Making Composting the Norm

Our mission is to create a SA in which zero green, or organic, waste goes to landfill. Happily, we’re in good company. Together with the many amazing people already composting at their homes and businesses, industry players are taking huge steps forward.

Building a GREEN Future

This year, GREEN HOME became a founder member of ORASA – The Organic Recycling Association of South Africa. ORASA represents the organic waste recycling industry, seeking to promote and expand the sector. As the ORASA website states:

“Organic material does not belong in a landfill, it belongs in a continuous cycle of growth and decay with all its nutrients being reused as nature intended.”

Together with other ORASA members, we’re working to build composting into our country’s waste management architecture. To achieve this, separating waste at source into organic, recyclable and landfill waste is very important. Tossing different waste streams together contaminates them. With about 40% of SA’s general waste being organic, there is great scope for the organic recycling industry to grow.

Organic Waste to Landfill Ban in the Western Cape

Cape Town is running out of landfill space. Which is one reason why the DEA (Department of Environmental Affairs) in the Western Cape are creating landfill bans. They plan to divert 50% organic waste from landfill by 2022, and 100% of organic waste from landfill by 2027, via the bans.

ORASA is working with the DEA to help communicate with industry about the bans and assessing how organic recyclers can assist. Read a letter from the DEA to ORASA detailing the bans here.

We’re very excited about these huge steps forward and believe compostable packaging has an important role to play. As an organic waste material, compostables can reduce waste to landfill and increase the amount of food waste being composted. A truly cyclical solution. If compostable packaging becomes the norm, instead of creating toxic landfills, we can create lots of nutrient dense soil!

Have you read about the composting trials we ran on our products at fellow ORASA member Melanie Ludwig’s composting site ZTL? Read all about them here.