ORGANIC WASTE
SOUTH AFRICA’S COMMITMENT TO
reducing food waste According to recent studies, 45% of the available food supply in South Africa is wasted, meaning an estimated 10.3 million tonnes of edible food does not reach people’s stomachs.
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ddressing delegates at the closing event of the Food and Packaging Waste Prevention and Reduction Initiative, the Minister of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment – Barbara Creecy – said it is vital to ensure food security through the implementation of the extended producer responsibility (EPR) scheme for packaging goods. The EPR is a policy approach, originally published in November 2020, under which producers are given significant responsibility – financial and/or physical – for the treatment or disposal of their post-consumer products.
Food waste Reflecting on South Africa’s progress regarding achieving the UN’s Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 12.3 of reducing food loss and
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waste by 50% by 2030, Creecy pointed out that the Covid-19 pandemic has aggravated the existing challenges facing food production and consumption. However, it also provided oppor tunities to rethink practices as consumer buying habits changed and global supply chains had been disrupted. In 2018, South Africa generated 55.6 million tonnes of general waste, of which 19 million tonnes was organic waste. The Food and Packaging Waste Prevention and Reduction Initiative aims to address food security from the perspective of avoiding food waste. Food loss and waste is a recognised global issue that is also affecting South Africa. According to the Department of Science of Innovation and the CSIR, approximately 10.3 million tonnes of food and beverages that make up 34.3% locally produced products are wasted per year. The food waste amounts to R61.5 billion annually. “While the country has these shocking food waste statistics, we also have a problem of acute food security. The Integrated Food Security Phase Classification is a common global scale for classifying the severity and
magnitude of food insecurity and malnutrition; 9.34 million people reportedly live without food security. Urgent action is required to reduce food gaps and protect livelihoods,” Creecy said.
Solution The minister emphasised the need for urgent intervention directed at identified areas and populations with food deprivation that threatens livelihoods, despite the causes, context or duration. South Africa’s deteriorating food security was mainly driven by the Covid-19 pandemic, high food prices, drought and economic decline in recent years.
