To take part in the Zero Waste Cities competition, companies or entrepreneurs from the city of Johannesburg in South Africa must apply by June 19th, 2021. The competition, launched by the organisation WasteAid, aims to encourage innovation for sustainable waste management.
In July 2021, 12 semi-finalists will be selected from the three candidate cities, including four in Johannesburg, and will receive intensive business support to refine their solution and create a business case. Participants will then present the strengths of their innovations at a ‘Shark Tank’ in front of a panel of experts operating in the waste sector.
Funding for Huhtamaki
The Zero Waste Cities competition is supported by WasteAid’s Circular Economy Network. The two-year programme is funded by packaging solutions provider Huhtamaki.
The two winners from each city will receive a €10,000 package each from WasteAid and business mentoring support after the results are announced in October 2021. The companies or entrepreneurs will use these funds to take their projects from prototype to production. In Johannesburg, South Africa’s largest city and the capital of Gauteng province, WasteAid’s support will enable the development of the circular economy around waste.
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This initiative also supports the efforts of local authorities to reduce pollution. South Africa wants to reduce the amount of waste in landfills by 40%. The government is focusing on incentives for reuse, recycling, energy recovery and waste composting. In 2020, Pretoria replaced its national waste management strategy with a new policy that supports waste pickers and the entire informal sector. The 2020 strategy promotes the design of packaging products that reduce the amount of waste in the environment. The new policy also encourages reuse, repair and preparation for recycling through source separation.
Inès Magoum