Turning Food Waste Into Opportunity: How South Africa's Food Loss Strategy Compares To The EU

South Africa's food loss and waste challenge sits at the intersection of climate risk, operational efficiency and social outcomes. While 13.8 million people face food insecurity, more than 10 million tonnes of mostly edible food - valued at approximately ZAR61 billion - are wasted annually due to inefficiencies across the supply chain. At the same time, organic waste is a material climate issue, generating methane in landfills that are nearing capacity. Against this backdrop, policy makers, businesses and innovators are increasingly focused on practical pathways to reduce waste, redistribute surplus and build circular models that align environmental and social priorities.

This article synthesises perspectives from a conversation with Sonam Mansingh, Associate, Natural Resources and Environment, consultant Carlyn Frittelli Davies, Consultant in the Natural Resources and Environment practice, and Steffen Burrows, CEO of Still Good, a platform connecting people with discounted surplus food. It explores South Africa's evolving policy framework, compares it with the European Union's binding regime, and outlines what "good" looks like for South African operators over the next three years.

Why food waste, why now?

The business case is both defensive and opportunity‑driven. On the risk side, waste translates into sunk costs, compliance obligations and potential sanctions as policy tightens. On the opportunity side, Environmental Social Governance ("ESG") frameworks expand stakeholder expectations beyond shareholders and customers to include communities and the environment. Reducing food waste diverts organics away from capacity‑constrained landfills, curbs methane emissions and supports food access through donation and redistribution. Done well, this builds social licence, strengthens brand equity and opens routes to new revenue streams - secondary markets, animal feed, composting and, where feasible, carbon credit pathways linked to verified diversion.

South Africa's policy landscape: Draft strategy and voluntary action

South Africa's Draft Strategy for Reducing Food Losses and Waste (published for public comment in September 2023) sets a clear direction: align with SDG 12.3 to halve per‑capita retail and consumer food waste by 2030, prioritise prevention and redistribution, and develop circular economy solutions for unavoidable organics. Although not yet binding law, the strategy frames the national trajectory and signals where future compliance may land.

The draft identifies five strategic pillars:

• Circular economy and food recovery;
• Collaboration;
• Awareness and education;
• Skills development and capacity building;
• Infrastructure development with sustainable funding.

Its implementation goals emphasise creating an enabling environment (simple, clear norms and standards across the chain, guidance for "ugly" produce and easier permitting for organics treatment), beneficiation through secondary markets and industrial symbiosis (feed, biogas, compost), capacity building and consumer education (including on date labels), and targeted diversion with greenhouse gas reductions (facilitating donation, carbon offset pathways, and integration with foodbanks and school nutrition programmes).

In parallel, the Food Loss and Waste Voluntary Agreement, launched in 2020 and anchored by major retailers and manufacturers, has built practical infrastructure for measurement, reporting, hotspot mapping, and knowledge sharing. In effect, it is the national vehicle for action while binding targets are developed. However,, as with many voluntary frameworks, participation and impact are mixed, with some sectors advancing and others lagging.

If the draft strategy matures into regulation, the likely mandatory elements include phased limits or bans on landfilling organics, standardised and possibly mandatory measurement and reporting, clearer norms and liability protections for donation, uniform date‑labelling requirements with retail obligations, and more predictable standards and permitting for composting and other treatments. Operators should anticipate these shifts by beginning to measure food loss and waste, planning diversion pathways and ensuring compliance foundations - labelling, health and safety, and permitting - are in order.

Provincial momentum: Western Cape restrictions on organics to landfill

The Western Cape has moved ahead with enforceable restrictions on landfilling organic waste and a full prohibition by 2027 via licence conditions. This is catalysing investment in composting, biogas, and other beneficiation capacities, while reshaping cost structures tied to disposal. For businesses operating across provinces, this divergence underscores the need to tailor strategies to local permitting and compliance conditions and to build flexible, scalable organics management solutions that can adapt as other provinces consider similar measures.

The EU Contrast: Binding targets and donation facilitation

The European Union provides a reference point for binding, harmonised action. Under the revised Waste Framework Directive, the EU has set binding 2030 food waste reduction targets: a 10% reduction in processing and manufacturing, and a 30% per‑capita reduction jointly across retail, restaurants, food services, and households, measured against a 2021- 2023 baseline. These targets are supported by donation facilitation measures that require operators to enable safe donation, coupled with common measurement methodologies across member states.

For South Africa, the EU offers best‑practice architecture that must be adapted to local realities. Infrastructure and demographics vary widely, with rural contexts posing implementation challenges. A pragmatic pathway is to leverage the voluntary agreement, emphasise continued data collection to identify hotspots, and build partnerships with innovators like Still Good to scale donation and redistribution models that work in South African conditions.

Donation, date labelling and liability: Building a trustworthy system

Donation is a high‑impact lever, but South Africa's enabling environment is not yet fully codified. The South African Bureau of Standards has completed a Food Donation and Redistribution Best Practice Standard expected to go out for public comment, and the Department of Health is considering updates to labelling guidance - particularly on whether "best before" products can be donated. Clear liability protections and tax incentives would further unlock donation at scale.

In the interim, retailers and manufacturers can "future‑proof" by treating donation as a quality and compliance programme rather than a last‑minute step. This means appointing a surplus‑food manager, setting a simple Food Loss and Waste policy that prioritises prevention, then donation, followed by animal feed and treatment, embedding roles and responsibilities across stores and distribution centres, and building standard operating procedures aligned to the new Best Practice Standard. Operators should start recording and monitoring food loss and waste data and plan for separation and donation streams consistent with health and safety requirements.

Measurement: From fragmented baselines to decision‑grade analytics

Harmonised measurement is foundational. The EU's common methodology ensures comparability and accountability, while South Africa's voluntary agreement has established web‑based reporting and hotspot mapping. Nationally, data remains fragmented, and the draft strategy contemplates research capacity, national planning, and more consistent baselines to enable credible target‑setting. In practice, companies should define scope carefully, invest in data capture at operational hotspots, and collaborate across the value chain to share insights, reduce duplication, and unlock joint solutions.

Digital tools are increasingly central - linking inventory, shelf life, and demand signals to proactive markdown, redistribution, and beneficiation decisions. Supplier engagement can embed upstream prevention and quality assurance, while regional shared infrastructure can reduce costs and improve access to treatment options, especially outside metropolitan centres.

Circular economy in practice: Where the business case works

Circular interventions beyond diversion are gathering momentum. Composting and animal feed can be viable where consistent volumes and proximity reduce logistics costs. That said, large‑scale organic composting is not yet widely scalable in South Africa and remains relatively expensive in many regions, with capital requirements, gate fees and transport often higher than disposal alternatives; these economics can constrain uptake absent regulatory drivers or long‑term offtake arrangements. Biogas projects benefit from reliable feedstock and supportive permitting; returns vary by scale and offtake agreements. Secondary markets for imperfect produce can create new revenue streams if consumer education and labelling are aligned to reduce stigma around "ugly" but edible food. The strongest business cases combine operational predictability, clear quality standards, and partnerships that spread risk and investment across the chain.

What good looks like for 2025 - 2028

For South African businesses, the next three years should focus on operational readiness and constructive policy engagement. Deepening participation in the voluntary agreement and strengthening internal systems for donation will pay dividends, particularly as provincial landfill restrictions tighten. Updating labelling practices in line with evolving guidance and building consistent measurement processes will support both compliance and performance management. Engaging in the regulatory drafting process can help shape rules that are clear, practical, and investment‑friendly.

At a practical level, national retailers might set milestones such as:

• Instituting a group‑wide food loss and waste policy and governance framework;
• Implementing measurements and reporting across all stores and distribution centres;
• Establishing donation partnerships aligned to the Best Practice Standard;
• Deploying organics separation and treatment plans in provinces with restrictions;
• Piloting circular solutions in high‑volume categories to test returns and scale.

Closing reflections

South Africa has a clear policy direction and an active voluntary framework; the EU shows what binding, measured, donation‑enabled regimes look like. The opportunity is to translate intent into execution - treating surplus as social value, waste as a resource, and data as a decision tool. As landfill constraints sharpen and ESG expectations evolve, companies that invest early in measurement, donation, and circular pathways will be best placed to manage risk, unlock new value, and contribute meaningfully to food security and climate goals by 2030.

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