Feasibility of Waste Maize Husk Valorization as a Plastic Plate Replacement in Durban, South Africa

The zero-waste project at the Warwick Junction area of Durban, South Africa promotes alternative solutions for local solid waste management. Asiye eTufelani, a local NGO and driving force of the project, has identified two unsustainable material flows that included waste maize husks generated at a local mealie (maize cobs) cooking site and polystyrene food packaging distributed at the markets. This study investigates the management, and the value of the waste maize husks and its potential to replace parts of the packaging. A product design was developed but discarded in the process of the project. Unfortunately, a tragic flooding in KwaZulu Natal lead to an on-site analysis of the situation. A trip to Durban allowed to conduct interviews with local stakeholders and a quantification of the waste husks was done. The study managed to get a general understanding of the flows and processes at mealie cooking station. The analysis showed that the waste management at the cooking site does not need further improvement regarding the husks. In fact, health issues for the workers at the site have been determined as more critical and should be addressed further.