Module 1 - Introduction To Circular Economy

Welcome to Module 1:
Introduction to
Circular Economy
Module 1:
16 March 2022
10h00 – 12h00
Circular Economy for the Waste Sector in South Africa Session 1/3
Trainers Team
Jan Willem Timmer Siem Haffmans Josh Williams Flora Poppelaars

Senior Consultant – Senior Consultant – Consultant – Consultant –
EcoMetrix Africa Partners for Innovation EcoMetrix Africa Partners for Innovation
Author:
Products that Flow
Agenda
Part 1.1: Concept of Circular Economy

• Relevance
• Definition and objective
• Benefits
• Principles
Part 1.2: Status quo in the South African waste sector

• Waste types and quantities
• Economic opportunities from waste streams
Poll #1: Your experience
What is your experience on Circular Economy?
a) Circular Economy is a new topic for me.

b) I know about the basic principles.
c) I am working on this.
d) I am an expert on this.
Part 1.1:
Concept of Circular Economy
From linear to circular: Why?
In a linear economy, we:
TAKE MAKE DISPOSE
From linear to circular: Why?
Linear Economy disadvantages
• Raw materials depletion

• Loss of biodiversity
• Import of raw materials
• CO2 emission
• Toxic emissions
• Landfill (increasing costs)
• Litter / plastic soup
From linear to circular
“A circular economy is one that is restorative

MAKE
and regenerative by design and aims to keep
products, components, and materials at their
highest utility and value at all times, distinguishing
RETURN between technical and biological cycles.”
/ENRICH
Ellen MacArthur Foundation
CONSUME
/USE
From supply chain to value chain
Supply chain
Value chain
Adapted from UN Environment
Re-thinking
progress
Circular Economy for the Waste Sector in South Africa

From linear to circular
Circular Economy benefits
• Reduce resource dependency

• More biobased/recycled materials
• More local employment, new business
development and socio-economic upliftment
• Reduction of CO2 emissions
• Reduction of toxic emissions
• Reduction of landfill
• Reduction of litter
Source: UNCTAD
Circular principles
• Eliminate waste and pollution

• Circulate products and materials
(at their highest value)
• Regenerate nature
Underpinned by a transition to renewable

energy and materials
Worldwide circularity score
The Circularity Gap Report 2021 finds that 8,6%

21 circular economy strategies can cut
global greenhouse gas emissions by
39% and help avoid climate breakdown.
The measures in this report would increase

the proportion of materials that are reused
from 8.6% to 17%, nearly doubling the
circularity of the global economy.
Source: Circle Economy
Material flows in Circular Economy
Biological
materials
Source: Ellen MacArthur Foundation
Biological
materials
Biological Technological
materials materials
Material flows in Circular Economy – 2 polls
From value creation…
Retail
Assembly
Manufacturing
Extraction
Source: Sustainable Finance Lab, Circle Economy,

Nuovalente, TU Delft, and het Groene Brein
…to value destruction
Retail
Assembly
Manufacturing
Extraction

… to retaining value
Reuse/Redistribute
Retail
Refurbish
Assembly
Remanufacture
Manufacturing
Recycle
Extraction

… to retaining value
Optimal Use
Life extension, Repair & maintenance,
Sharing platforms, Product as a Service
Value Recovery
Circular Design 2nd hand seller
Product design Reuse/Redistribute Refurbished
Circular materials Recaptured material
Classic longlife Retail
Refurbish Recycler
Assembly
Remanufacture
Manufacturing
Recycle
Extraction
Network Organisation Source: Sustainable Finance Lab, Circle Economy,

Value management/ Process design/ Tracing facility/ Logistics Nuovalente, TU Delft, and het Groene Brein
Value at various levels
Value at various levels
Refurbished: R 4,000
New: R 10,000 R 2,000
R 1,000
R 500
R 200
Source: Metabolic
Life cycle extension and repair
Optimal use
Prolonging the lifetime of products means less

waste.
• Life extension
• Repair and maintenance
Source: https://www.rocksole.co.za/
Life cycle extension and repair Source: Car2Go
Optimal use
Intensify the use of products means less

waste.
• Sharing platforms
• Leasing
Source: Gerrard Street
• Product as a Service
Source: Recup
Re-use
Packaging and disposables

• Coffee cups
• Reusable food trays
Logistic systems (pool systems) Source: CHEP pallets

• Pallets
• Roll-containers
• Crates and boxes
Source: Renewd
Refurbish / remanufacture
Consumer electronics
• Mobile phones
• Laptops
Source: Lely
Capital goods
• Production equipment
• Trucks and trailers
Recycling (technical cycle)
Source: the Glass Recycling Company
Packaging / consumer products

• Plastics
• Paper/carton
• Glass
• Metals
Business waste
• Production waste
Renew (biological cycle)
Consumer waste
• Food waste
Production waste
Source: Bio2Watt (South Africa)
• Agricultural waste
• Wood
• Manure
• Sewage sludge
Q&A
Part 2:
Overview of the South African
Waste Sector
Waste streams
Organic Sewage Paper Plastic Glass Metals Tyres Batteries Waste oils WEEE
waste sludge
Bulky waste Construction Commercial Fly Bottom Slag

& Demolition biomass ash ash
Poll #2: Waste streams
What are the largest waste streams in South Africa?
a) Organic waste
b) Packaging materials
c) Construction & demolition waste
d) Fly ash
e) Other
Landfilling versus Diversion
General Waste Generation: Landfilled versus Diverted
20
Million Tonnes Per Annum
15
10
0
Municipal Commercial Fly Ash Bottom Ash Slag Organic Construction Paper Plastic Glass Metal Tyres
Landfilled Diverted
Source: 2018 State of Waste Report
Waste Management Services in SA
• Municipal solid waste collection is the legal mandate of

the local municipality
• 34.1% of households “dump or leave their rubbish elsewhere”,

make use of their “own refuse dump” or a “communal refuse
dump”, or have access to a less frequent service.1
• 9.9% of rural households have access to a weekly waste

collection service.1
• Business sector uses private sector waste management

service providers
1A Circular Economy Guideline for the Waste Sector – DEA (2020)
Transition towards Diversion
• 90% of all general, hazardous and unclassified waste

generated disposed of to landfill, controlled waste disposal
sites or to uncontrolled dumpsites with associated open
burning.
• a huge loss of viable secondary resources estimated at

R17 billion
• DEA target: increase waste diverted from landfill to

25% by 20231.
• Opportunities related for WEEE, plastics, construction &

demolition wastes, textiles and organic waste.
1https://pmg.org.za/committee-meeting/25240/
Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment
Current situation of collection
• WEEE generated in 2015: 74,923t

• WEEE collection done via informal and formal
channels
• On 5 November 2020, the DFFE published
Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR)
regulations for WEEE.
Source: Mintek (2017)
Current situation of diversion
• EPR regulation targets for collection, recovery and

recycling
• Currently ~11% of WEEE recycled annually

• Large percentage of WEEE is exported
• Recycling foremostly done by a few well-established

Source: WEEE EPR Regulation
‘consolidator’ companies
• Valuable WEEE items are salvaged by informal
collectors operating on landfill sites.
• Most small dismantlers complement WEEE recycling
with refurbishment (regarded as more profitable).
Circular situation
• Opportunities relating to repair,

refurbishment and recycling activities
Source: Platform for Accelerating the Circular Economy, CE

Action Plan Electronics
Plastic waste
Current situation1
• 46% of plastic scrap is collected

• Informal sector collects 80–90% (by
weight) of the total packaging scrap
• 68% of collected scrap was converted to
recyclates in 2018.
• Limited markets for export of plastics
could lead to more landfill.
• Micro plastic pollution issues for the
coastline and oceans
South African Plastics Pact The Circular Plastics Economy | WWF South Africa 1Source: WWF South Africa
Plastic waste
Circular situation1
Necessary actions:
• Strengthen the regulatory environment
• Unlock investment for a circular plastics
economy
• Ensure accountability
• Support the local industry
One ton of recycled plastic saves around 2

tons of CO2 emissions.
1Source: WWF South Africa
Construction and demolition waste
Current situation
• According to the Council for Scientific and Industrial

Research (CSIR, 2001) the SA construction industry
has been found to generate approximately 5-8 million
tons of C&D waste per annum.
• Building rubble recycling is limited to single operations

in Cape Town - Western Cape, Johannesburg -
Gauteng, and Durban - KwaZulu-Natal.
Construction and demolition waste
Circular situation
• C&D waste offer opportunities for secondary use

in road-building and building construction
• GreenCape: potential to create >500 jobs and

divert ~2.3 million tons from landfill over 4 years
in Cape Town.
Source: Metso Outotec Lokotrack Urban LT106
Coal ash
Circular situation
• Ash from coal boilers has become a feasible

additive for various cement or clay mixtures.
• WISP has facilitated the uptake of >10.000 tpa

of ash waste by brick manufacturers.
Textile waste
Current situation
• No data for SA
• Re-use and recycling of clothing and

textiles offer many circular opportunities
for community involvement and low-skilled
work opportunities with an associated
positive impact on the environment.
Organic waste
Current situation
• 10 million tonnes of food go to waste per year

• =1/3 of food produced annually
• Loss valued at R61.5 billion (WWF).
From results of a composition study (2016),

organic was 11% for Dailies and 27% for Round
collected refuse (RCR) collection services.
Organic waste
Circular situation
Significant opportunities for diversion from

landfill still exist for the organic fraction of
municipal solid waste (OFMSW)
• NOSH Food Rescue - A group of SA

chefs diverted hundreds of tonnes of
food to help struggling families.
• Sustainable Heating (Pty) Ltd. - Home
Industrial Symbiosis
Western Cape Industrial Symbiosis Programme

(WISP). To date WISP has facilitated over 220
synergies resulting in:
• 132 566 tonnes of waste diverted from landfill;
• 309.200 tonnes fossil GHG emissions saved
(equivalent to the electrical usage of 39.800
households in SA);
• Over R147 million generated in financial
benefits (additional revenue, cost savings and
private investments);
• 392 economic wide jobs created.
Industrial Symbiosis
Circular situation
Main principle: residue from one company

becomes a resource at another
In Kalundborg Symbiosis, the city's biggest

industrial companies work together across
sectors to share excess energy, water, and
materials (i.e., >20 different streams).
Source: Kalundborg Symbiosis
Poll #3: Waste streams
In which waste stream(s) would you like to intervene?

a) WEEE (Electrical and Electronic Equipment)
b) Plastics & packaging waste
c) Construction and demolition waste
d) Textile waste
e) Organic waste
f) Other:
Q&A
Module 2: 23th March 2022
Opportunities for Circularity in the Waste Sector

• Waste prevention
• Waste collection
• Biological processes
• Technological processes
• Other circular opportunities
Thank you for your
participation!
See you on 23th of March

Module 1 - Introduction To Circular Economy

Uploaded by

Document Information

Original Description:

Original Title

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

Module 1 - Introduction To Circular Economy

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

Welcome to Module 1:

Jan Willem Timmer Siem Haffmans Josh Williams Flora Poppelaars

Part 1.1: Concept of Circular Economy

Part 1.2: Status quo in the South African waste sector

What is your experience on Circular Economy?

a) Circular Economy is a new topic for me.

In a linear economy, we:

TAKE MAKE DISPOSE

Linear Economy disadvantages

• Raw materials depletion

“A circular economy is one that is restorative

Adapted from UN Environment

Circular Economy for the Waste Sector in South Africa

Circular Economy benefits

• Reduce resource dependency

• Eliminate waste and pollution

Underpinned by a transition to renewable

The Circularity Gap Report 2021 finds that 8,6%

The measures in this report would increase

Source: Circle Economy

Source: Ellen MacArthur Foundation

Source: Ellen MacArthur Foundation

Source: Ellen MacArthur Foundation

Source: Ellen MacArthur Foundation

Source: Sustainable Finance Lab, Circle Economy,

Source: Sustainable Finance Lab, Circle Economy,

Source: Sustainable Finance Lab, Circle Economy,

Network Organisation Source: Sustainable Finance Lab, Circle Economy,

New: R 10,000 R 2,000

Prolonging the lifetime of products means less

Intensify the use of products means less

Packaging and disposables

Logistic systems (pool systems) Source: CHEP pallets

Packaging / consumer products

Bulky waste Construction Commercial Fly Bottom Slag

What are the largest waste streams in South Africa?

Source: 2018 State of Waste Report

• Municipal solid waste collection is the legal mandate of

• 34.1% of households “dump or leave their rubbish elsewhere”,

• 9.9% of rural households have access to a weekly waste

• Business sector uses private sector waste management

1A Circular Economy Guideline for the Waste Sector – DEA (2020)

• 90% of all general, hazardous and unclassified waste

• a huge loss of viable secondary resources estimated at

• DEA target: increase waste diverted from landfill to

• Opportunities related for WEEE, plastics, construction &

Current situation of collection

• WEEE generated in 2015: 74,923t

Source: Mintek (2017)

• EPR regulation targets for collection, recovery and

• Currently ~11% of WEEE recycled annually

• Recycling foremostly done by a few well-established

• Opportunities relating to repair,

Source: Platform for Accelerating the Circular Economy, CE

• 46% of plastic scrap is collected

One ton of recycled plastic saves around 2

1Source: WWF South Africa

• According to the Council for Scientific and Industrial

• Building rubble recycling is limited to single operations

• C&D waste offer opportunities for secondary use

• GreenCape: potential to create >500 jobs and

Source: Metso Outotec Lokotrack Urban LT106