FEATURE
African context. As the Gauteng Province
contributes about 45% of the total
municipal waste generated in South
Africa, their case study area covers
two of the large urban metropolitan
municipalities in Gauteng, namely
Ekurhuleni and Johannesburg, with a
combined population of 8.33 million,
representing nearly 15% of the South
African population.
The results indicate that an average
of 0.48kg (Ekurhuleni) and 0.69kg
(Johannesburg) of food waste (including
inedible parts) is disposed of into the
municipal bin per household per week
in the two municipalities, respectively.
This translates into per capita food
waste disposal of 8kg and 12kg per
countries. For example, global estimates
suggest that households in developed
countries waste more food than those
in developing countries, but these
estimates are based on assumptions that
have not been tested.
As such, Suzan Oelofse; Aubrey
Muswema; and Fhumulani Ramukhwatho
of the Council for Scientific and Industrial
Research (CSIR) did a paper on
‘Household food waste disposal in South
Africa: A case study of Johannesburg
and Ekurhuleni’ which was published in
the May/ June 2018 edition of the South
African Journal of Science.
They set out to present primary data
relating to household food waste disposal
for South Africa within the sub-Saharan
By solving food waste, we could solve world hunger.
42
www.coldlinkafrica.co.za
INCORPORATING COLD CHAIN
The per capita food waste disposal in Johannesburg is estimated at 12kg per annum.
annum, respectively, in South Africa as
compared to the estimated 6-11kg per
annum in sub-Saharan Africa and South
and Southeast Asia. This amounts to a
staggering 25 198 tonnes and 51 462
tonnes of wastage from local households
per annum.
The average annual cost of household
food waste in South Africa is R21.7 billion,
according to this study. Therefore,
preventing food wastage will not only
save money for households, but will
have broader economic, social and
environmental benefits. Reducing food
waste will address food and water
security concerns and contribute to the
COLD LINK AFRICA •
SEPTEMBER 2019