{"id":42625,"date":"2026-09-04T08:55:33","date_gmt":"2026-09-04T08:55:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/vut.ac.za\/?p=42625"},"modified":"2026-09-04T08:55:34","modified_gmt":"2026-09-04T08:55:34","slug":"turning-waste-into-value-prof-chinomona-outlines-a-greener-future-for-africa","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/vut.ac.za\/en_gb\/turning-waste-into-value-prof-chinomona-outlines-a-greener-future-for-africa\/","title":{"rendered":"Turning waste into value: Prof Chinomona outlines a greener future for Africa"},"content":{"rendered":"

“VUT Professor Elizabeth Chinomona’s inaugural address highlights how green supply chains, circular economy principles and innovation can transform waste into economic opportunity and sustainable growth in Africa.”<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

03 September | Story by: Ntebogeleng Digasu | Picture: <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u00a05 minutes read time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\n From Waste to Value:\nProf Elizabeth Chinomona challenged businesses, governments and communities to rethink waste as a resource that can create jobs, drive innovation and strengthen Africa\u2019s economies.\n <\/figcaption>\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

What if Africa’s growing waste problem is actually one of its greatest economic opportunities?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That was the thought-provoking question posed by Prof Elizabeth Chinomona during her inaugural address at the Vaal University of Technology (VUT), where she challenged businesses, governments and communities to stop viewing waste as something to be discarded and start seeing it as a resource with the power to create jobs, drive innovation and strengthen economies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Delivering her address at the Desmond Tutu Great Hall on 31 August 2026, Prof Chinomona argued that the future of sustainable development lies not only in protecting the environment, but also in reimagining how resources move through supply chains.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“Our goal is to shift the narrative from seeing waste as a burden to viewing it as a strategic asset,” she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Her inaugural lecture, titled From Waste to Value: Unlocking Africa’s Sustainable Competitive Advantage through Green Supply Chain, marked her appointment as Professor of Logistics and Supply Chain Management in VUT’s Faculty of Management Sciences.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For Prof Chinomona, the topic is more than an academic interest. It reflects a career built around understanding how goods, resources and people move, first in public service, and later in academia and research.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Introducing the newly appointed professor, Executive Dean of the Faculty of Management Sciences, Prof Chengedzai Mafini, described her as a scholar whose work has consistently evolved to address society’s most pressing challenges.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“Professor Chinomona’s academic journey reflects discipline, international exposure and a deep commitment to student success,” he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Before entering academia, Prof Chinomona spent more than a decade working as a senior transport officer in Zimbabwe’s public service. Those years gave her first-hand insight into transport systems and logistics, experiences that would later shape her teaching and research.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Today, she is recognised as one of VUT’s leading scholars in logistics and sustainable supply chains, with more than 120 peer-reviewed publications and a growing international research footprint.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

At the heart of her address was a simple but powerful idea: the traditional “take, make and dispose” model of production is no longer sustainable.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Instead, she advocated for a circular economy approach, where materials and products are reused, recycled and recovered wherever possible.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

She explained that green supply chain management extends beyond recycling. It includes responsible sourcing of materials, environmentally conscious manufacturing, energy-efficient transport systems, sustainable packaging and strategies that minimise waste throughout a product’s lifecycle.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“By unlocking Africa’s sustainable competitive advantage, we are not just helping the environment; we are optimising our entire value chain, creating resilience and building a circular economy that is African in its application and global in its standards,” she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A recurring theme throughout her address was the need for Africa to develop solutions that reflect its own realities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Rather than adopting sustainability models developed elsewhere, Prof Chinomona argued that African countries should harness their own resources, industries and communities to create home-grown solutions that generate economic and environmental benefits.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Her message resonated strongly with guests attending the event.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Responding to the address, Prof Neo Ligaraba from the University of the Witwatersrand described the lecture as both timely and relevant.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“Professor Chinomona has masterfully articulated the urgency of green logistics,” she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“What Professor Chinomona has presented is not merely an academic exercise. It is a necessary shift for industries across the continent and a valuable foundation for future research in supply-chain sustainability.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Beyond the discussion on sustainability, the occasion also highlighted the growing presence of women in senior academic leadership positions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

VUT Deputy Vice-Chancellor for Research, Innovation, Commercialisation and Internationalisation, Prof Speech Nelana, described Prof Chinomona’s appointment as an important milestone for the institution.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“By 2030, let us have more than 10 female professors at VUT,” he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He noted that her work aligns closely with the university’s VUT 2033+ Strategy, which prioritises research, innovation, partnerships and the practical application of knowledge to solve societal challenges.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“We must ensure that our scholarship does not remain on the shelves of libraries, but contributes to practical solutions, new opportunities and sustainable development,” he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The message echoed Prof Chinomona’s own belief that universities have a responsibility to produce research that improves lives and informs real-world decision-making.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As VUT celebrated her appointment, the significance of the occasion extended beyond academic achievement. It sparked an important conversation about how Africa can transform environmental challenges into economic opportunities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

At its core was a simple but powerful shift in thinking: what if waste is not the end of a product’s journey, but the beginning of something new?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For Prof Chinomona, the answer lies in innovation, collaboration and a willingness to rethink how value is created. And if Africa can embrace that mindset, she believes the continent can build a future that is not only greener, but also more resilient, competitive and prosperous.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Catch the full experience on Flickr <\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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