and compliant waste management services,” notes Stubbs.

Often, the most commercially viable method to handle various waste streams is disposal to a compliant, engineered landfill. Alternative recovery or beneficiation solutions can in many cases be more expensive to implement and sustain.

Barriers and difficulties

“A lack of awareness/education on waste, poor data, contamination, fragmented internal ownership, limited onsite segregation, lack of downstream markets for certain materials, and the belief that waste is only an operational issue rather than a strategic one can make the zero waste journey a difficult and unsuccessful one,” says Stubbs.

She adds that companies can overcome these barriers by assigning executive ownership, setting measurable diversion targets, investing in segregation infrastructure, engaging employees, and working with service providers that can offer a portfolio of solutions rather than a single outlet.

“The South African market is evolving quickly through EPR, circular economy policy and growing demand for diversion, but success still depends on execution at site level. The companies making the most progress are the ones that treat waste as a resource and risk-management issue, not just a cost line.”

Waste opportunities

Organic waste, e-waste, and hard-to-recycle packaging fractions, mixed plastics, food waste, industrial by-products and certain construction materials are under-utilised waste streams.

Organics are especially important because they make up a very large portion of general waste to landfill. The City of Cape Town’s waste strategy notes that organic waste contributes more than 50% of total general waste disposed of in South Africa. The 2025 National Strategy for Reducing Food Losses and Waste states that about 10.3 million tonnes of food material are lost or wasted annually.

“South Africa has formal norms and standards for organic waste composting and treatment, and policy is increasingly pushing the market toward diversion and beneficiation rather than disposal. That creates major potential for composting, anaerobic digestion/biogas, soil-conditioning products, animal feed pathways where appropriate, and broader circular bio-economy solutions. For many businesses, organics is one of the fastest ways to materially improve diversion rates and reduce methane-related impacts,” explains Stubbs.

In the Western Cape, the target of a landfill ban on organics by 2027 has already been articulated in provincial and City of Cape Town strategy documents.

Bans to landfill create both opportunities for innovation but can also be disruptive for businesses that have not prepared accordingly.

“For industry, the disruption comes when companies only respond once restrictions are enforced – because then they face rushed segregation changes, new storage requirements, transport redesign, contamination problems and limited treatment capacity. The smarter approach is to act ahead of regulation: measure organics, separate them properly, and build treatment and off-take partnerships now,” says Stubbs.

Electronic waste also represents a growing opportunity due to the valuable metals and components embedded in devices. The Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment reported in 2024 that nearly 68 000 tonnes of e-waste had already been diverted through EPR schemes.

In South Africa, zero waste is best understood not as an absolute end state, but as a disciplined shift towards greater material efficiency, regulatory compliance and responsible resource management. Achieving it requires data, infrastructure and a realistic understanding of costs and available technologies. For companies, the real progress lies in steadily reducing waste, recovering value where possible and ensuring that the remaining fraction is managed safely and responsibly.

For EnviroServ, the path to zero waste is therefore not about chasing slogans, but about providing practical, compliant and scalable solutions that help industry move steadily up the waste hierarchy while protecting the environment and supporting a more circular economy.