City's waste management policy being updated

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In response to Councillor Cassim's letter on February 4:

It is surprising that Cllr Cassim felt that my response to his council motion pertaining to waste minimisation and diversion from landfill was obtuse and "smug".

I wholeheartedly agree that such efforts are of great importance and I thanked him for his evidently active interest in the subject.

I also communicated that while there is currently a diverse range of waste diversion programmes and services offered by the city, some of which I will highlight below, that the Integrated Waste Management Policy is currently being updated, and the identification of further waste diversion opportunities form a key component of the objectives.

When the updated Integrated Waste Management Policy is released for public participation, his input on it would be welcome.

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The city is encouraging waste diversion from landfill through a range of services and programmes, and I urge residents to visit the city's website for more information on these, including but not limited to:

– 26 drop-off facilities, at which residents can drop off up to three bakkie loads of garden waste or builders' rubble per day, free of charge. Recyclable and re-usable materials received at these facilities are recovered by contracted entrepreneurs.

– The Think Twice kerbside recycling collection programme, the reach of which is earmarked for extension.

– Garden waste chipping, which is composted at private composting facilities around the city.

– Builders' rubble that is, where appropriate, crushed for re-use and linked to the current builders' rubble markets.

– Partnerships with certain buy-back centres, where residents and businesses can exchange their recyclables for cash in certain areas.

– Integrated Waste Exchange (Iwex) is a free online system that allows businesses, schools, organisations or individuals to exchange their waste with one another.

– Free "Industrial Symbiosis" programme available to businesses and industries in Cape Town, known as Wisp (Western Cape Industrial Symbiosis Programme) and managed by GreenCape.

The city is working directly with packaging and recycling industry bodies, supporting SMME (small, medium and micro enterprise) development in the recycling space, and entering into partnerships with non-profit organisations to help drive widespread adoption of economically viable green economy solutions.

These interventions, and others, are supported by the city's waste awareness and education programmes.

There is also ongoing research being carried out by the Solid Waste Management Department, and I look forward to sharing new initiatives and developments with the public in due course.

Councillor Xanthea Limberg

Mayoral committee members for water and waste

City of Cape Town

Cape Times