South Africa is running out of landfill space fast. With major hubs like Cape Town and Johannesburg facing less than five years of remaining landfill capacity, the linear disposal method…
On December 19, 2025, the Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment published the draft National Waste Management Strategy (NWMS) 2026 for public comment. Many were quick to scrutinise the targets; both the 2020 ones that were not met, and the new five year targets. We then asked ourselves, what ingredient is missing with the new NWMS? Why were we so far off from meeting the 2020 targets?We don’t think that the answer lies in an incredible innovation or new technology. In fact, we actually think that the biggest change lies in how waste sector stakeholders shift their thinking around the role of communication.
Without a clear picture, Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) becomes difficult to interpret, communicate or act on meaningfully. An integrated communication plan can strengthen EPR systems by helping different actors across the waste value chain, from producers to consumers and waste pickers, understand one another and work more cohesively. Better communication can build trust and create new opportunities for waste value creation.