The Sebenzisa Tembisa challenge, launched as part of the Place-Based Innovation (PBI) initiative by Global Alliance Africa (GAA) funded by the UK’s Foreign Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) and Innovate UK, created a new bridge between innovators and local communities in need of on-the-ground solutions in South Africa. Following community consultations, waste management was identified as a critical challenge for local households and businesses. The strong local buy-in led to the successful delivery of three pilot projects offering sustainable, circular economy solutions.
The funding call invited innovators to work in partnership community-based stakeholders, to pilot innovative approaches to waste management in the Tembisa township. Three successful projects emerged, each demonstrating strong potential to generate social, environmental and economic benefits:
- Optimising the valorisation of used cooking oil into biodiesel and strengthening supply chain management, supported by an online platform and chatbot to connect community members with merchants.
- Trialling waste-based ethanol gel cooking stoves, assessed through a baseline study with Tembisa households.
- Customising and piloting a rapid composter to transform food and garden waste into a valuable resource for community and commercial use.
Through waste valorisation, clean energy innovation and circular economy practices, these pilots have laid the groundwork for scalable, sustainable social, environmental and economic impacts. The projects also highlight the power of equitable, community-led partnerships in delivering technology solutions that respond directly to local needs.
By supporting this bottom-up approach, the initiative not only underpins the UK’s commitment to inclusive development through equitable partnerships that respond to on-the-ground needs, but also contributes to the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals 11 and 12.
The effective waste management pilot projects in Tembisa will continue to deliver positive social and environmental impacts by reducing pollution, and creating opportunities for sustainable economic growth locally through new innovation partnerships.
Dr Nee-Joo Teh, GAA Project Director
Spotlight 1: TelioGreen Platforms, Lathitha Biodiesel and University of Surrey
Large quantities of used cooking oil generated by restaurants and households in Tembisa present a significant waste management challenge. In response Lathitha Biodiesel, TelioGreen Platforms and the University of Surrey collaborated to deliver an innovative, full-supply-chain solution: from collecting waste oil via a community friendly digital platform to valorising it into biodiesel. Following a successful pilot, the team are now looking to scale up operations and explore potential new markets.
The project had two main components:
- An online supply chain platform with WhatsApp integration, developed by TelioGreen Platforms and Dr Michael Short (University of Surrey), enabling easy connection between community members and biodiesel merchants.
- Biodiesel production from waste oil, led by the female-owned green energy company Lathitha Biodiesel, supported by technical expertise from Dr Dimitrios Tsaoulidis (University of Surrey).
The platform optimises supply chain efficiency by providing real-time data management and a central dashboard for biodiesel merchants. Importantly, after community engagement workshops revealed limited internet access among many residents, a WhatsApp chatbot was integrated, making it easier for users to sell oil, track progress, and view rates with simple mobile prompts.
“The WhatsApp-based circular economy platform has introduced new income streams for local used cooking oil producers, enabling them to monetize their waste efficiently.” Fairchance Ncube, TelioGreen Platforms
Community partnerships underpinned success. Local NGO T-SHAD provided venues for workshops, hosted training sessions, and supported temporary storage of waste oil. Meanwhile, a community-facing website, accessible via QR code, helped broaden participation, alongside a strong social media and radio outreach campaign.
“We came with the concept of making sure that the money remains in the community. We had to build that trust. Now, there is more understanding in the community on how to do things in a more sustainable way.” Phumzile Khoza, LaThitha Biodiesel.
As well as scaling up the initial pilot in Tembisa, the project team have also been exploring other opportunities to build on the pilot’s successes:
- Lathitha Biodiesel have established an ongoing partnership with T-SHAD and are exploring new partnerships with the Green Business College and the University of Johannesburg and working towards setting up a local biodiesel production plant.
- TelioGreen Platforms is exploring platform expansion into Kenya, integrating AI technologies, and collaborating further with the University of Surrey. The team were also finalists in the 2024 Africa Earth Observation Challenge.
- TelioGreen Platforms is an active member of the GIZ-sponsored PREVENT Waste Alliance including showcasing their work in Tembisa through with other members of the alliance.
Spotlight 2: University of Stellenbosch and the Green Business College
The Stellenbosch University partnered with the Green Business College to assess the feasibility of ethanol stoves powered by waste-derived bioethanol as a clean, cost-effective alternative for household cooking. Working alongside T-SHAD and Umthambeka Drop-In Centre, the project engaged 50 low-income households to trial ethanol stoves, record fuel consumption and cooking times, and provide feedback on usability and cost. Findings from the baseline study were promising:
- Households used an average of 13.9 litres of ethanol per month.
- Over half reported faster cooking times than with traditional fuels.
- Positive feedback confirmed the commercial viability of waste-based ethanol for low-income settings.
Participating households also shared key data on existing practices, which confirmed that a combination of paraffin, wood burning, electricity and gas are currently used for cooking. As a renewable energy source, waste-based ethanol has significant advantages over traditional fuels including reducing air pollution created by burning fuels and improved health and safety, especially risk of burns.
“The feedback is very valuable for the ongoing in-house research initiatives aimed at value-engineering the production process.” – Eugene Van Rensburg, Stellenbosch University
Key learning points from the pilot study include the need to build community partnerships such as those with T-SHAD and the Umthambeka Drop-In Centre to reach households across the community, and to deliver workshops and training around the benefits and safe use of ethanol as a clean, renewable energy source. Initial modelling also indicates that partnerships with local retailers or community centres that can provide regular and accessible ethanol refills, alongside payment schemes like pay-as-you-go (PAYG) or microfinance loans to make cookstoves and ethanol more affordable, would also help to incentive the transition to waste-based ethanol.
Looking ahead, Stellenbosch University is seeking further funding to expand trials and value-engineer the production process to improve affordability, alongside lobbying for subsidies to support scale-up.
Additionally, the project fostered partnerships between stakeholders in the ethanol production and distribution segments of the value chain, including stove distributors, 1-G ethanol for cooking dealers, and clean energy advocacy groups creating pathways for business expansion.
Spotlight 3: The Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) and Clean City SA
The Council for Scientific Research (CSIR) partnered with Clean City SA to pilot a rapid composter, capable of turning 15kg of food and garden waste into 8kg of high quality compost within 72 hours. The resulting compost can be used to enrich food-producing community gardens, or potentially, to sell as an income-generating activity in support of wider community initiatives.
“This project is a frontier in organic waste management in South Africa. Working with partners like the CSIR brings in a partnership and collaboration, where the CSIR provides the research capacity and Clean City SA provided the community involvement and participation in the solution.” Dalu Cele, Clean City SA
Clean City SA engaged T-SHAD – an established community centre in Tembisa with community gardens and recycling facilities – to provide premises for the composter alongside a steady supply of organic waste from their food and plant gardens for the initial pilots. Organic waste was also sourced from the wider Tembisa community, including local supermarkets with large volumes of food waste.
“As the landfill spaces are fast becoming scarcer, the rapid composter presents a sustainable and financially viable alternative for waste management.” Dalu Cele, Clean City SA
Initial tests run as part of the pilot project led to the optimisation of the composting process:
- Composting time was adjusted from 24 to 72 hours for quality.
- Ideal carbon-to-nitrogen ratios and moisture levels were established.
- A Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) was created and verified by CSIR.
Since the successful completion of the pilot project, the composter has been transferred to community-ownership under T-SHAD’s stewardship. Clean City SA continues to support the project’s success, including efforts to secure consistent feedstock like coffee waste. The team are also working with new partners to secure funding for a similar initiative in other provinces.