Science, Technology and Innovation Roadmap and Strategies
Waste RDI Roadmap (2015)
Bioeconomy Strategy (2013)
STI for Sustainable Human Settlements Roadmap (2019)
Technical Studies
CSIR Briefing Notes (2021)
CSIR Technical Reports (2022-2025)
How circular is the South African economy?
The South African economy is estimated to be only 6% circular (von Blottnitz et al., 2022). The Material Flow Analysis (MFA) undertaken for the country, reconfirmed that our economy is materially dominated by export-oriented extractives; and is energetically dominated by fossil fuels, notably domestic coal supported by imported oil. There is a very low rate of domestic stock building of infrastructure (buildings, roads, etc.) at only 130 Mt (2.3 t/cap). There are pockets of high circularity in the domestic economy and significant informal activity around cascade use, reuse and recycling, but the overall socio-economic input cycling rate is very low at 2% [1.4–2.8%]. Bio-based flows are sizeable at 17% of domestic extraction, with ecologically sustainable biomass cycling of only 4% [3.9–6.1%].