The Solid Waste Management Industry in South Africa 2019

Solid Waste Management: South Africa’s 826 landfill sites take in 98 million tons of waste each year. Just less than 39% of general waste is recycled and more than 61% treated or landfilled, while just 6% of hazardous waste is re-used or recycled and 94% treated or landfilled. The World Bank forecasts that waste generation in sub-Saharan Africa will reach 516 million tons per year in 2050. ;

Reaching Capacity: Landfills in Gauteng and the Western Cape are almost at capacity and cities are looking for more landfill facilities. The poor financial status of the local government sector, which is mandated to provide waste management services, could affect its ability to provide basic services including waste management. South Africa’s waste industry needs to strike a balance between the primary need to provide basic waste management services to all communities and the need to introduce costly alternative technologies to divert waste away from disposal at landfills. ;

Report Coverage: This report focuses on the management of solid waste, excluding recycling. It describes the state of public and private waste services and the factors influencing their operations. It includes detailed profiles of 20 companies including Inter-waste (Pty) Ltd, subsidiary of Interwaste Holdings, which is being bought by the French Séché Environnement, and EnviroServ, recently fined by the Competition Tribunal for colluding with Wasteman. The report also profiles companies such as Compass Medical Waste, which is involved in waste disposal for clinics and private and government hospitals.