City of Cape Town council has approved the first Waste Strategy, as it proactively outlined the game plan for over next 10 years to manage the waste more effectively and sustainably, in collaboration with all Cape Town stakeholders to help in creating a cleaner Cape Town for all.
Reportedly, the vision for Cape Town is to deliver a clean city for all, where the residents and businesses have access to quality, sustainable and affordable waste services. In order to activate this vision, the City of Cape Town has collated its first Waste Strategy to navigate the significant challenges as it faces in managing the waste due to rapid urbanisation, population growth, increasing consumption patterns and pervasive illegal dumping or littering.
Moreover, the Waste Strategy has prioritised the partnerships with key stakeholders in the waste industry including the residents to address the illegal dumping and reduce the waste that ends up in landfill.
It also highlighted the key actions to respond to the waste challenges such as developing a plan for an additional landfill site, collaborating innovatively with waste generators and Producer Responsibility Organisations (PRO’s) to minimise the waste and extend the waste services to indigent backyard tenants on private property.
Member of the Mayoral Committee for Urban Waste Management – Alderman Grant Twigg said that it is non-negotiable for all of them, which is requires to improve the relationship with waste and to get better at managing and reducing the waste, be it at home, as a business or as a government entity.
According to Alderman Twigg, the waste is a business for everyone. It is a part of their daily lives as they buy and use products and experienced the effects of illegal dumping. The future of Cape Town’s waste is in hand of all. It is a shared responsibility to sustainably manage waste in Cape Town and for this the residents, businesses and civil society are essential partners in realising the vision of a clean city for all.
Twigg and his team thanked the residents and businesses for their inputs to the Waste Strategy. Now that it has been approved, it’s the time for all of us to bolster the efforts and teamwork to put the game plan into action.
He said, “Let’s work together to create a cleaner, healthier environment for all residents and ensure that the waste management services are effective, accessible, affordable and sustainable.” The collaboration between the City of Cape Town, residents and the private sector is the most important factor to increase the waste diversion and create a sustainable urban environment for all Cape Town residents.