Conference accentuates EPR’s role in sustainable transformation
Industry leaders, policymakers, and innovators gathered for Circular Energy’s Third Annual Conference, a pivotal event aimed at shaping the country’s waste and resource management landscape.
As South Africa strides toward a greener, more sustainable future, key industry leaders, policymakers, and innovators gathered at the Gallagher Convention Centre on July 9 for the much-anticipated Circular Energy’s Third Annual Conference.
Held in collaboration with IFAT Africa 2025—Africa’s premier environmental technologies and circular economy event, this conference served as a crucial platform to propel the country’s waste and resource management initiatives into a new era.
Under the powerful theme ‘Shaping Tomorrow: EPR as a Catalyst for Change,’ the 2025 conference emphasises the vital role of Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) in driving sustainable transformation throughout South Africa.
Also read: Where to dump your garden refuse and general waste in Johannesburg?
EPR is an environmental policy approach that holds producers accountable for the entire lifecycle of their products, including the post-consumer stage.
This means producers are responsible for managing and financing the collection, recycling, and disposal of their products after consumers are finished using them. EPR aims to incentivise producers to design more sustainable products and reduce waste.
@caxtonjoburgnorth Balanganani Nengovhela, a specialist in solid waste management from the South African Local Government Association, discusses the integration of EPR into municipal waste management. #wastemanagement #epr #localgovernment ♬ original sound – Caxton Joburg North
The event featured the legendary master of ceremonies, Nomalanga Sitole, who energetically welcomed the speakers. Derrick Mulligan, board member of Circular Energy, set the tone for the discussions that followed.
Jeremia Lameck Sibande from the Department of Forestry, Fisheries, and the Environment (DFFE) delivered a significant session titled ‘Policy Alignment and Enforcement: South Africa’s Evolving EPR Regulations’.
This session rigorously examined how policies are being aligned, implemented, and enforced to enhance sustainable waste management, particularly in the energy and e-mobility sectors.
Municipalities are at the front line of waste management. Balanganani Nengovhela, a specialist in solid waste management from the South African Local Government Association, discussed the integration of EPR into municipal waste management.
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“As local government, where do we draw our mandate in relation to the provisional waste management services and that comes from the constitution and that automatically indicates that as a municipality, we have the executive authority over this function. They [municipalities] have to develop policies, they have to develop plans, set tariffs, and also determine how the service is going to be provided. So when we bring in the EPR, those are some of the fundamentals that we have to then juggle around with in terms of how the service is being provided in municipalities,” said Nengovhela.
Other speakers included Professor Linda Godfrey, a principal scientist at CSIR; Yolanda de Lange, executive director of the Institute of Energy Growth Professionals Africa; Jan Clyncke, managing director of PV Cycle Belgium; Patricia Schroder, CEO of Circular Energy; and Londy Ngcobo, CEO and founder of Unlocking Ocean Economy, among others.
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