Cape Town: Mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis officially launched the new Coastal Park Material Recovery Facility (MRF) in Muizenberg. This is a R434 million facility that marks a major milestone in the City’s efforts to divert recyclable materials from landfill by reselling these back to manufacturers to produce new products. There he was joined by Member of the Mayoral Committee for Urban Waste Management – Alderman Grant Twigg.
The state-of-the-art facility is designed to receive recyclables which is collected through the door-to-door recycling collections programme by the City of Cape Town. They then separate the mixed recyclables such as plastics, paper, cardboard, glass and metals, which are then prepared for re-sale to manufacture industries where they are used to produce new products.
This forms part of the City’s long-term strategy to increase recycling and extend the lifespan of landfill sites by recovering valuable materials from the waste stream before they are disposed of.
Reportedly, the facility is already receiving 25 tonnes of recyclables per day and, once at full capacity, it will receive 65 tonnes of recyclables per day. Sixty Capetonians are already employed at the recycling facility, with another 20 staff working at the collection point, and this will grow to around 160 jobs at full operation (with more downstream in the manufacturing chain). While it will significantly increase the amount of waste diverted from landfill.
Mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis said that this Coastal Park facility is a major step forward in the City’s journey towards better waste management and a robust recycling economy. By recovering recyclable materials before they reach landfill, they are extending the life of landfills and saving public money. They are also helping the environment and creating 160 jobs in the process.
Considering this, Alderman Twigg stated that this facility enables the City of Cape Town to significantly increase the diversion of recyclable material from landfill. It supports the separation-at-source programme and helps to ensure that materials with economic value are recovered and returned to the economy rather than being lost to landfill.
He added that the success of facilities like the Coastal Park MRF depends on residents continuing to separate their recyclables. Every household that participates plays a role in helping Cape Town become a cleaner and more sustainable city.