The legal framework for regulating food waste in South African cities

Abstract

Food waste is an aspect of the time in which we live. It is estimated that approximately one-third of the food that is produced for human consumption around the world ends up being wasted. South Africa produces 31 million tonnes of food annually for human consumption, one-third of which is wasted. The majority of food is wasted or lost during the initial phases of the food supply chain and continues through to the post-consumer stage. The post-consumer stage accounts for a large proportion of what goes into household bins and has a significant impact on urban landfills, putting more pressure on already burdened urban landfill sites. Overall, food waste has an unfavourable impact on the environment and various socio-economic implications. In the South African context, waste management is in large part assigned to local government. Part B of Schedules 4 and 5 of the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, 1996, contains the functions of local government that inform the duty to deliver basic municipal services. Municipal waste services are listed as a function of local government in Part B of Schedule 5. Municipal services such as waste collection, waste dumps and solid waste disposal fall under this function. South African law affords local government control and governing authority over waste management as well as other activities related to waste. At the national level, South Africa has laws and regulations that indirectly address food waste. However, this study shows that municipalities can and should contribute more pertinently to proper food waste regulation and management using a mix of existing and potential national and local law and governance instruments. The main research question explored is the extent to which South African law regulates food waste in cities. The methodology of this study comprises a literature review in combination of a legal analysis of the status quo in the metropolitan municipalities of eThekwini, Johannesburg, and Mangaung.