How to have your say on Cape Town’s strategy to tackle waste

Lester Kiewit chats to Grant Twigg, Mayoral Committee Member for Urban Waste Management at the City of Cape Town.

The public have the exciting opportunity to comment on the City’s first Waste Strategy which outlines the City’s approach to managing waste more effectively and sustainably, in collaboration with all Cape Town stakeholders, to help create a cleaner Cape Town and environment for all. 

Tackling illegal dumping, reducing waste that ends up at landfill, encouraging recycling and driving partnerships are among the topics addressed in the commitments and actions articulated in the strategy.

Public participation period opens from Wednesday 11 September 2024 to Friday 18 October 2024.

Cape Town's waste in numbers:

• The City currently manages about 2,1 million tonnes of waste annually, with about 31,53% of this waste currently diverted from landfill.
• Every day, Cape Town generates about enough waste to fill an Olympic-sized swimming pool.
• In 2023/24, illegal dumping totalled about 15,000 tonnes of waste collected per month.
• Cape Town's population is projected to expand to 5,8 million by 2040, which will increase pressure on waste management systems.

The City of Cape Town has collated its first Waste Strategy to navigate the significant challenges it faces in managing waste due to rapid urbanisation, population growth, and increasing consumption patterns. 

The Waste Strategy includes key actions that respond to these challenges– such as developing a plan for an additional landfill site, collaborating innovatively with producers and the formal and informal recycling industry, and extending waste services to backyard tenants on non-City land. 

The vision for Cape Town is to deliver a clean city for all, where residents and businesses have access to quality, sustainable, and affordable waste services.

The draft Waste Strategy is built on three commitment pillars:

• Optimising existing services – improving efficiencies within existing services.
• Minimising waste to landfill – making waste reduction easy and part of the culture of Cape Town.
• Maximising the basket of service offerings – expanding services through partnerships and tailoring.

"The future of Cape Town's waste is in our hands. Sustainably managing waste in Cape Town is a shared responsibility, and residents, businesses and civil society are essential partners in realising the vision of a clean city for all."

- Grant Twigg, Mayoral Committee Member - Urban Waste Management

"The City is encouraging all Cape Town stakeholders to provide input to the draft Waste Strategy, which covers various types of waste and existing services. Waste is part of our daily lives as we buy and consume products, or experience the effects of illegal dumping. It's a good time for us to reflect on our relationship with waste and how we manage it and what can be done to improve our systems, so we can all work together to keep Cape Town clean and sustainable."

- Grant Twigg, Mayoral Committee Member - Urban Waste Management

"This strategy is important because it aims to create a cleaner, healthier environment for all residents and ensure that waste management services are accessible, affordable, and sustainable. Ensuring that all residents, including residents living in informal settlements, backyard dwellings and small-scale rental units (SSRUs), have access to quality waste services is critical in transforming the waste sector to be as circular as possible."

- Grant Twigg, Mayoral Committee Member - Urban Waste Management

"This strategy also emphasises that the collaboration between the City, residents, and the private sector is important to achieve the City's ambitious waste diversion targets and create a sustainable urban environment for all Cape Town residents. In this regard, we would love to hear suggestions for topics on which we need to raise greater awareness."

- Grant Twigg, Mayoral Committee Member - Urban Waste Management

"Waste is everyone's business. This is your chance to be part of helping to create a cleaner Cape Town so please submit your comments. We want to hear from you."

- Grant Twigg, Mayoral Committee Member - Urban Waste Management

View the draft Waste Strategy:

• Online: http://www.capetown.gov.za/haveyoursay
• In-person at sub-council offices and at libraries.

Submit comments:

• Online: http://www.capetown.gov.za/haveyoursay
• Email: WasteStrategy.PP@capetown.gov.za     
• In writing: post it to Urban Waste Management 19^th floor, Civic Center, 12 Hertzog Boulevard, Foreshore, Cape Town, 8001

Special assistance for people who are unable to submit written comments:

Contact Mbuthokazi Kubashe at 021 400 9808 or Mbuthokazi.Kubashe@capetown.gov.za

General enquiries about the draft Waste Strategy

Contact the Urban Waste Management Directorate on 021 400 1902 or email: WasteStrategy.PP@capetown.gov.za

Scroll up to the audio player to listen to the full conversation.