Municipalities, commercial composting and sustainable development, the case of Johannesburg , South Africa

• Published in: Environmental Economics 2016-01, Vol.7 (1), p.53-59
• Main Authors: Sehlabi, Rethabile, Morton McKay, Tracey
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Composting; Landfill; Recycling centers; Sustainable development; Waste management industry; Yard waste
• ISSN: 1998-6041; 1998-605X
• DOI: 10.21511/ee.07(1).2016.07

Typical of most developing world cities, the City of Johannesburg, South Africa, faces many waste management challenges. One of which is a lack of awareness of, and compliance with, waste management legislation, recycling and composting by the general public. Thus, the city has to deal with high levels of solid waste generation and subsequent pressure on its landfill sites. The city also has to adhere to various pieces of waste management legislation, with recycling and composting being two essential elements thereof. This study outlines a commercial composting initiative designed by the municipality of Johannesburg to redirect organic green waste from landfill sites to a compost production plant. The study found that although the Panorama Commercial Composting Plant is reducing the amount of solid organic waste disposed of in the city’s landfills, better planning could increase the amount of green organic waste thus diverted. Furthermore, the adoption of a centralized, mechanized system has significantly hampered the generation of employment opportunities, while simultaneously forcing operational costs up. Finally, the lack of a coherent marketing and branding strategy has restricted compost sales. Thus, the Panorama Commercial Composting Plant is currently not recouping its costs nor generating the number of work opportunities it could. Some recommendations to rectify this are then made