Waste
Innovative thinking is putting Philippi at the cutting edge of global responses to waste management, food security and climate change. Central to this is the realisation that waste has economic value.
THE OPPORTUNITY CYCLE
Waste management is a value chain that can generate sustainable jobs – and Philippi is perfectly situated to build a waste economy. Geographically located at the heart of the city, the area can play a key role in the City’s solution to waste management – and turn it to an economic stimulator. Already several threads in this vision are taking shape.
ORGANIC WASTE
- Organic waste to organic compost
- Organic waste to protein
NON-ORGANIC WASTE
- Plastic waste to high grade low sulphur diesel or aviation fuel
- Incinerable waste to energy
- Recyclable waste for economic benefit
Waste to Food
Next to the Philippi Fresh Produce Market an unusual harvest is being cultivated at Waste to Food: ‘worm soup’. This is the valuable compost that arises out of a process known as vermiculture – where worms are fed organic waste that would otherwise be sent off to the landfill.
Project CEO Robert Jacques has a vision for the worm hammocks to be franchised out so that entrepreneurs run the hammocks and become business owners with a proper income.
Already the excellent compost is being sold in select Pick n Pay stores. Pick n Pay is linked to the project thanks to the generous donation of funds by the Ackerman Pick n Pay Foundation.
Agriprotein
Another organic waste project in the area, Agri Protein, holds the promise of scaling up to manage large amounts of waste. In this project the organic waste is fed to flies who consume it and produce fly larvae. The fly larvae are pure protein which is sold to farmers who are able to use it as feedstock for protein-dependent livestock.
Plastics to fuel
An innovative business in Philippi, Plastoil, is separating waste it collects into organics that are suitable for the fly farming business at Agriprotein, and plastics which it can use in its own waste recycling business. Plastoil is using a process which takes so-called end-of-life plastics and reduces them to two oils – high-grade diesel and aviation fuel.
Paper, card and plastic recycling
Of course plastics can simply be recycled and used again as plastics. PEDI is exploring opportunities to establish a Waste Recycling centre which will create jobs, help to lift the grime from our streets, and reduce the load on our landfills.
Metal recycling
There are other waste recycling opportunities. The scrap metal recycling industry has long been a key activity in the area. A number of recycling businesses are operating in the area. Philippi is ideally placed o manage scrap metal for the City.
Informal builders’ waste recycling
Dozens of informal entrepreneurs have spontaneously realised the value in recycling dumped rubble. The illegal dumping of builders’ rubble is a problem for farmers, but smart recyclers have seized the gap and are digging out what they can use, cleaning bricks and other building materials which they sell at the side of the road. If managed properly, this is a sector with possibilities for expansion.
Other Sectors
Agriculture
Industry
Transport