The City of Cape Town has been announced as a winning city in the global Bloomberg ‘Mayor’s Challenge’ 2025, securing a $1 million prize for funding towards community co-designed waste management solutions in informal settlements.
Mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis’ winning entry was selected from 630 applications for the global competition. Each of the 24 winning cities received $1 million as well as operational support and additional funds to scale-up innovations.
Cape Town made entry for a project that aims to improve waste management solutions in partnership with informal settlement residents to reduce illegal dumping, and achieve cleaner, healthier communities.
Lewis stated that cleaning up informal settlements is a problem that has vexed him and the city for years. That’s why he nominated this project for consideration for the Mayor’s Challenge Prize.
They are most appreciative of this prize money and support, and they will use the money to scale up the pilot project on waste management in informal settlement communities. The project recognises that success can only be achieved with the insights and collaboration of residents. They are energised by this global recognition as they work towards better, cleaner, more dignified living conditions for all residents, in line with the mission to build a city of hope for all.
The initiative was piloted in Dunoon, and will feed into the development of a scaled-up solution including:
- community-led waste separation-at-source projects
- design and testing of greywater diversion infrastructure systems
- exploration of a new model for informal settlement waste and cleansing services
According to Bloomberg Philanthropies, the challenge took place over two phases, with Cape Town competing among 50 cities during the finalist phase where ideas are pressure-tested and ultimately chosen for ‘novelty, potential impact, and strength of implementation plans’. Going forward, Cape Town’s project aims to transform how waste services are contracted and operated in informal contexts in a way that can be replicated across Cape Town, and even in other municipalities and metros.