Three leading organics waste organisations are chosen to join the Branson Centre of Entrepreneurship South Africa Food Waste Innovation Challenge 2021 Ignite Programme.
Industry leaders in organics waste management, BiobiN South Africa, Nambu Group and Organic Waste to Energy, have been chosen to participate in the Branson Centre of Entrepreneurship South Africa 2021 Ignite Programme for the Food Waste Innovation Challenge. These three organisations along with 7 others will work with the Centre to solve many of the complex challenges faced by the food waste sector in South Africa, while at the same time looking to fulfil the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal to halve food waste in the world by 2030!
All three participants are members of the Organics Recycling Association of South Africa (ORASA), an industry body that aims to promote and expand the organics recycling market in South Africa.
“We are thrilled that 3 of our members will be working with the Branson Centre for Entrepreneurship on their 2021 Food Waste Challenge,” says Melanie Ludwig from ORASA. “It is encouraging that an organisation like the Branson Centre of Entrepreneurship has taken on this challenge, with their input we have no doubt we will be able to fulfil the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal.”
The Branson Centre of Entrepreneurship South Africa is a social enterprise accelerator that enables entrepreneurs to drive positive impact for people, planet and profit, through their partnership with UNDP Accelerator Labs South Africa, they believe entrepreneurs have a role to play in driving collective action at scale. Their aim is to build a network of support through the Food Waste Innovation Community; a community of entrepreneurs who are obsessed with finding solutions to food waste challenges in South Africa!
Based in the Eastern Cape, Nambu is an early stage Insect Protein Company that turns food and other organic waste streams into high value feed for chickens, pigs, fish and pets. They do this by feeding a variety of waste sources to the Black Soldier Fly (Hermetia Illucens) larvae – otherwise known as BSFL.
“The larvae are reared from hatchlings to harvest in a period of 15-17 days, at which point they are separated from their feed substrate and prepared for either sale as live larvae to local farmers, or further processed into a dried larvae or meal for sale into the feed industry,” explains Lowell Scarr from Nambu. “Our process releases up to half of the CO2 emissions as composting or landfill, and has a high value soil amendment (insect frass) as a by-product.”
Organics Waste to Energy, based in the Western Cape, is a resource efficiency company that provides sustainable waste management services with the added benefit of converting organic waste into renewable forms of bioenergy.
“The conversion of organic waste into bioenergy is an indispensable component of sustainability, contributing to reduced waste management and resource costs, landfill diversion, energy independence and a reduced carbon emissions society,” explains Rosley Sibanda founder of Organics to Waste Energy.
BiobiN is a capture and containment system used for food and organic waste material, where it starts the process to produce high grade compost in an odour-free, easily accessible vessel.
“Our BiobiN Waste Management System is a unique and innovative design which safely removes hazardous and odorous elements from organic waste material, whilst recycling the waste into a safe, environmentally friendly and rich organic compost,” says Brian Kusel from BiobiN. “It is a clean and simple solution to managing organic and wet waste that would otherwise end up in landfill.”
