Cape Town: Organic waste diversion efforts continue to roll-out of compost containers to the community continued in Subcouncil-11, at Vangate Mall during the Mayor’s Service Blitz, joined by Bingo – the anti-litter mascot.
Reportedly, the City of Cape Town is pleased to report that the home composting programme continues to create fertile ground for compost culture to take root in Cape Town. The latest roll-out saw bins distributed to residents from communities including Manenberg, Athlone, Hanover Park, Bridgetown and more.
Considering this, Member of the Mayoral Committee for Urban Waste Management – Alderman Grant Twigg said that more than 50,000 residents have been issued with home composting containers so far and his office continues to field many enquiries from residents who are interested in reducing their carbon footprint through composting.
Twigg added that the compost is made from bins that can also be used to grow fruit and vegetables in home gardens by reducing grocery costs and allowing residents to live more sustainably. It can also be donated or sold to community gardens or local urban farms.
Furthermore, Bingo attended the Service Blitz and helped to entertain and educate attendees on the benefits of composting. He also shared his anti-litter message with which he reminded the residents that it is always better to bin-it in a Bingo bin.
Littering and dumping is detrimental to environmental health, negatively affecting local ecosystems and creating health risks for communities, especially when the waste blocks the flow of water in rivers and canals. Dumping also creates a breeding ground for pests like rats.
By taking up composting, the residents will be able to:
- Free up refuse bin space at home and leave bins cleaner.
- Reduce the amount of space that is being used at landfills.
- Nourish their gardens
- Reduce greenhouse gas emissions that occur when food waste breaks down in the landfill, and slow down climate change.
- Composting helps in reducing the production of landfill gas that has a global warming potential 20 times higher than Carbon Dioxide.