South Africa: Khayelitsha residents have joined the city composting drive. The Urban Waste Management Directorate of the City of Cape Town has handed out home composting containers to the local households.
Reportedly, this initiative is a part of Mayor’s Service Blitz, which was observed in Khayelitsha on Thursday, Sept 11, 2025. It is a commitment by the City of Cape Town to the organic waste diversion, who took another step forward.
The residents in Khayelitsha have received home composting containers. This will help them in turning kitchen scraps into nutrient-rich compost. As a part of the Mayor’s Service Blitz, the handover ceremony ranged for city services which were brought directly into the community.
Member of the Mayoral Committee for Urban Waste Management – Alderman Grant Twigg said that over 50,000 households across the Cape Town have already received composters. The demand keeps on growing as residents see the benefits of reducing their waste footprint.
According to Twigg, they are excited to extend the opportunity to Khayelitsha residents. He said that composting empowers families to turn the waste into a valuable resource for food gardens. He added that this also helps in lowering grocery bills and support local food security. Twigg mentioned that compost can also be shared with neighbours or donated to community gardens.
Practicing composting at home helps households and the City of Cape Town at large scale, such as:
- It reduces the amount of food and garden waste that goes to landfill, which cuts greenhouse gas emissions.
- It frees-up the space in wheelie bins and keeps them cleaner.
- Also, it provides a low-cost, sustainable source of compost for home gardens.
The Urban Waste Management team further explained that diverting organic waste away from landfills is a vital part of the city’s climate response and having a clean environment.
However, when food and garden waste breaks down in landfill without oxygen, it produces methane, a greenhouse gas which is 20 times stronger than carbon dioxide. Also, residents are helping in reducing the harmful emissions by composting at home, while creating a useful product for their gardens.