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Chris Whyte

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Chris Whyte has been a consultant in the fields of Natural Resource Management and Sustainable Development for 18 years and moved into the fields of integrated waste management and waste beneficiation technologies in 2000.

For the last decade, Chris has focussed on the development of integrated and sustainable approaches to waste management incorporating a variety of economically viable waste beneficiation technologies that frame sustainable development and the creation of green jobs.

His vision is to unlock a multitude of opportunities to create a complete waste materials recovery value chain that tackles every component of the waste stream as a sustainable model attracting investment, saving landfill volumes and costs, creating jobs, emphasising social development and maximising environmental benefits.


Chris has worked right throughout Africa with the likes of the World Bank, European Union, USAID, Global Environment Facility, UNEP and others through his own company Chris Whyte Associates and after conceptualising and initiating the USE-IT project has taken on the role of Managing Director on a 50% part-time basis for three years to ensure the project launches successfully.

Membership in Professional Societies

Registered Natural Scientist (Pr.Sci.Nat.)
Institute of Waste Management Southern Africa
KwaZulu-Natal Waste Minimization & Recycling Forum  (Current Chairman)
Responsible Packaging Management Association of South Africa

Detailed Tasks Assigned

Networking, facilitation, research and integration in recycling projects and innovative design with a focus on Local Economic Development, waste beneficiation technologies and community development using appropriate technological intervention

Key Qualifications

  • Project Leader – eThekwini Waste Materials Recovery Development Programme.  Appointed (Oct ’07) to undertake the structuring and implementation of a Special Project Vehicle constituted as a Section 21 Company that will be mandated by the municipality as the driving agency for all future recycling, beneficiation and waste diversion projects for the city’s daily 6000 tons of municipal solid waste. Appointed as Managing Director from July 2009 – July 2012.

  • Driving implementation of Compressed Earth Blocks (CEB’s) as an environmentally friendly alternative to cement block manufacture.  Dealing with several municipalities at implementation phase on pilot projects.  Compressed blocks are cheaper, stronger and highly thermally efficient and building process is faster.

  • Focus on composting projects from organic components of Municipal Solid Waste Stream with beneficiation to Bio-Organic Fertilizers that out-compete chemical fertilizers.  Applications being investigated and implemented in South Africa, Tanzania, Ethiopia, Ghana and Nigeria

  • Project Coordinator –Waste Park.  Facilitation of integrated waste recycling industry for Municipal Solid Waste.  Identifying appropriate technologies and technology partners, institutional alignment, liaison with local, national and foreign government agencies and identifying international funding partners.  Local design on pilot project to create 450 jobs, attract R420 million investment, save R30 million per year in waste management, and convert 90% of a specific landfill sites solid waste into profit. 

  • Investigation and research into sustainable energy solutions – biodiesel, ethanol, organics carbonisation, solar, photo-voltaics, biomass, Waste-2-Energy, etc

  • Director – Department of Economic Development’s KZN Furniture Association - Cluster Committee to increase the global competitiveness of the furniture manufacturing industry in KwaZulu-Natal.  Key role in identifying innovative wood waste recycling technologies.

  • Current Chairman of the KwaZulu-Natal Waste Minimisation and Recycling Forum.

  • Chairman of Pietermaritzburg Chamber of Business’ Wood Forum.  Finding industry solutions to waste management cost savings and increasing global competitiveness to grow industry in Pietermaritzburg. 

  • Director of a Wood-Plastic Manufacturing concern in implementation phase

  • Implementing rubber and wood composite recycling technologies

  • Applying environmentally-friendly alternative building materials using wood waste and recycled products to bridge gap in low-cost housing in SA – Insulated Concrete Forms

  • Director of Gayakabusha (Pty) Ltd – an umbrella organisation incorporating 7community buyback centres in eThekwini Municipality wherein value is added to waste and builds wealth, attracts investment and encourages expansion.

  • Management Committee Member and co-founder for collaborative Msunduzi Local Economic Development Forum between City Council, Chamber of Business and University of KwaZulu-Natal, dubbed the Msunduzi Innovation Development Institute (MIDI)

  • Committee member of national e-Waste strategy under guidance of Swiss Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO) in the “Knowledge Partnership in e-Waste Recycling” initiative and member of the e-Waste Association of South Africa (eWASA)

  • Member - Msunduzi Landfill Site Monitoring Committee 2000 - present

  • Chairman of Pietermaritzburg Tourism (2005 – 2007), executive committee member 2001-present

  • Past Executive Committee Member of Pietermaritzburg Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PCCI), and current member of Pietermaritzburg Chamber of Business.  Serve on Local Economic Development, Environment and Air Quality Committees

  • Undertook 2 years research into implementation of biofuel applications in South Africa through pelletising and briquetting of wood waste from saw milling operations

  • Past experience working with DBSA, DEAT, DAEA, DWAF and other national and local stakeholders in waste management

  • Project management experience with local, national and international agencies such as World Bank, EU, USAID, UNEP, AfDB, GEF and PHRD.

  • Existing working relationships with solid waste management divisions of Msunduzi, eThekwini, Gauteng, uMhlathuze, Buffalo City and Cape Town Municipalities regarding recycling opportunities

  • Existing working relationships with USAID, US Global Development Agency (GDA), American Trade Development Agency (TDA), Development Bank of South Africa (DBSA) and many others.

  • Experience working with more than 20 technology providers for innovative recycling design in more than a dozen countries.

  • Creating low capital opportunities for broad-scale BEE

  • Ten years dedicated to development of recycling opportunities

Education:

Matric (Form 10) - Damelin College, Johannesburg

B.Sc. (Geology and Hydrology Majors) - University of Natal, Pietermaritzburg

B.Sc. Honours (Geology) - University of Natal, Pietermaritzburg

Diploma in Small Business Management - Damelin College

M.Sc.  Geographic Information -Awarded Scholarship - City University, London