From Trash to Treasure ~ Learning From South Africa

One of the three concepts of promoting sustainable consumption and production in Africa is adoption of the green economy concept.

As a concept of sustainable consumption and production, it emphasizes on changing investments and providing financial means for a shift to a system that prioritizes reduction of carbon emissions, maximization of clean energy usage and production means and improving resource efficiency with an aim of balancing economic prosperity with environmental sustainability and social equity.

In Durban, South Africa, the city’s landfill generates electricity and reduces harmful emissions. Methane is extracted from the landfill and used to run electric generators, able to produce up to 12 MWh of power. Already, the landfill has avoided around 2.5 million tons of carbon emissions.

Learning from the above real case in Durban, South Africa, let us break it down:

• A landfill that otherwise would have turned into a mess for the environment and the people around it, is turning to be a source of economic value.

• The 2.5 million metric tons of CO2 equivalent emissions which otherwise could have ended up in the atmosphere and contributing to global warming has been avoided. This has also improved the local air quality through reduction of emissions of nitrogen oxides, seloxanes and Sulphur oxides.

• The methane gas extracted from the landfill is now being used in the production of electricity which is sold to eThekwini Municipality Electricity department. This electricity benefits the locals. This way, the locals are benefitted from a landfill that would otherwise have been a menace to them.

The Durban is a case that is demonstrating how we can turn what would otherwise be a menace into benefits of reduced emissions, power generation and job creation hence boosting the economy while reducing environmental degradation.  

The project is also employing and empowering the local communities (nearly 2,000 people have been educated in the landfill’s conservation and waste management principles.) thereby creating employment while also developing an army of green warriors and ambassadors withing and around the city and the local communities.

This is exactly what we need to shift to in Africa. There are thousands of landfills across Africa which are menace to our environment, our health, our economy and our well-being as societies. I believe the Durban case can be replicated in every landfill and if possible, be made better. We need to start turning what seems like trash into treasure. Turning waste into gold to propel us into a sustainable future.