2025 CIRCULAR ECONOMY AND WASTE INNOVATION Award Finalists
SPONSORED BY
For a policy, programme, project, product, service or technology that significantly reduces waste volumes and/or facilitates a circular economy through re-use, recycling or upcycling.
Khepri Innovations
Khepri Innovations designs and operates modular, onsite waste bioconversion systems that transform organic waste into sustainable animal feed and organic fertilizer using black soldier fly larvae. Each unit can process up to three tons of food waste daily, reducing landfill emissions and creating green jobs. The technology supports compliance with South Africa’s NEMA regulations and promotes circular economy principles by closing the loop between waste and food systems. Khepri empowers clients—including hospitals, abattoirs, and municipalities—to decarbonize waste, monitor emissions, and generate carbon credits, turning waste management into both an environmentally responsible and financially rewarding process. By combining innovation, sustainability, and practical impact, Khepri Innovations demonstrates how modern waste solutions can drive environmental, social, and economic benefits while supporting a greener, more circular future.
Linchpin Environmental Sustainability Solutions - Resource Efficiency Assessments
Resource Efficiency Assessments help companies reduce emissions and costs by optimising energy, water, and raw materials. By addressing inefficiencies, minimising waste, and enhancing operational performance, they use onsite assessments, real-time monitoring, data analytics, and systems thinking to deliver actionable insights. Each project is tailored and supported by stakeholder engagement to ensure long-term adoption. The assessments uncover opportunities for circularity, reuse, recycling, and industrial symbiosis, enabling businesses to operate more sustainably. With over 100 projects completed across multiple industries, they have helped their clients take the lead in a sustainability-focused world. Their achievements include more than 40% energy savings, over 200,000 litres of water saved annually, and a reduction of over 30% of waste sent to landfills, demonstrating that efficiency and sustainability can go hand in hand.
Use It Waste Beneficiation (RF) NPC
USE-IT Waste Beneficiation NPC is a circular economy pioneer that diverted 1,288 tons of waste from landfill in 2023/24, creating over R7.4 million in economic value and providing employment for more than 250 informal reclaimers. Through scalable, township-based models, USE-IT fosters innovation—such as KEY Bricks and Bugology—while upskilling communities and restoring dignity through green jobs. Its initiatives range from buy-back centres to organic composting and e-waste solutions, reflecting the values of Vision, Integrity, Responsibility, Trust, Ubuntu, Environmental ethics, and Sustainability. With tangible results, strategic partnerships, and replicable models, USE-IT demonstrates that circular economy solutions can be both practical and transformative. The organisation is a proven agent of change, delivering real impact in communities while advancing environmental sustainability and economic empowerment.