Progress towards the circular economy: case studies of sanitation and organic waste–derived resource recovery technologies in South Africa

Badza, T.; Musazura, W.; Shozi, M. Z.; Odindo, A. O.; Mabhaudhi, Tafadzwanashe. 2024. Progress towards the circular economy: case studies of sanitation and organic waste–derived resource recovery technologies in South Africa. In Nhamo, L.; Mpandeli, S.; Liphadzi, S.; Mabhaudhi, Tafadzwanashe. (Eds.). Circular and transformative economy: advances towards sustainable socio-economic transformation. Boca Raton, FL, USA: CRC Press. pp.101-138. (Africa Circular Economy Series)

The circular economy (CE) approach has attracted worldwide attention in the recent past due to increased global growth in natural resource use. The growth in natural resource extraction has been happening much faster than previously forecasted, hence the need for alternative and sustainable, transformative options for growing circular economies worldwide. In this chapter, the focus is on the progress made in South Africa on the transition towards a CE in the sanitation and organic waste management sectors. We interrogate the technologies currently existing in the country and how they contribute to resource recovery from sanitation products for reuse in the agricultural sector. The sanitation products value chain is targeted based on two basic principles: (a) decreasing resource exploitation and (b) increasing waste reduction, that is, evaluating evidence of increased resource use efficiencies and reduced waste generation in the local context. The reasons for the transition to a CE and available organic waste resource recovery technologies are highlighted, as the limitations hindering progress in achieving a CE and potential avenues to address these limitations are presented.