Abstracts

104 as a negative-value, cost-generating liability. By attempting to create value out of waste, incentives for players to enter the market present themselves and drive competition, helping to solve all the issues related to waste management (e.g., environmental, health, and employment). AD methodologies for organic waste allow for the valorization of the largest and most underutilized waste fraction. Creating value for waste allows it to be an asset and input into a process that creates highly desirable outputs. The economic opportunity also will encourage players in the private sector to join AD-related projects. The economic effects would be realized not only in the direct organic waste markets but also in the auxiliary markets and existing recycling and materials recovery economy. Even without the processing of organic biomass via AD methods, there already exists tremendous potential available in the inorganic materials recovery and recycling markets for paper, plastics, glass, and scrap metals. Although it is hard to estimate the market for plastics, paper, and glass, the metals market is heavily monitored by intelligence agencies and alone is valued at about R25 billion (PlasticsSA, 2018). Enhanced organic waste diversion from waste streams via AD technology would reduce contamination and increase the value of the materials recycling markets. Aside from the inorganic material recovery process itself, there are many other auxiliary services that are part of the waste supply/value chain, including collection, separation, processing, purchasing, and transportation services. The value derived from gas capture of organic waste processing can promote increased source separation. Source separation is proven to increase the results of anaerobic digestion in controlled experiments (De Baere, 2006). Furthermore, the traditional materials recovery markets would grow along with the organic materials market, because a main hindrance to development in the material recovery market is cross-contamination from organic waste. This growth would drive and incentivize entrepreneurs to create ventures in the broadening recyclables markets and auxiliary services. Greater market value for inorganic waste could promote greater economic incentive to collect previously uncollected waste, primarily in rural areas, requiring manpower and organization best handled via localized small and medium- sized enterprise (SME) participation in municipalities. The introduction of biogas—a competitor to existing commodities in heating, transportation, and industrial/manufacturing uses—likely would have the largest economic effect on integrating organic waste into the energy marketplace. The potential value of biogas has not yet been priced; however, it can be compared against its most similar substitute, natural gas, a regulated and state-controlled commodity given proper market conditions. The success of an economic approach to waste is highly dependent on the willingness of the government to shift away from very large state-owned enterprises to deliver services to its citizens. These include Eskom and PetroSA, entities that have a stronghold on the electricity and energy markets, respectively. South Africa recently has shifted focus to allow for more private participation within the economy. However, there is continued hesitance to give full control and ownership privileges to the private sector, and Eskom and PetroSA, which have a majority control of the electricity and energy (oil and gas) markets, likely would be resistant to change. The fact that the NWMS specifically calls out for the creation of new employment enhancing SMEs in the waste management space is a promising development, one that may create legislative pressure for the large state-owned enterprises to come to terms with the idea that there might be some smaller players in their markets. In order to proceed with the development of AD technology, it is important to develop feasibility studies with accurate cost analyses, allowing the determination of the most appropriate scale for the facilities. There is no way to determine what is truly the best method of implementation, given that no specific AD-based surveys have been carried out. A specially designed survey and feasibility study must be conducted by the parties that want to implement AD technology, which would require a highly interdisciplinary team consisting of economists, waste specialists, engineers,