Averda creating a cleaner and better society
The company partners with its clients to arrive at innovative, sustainable solutions
Averda, a leading waste management and recycling company, is dedicating significant resources to creating value from waste in a bid to support the circular economy in South Africa. The company is developing new solutions, using highend technology, and prioritising collaboration with its customers to achieve this.
Averda provides a broad range of services in the country, including general waste collection, medical waste management, and the operation of general and hazardous waste landfill sites. The company is moving towards a model where waste is reused and recycled instead of going to landfill sites. “In South Africa, 90% of the waste that’s generated is dumped,” says Justice Tootla, Averda’s Managing Director in South Africa. “We are shifting the way we look at waste. We want to make sure that we take almost no waste materials to landfill, to create a better environment.
“The traditional collect and dispose model is not the way to go. That’s why we want to move away from being just your waste collections company, to becoming a solutions-orientated company,” he adds. As part of the restructuring process, the company is redirecting its sales efforts, making changes to its back end, and rethinking the waste value chain.
Tootla says they are aligning themselves with customers who want to reduce their carbon footprint. A key element of what Averda does is identifying problems that need to be solved in the fields of waste and recycling. The company avoids being prescriptive towards its customers, preferring to find ways to work together with them to come up with efficient and sustainable solutions. “We partner with industry to find out what the pain points are and then work towards fixing the problem to create a cleaner and better society,” says Tootla.
Averda will soon treat hazardous liquid and sludge waste and convert it to energy using a new blending platform at its Vlakfontein landfill site. “We are trying to really move into a different echelon on the waste strategy, to create a circular economy and use waste
as an energy source for our generation going forward.” Regulations introduced in South Africa in 2019 mean that this type of waste can no longer be dumped. The alternative fuel produced by the blending platform will be used by various industries. The facility is expected to be launched soon.
“We are very reliant on fossil fuel as a country and that’s not sustainable,” says Tootla. “That’s why we’re finding smart ways to replace the current fossil fuel energy footprint and developing strategic partnerships with businesses who need that energy.” The company is also hoping to introduce new alternative technologies in line with the green economy.
Averda uses its vast body of experience — operating in five countries in emerging markets — to help develop the technology and strategies needed to improve the waste and recycling arena in South Africa. In the Middle East, Averda converts used cooking oil into biofuels. It is also working on a strategy to recycle used material, eliminating the need for landfill. “I believe that South Africans value what Averda does, because we bring international knowledge to a local problem and work with you to create value,” says Tootla.
He hopes that the strides that Averda is making towards zero waste solutions will inspire other companies to do the same. “We’re looking to add value in this area, and we will hopefully also influence other players in the market to go this route as well.”