Abstract
The increase in global population and industrial activity has led to a surge in waste production, contributing significantly to climate change and environmental degradation, with a substantial portion of this waste not managed in an environmentally sound manner. This challenge highlights the importance of adopting green practices within a Just Energy Transition (JET) framework to transition to non–fossil fuel-based energy systems. The successful implementation of sustainable waste management (SWM) in the JET ecosystem requires coordinated engagement among governments, the private sector, civil society, and communities. Social entrepreneurs emerge as key actors in this transition, underscoring the need for scalable social entrepreneurship models aligned with JET. Drawing on a secondary synthesis of existing literature and insights from expert roundtables, this paper proposes a comprehensive approach that integrates social entrepreneurship and JET principles to create green jobs and mitigate anticipated employment losses in the energy sector. The study introduces the Waste Profiling, Dynamic Differential Waste Pricing, and Value Trading (WPPT) framework as the core innovation for enabling a data-driven, waste-traded SWM system. Findings indicate that social enterprises in the waste sector significantly enhance material recovery rates and strengthen community-level economic participation. A key policy implication is that WPPT can complement South Africa’s Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) regime by enhancing traceability, incentivizing segregation at the source, and facilitating the formal integration of waste pickers.