THE City of Cape Town reminds all businesses to respond to the calls by the Western Cape Government for all organic waste generators to divert 50% of organic waste away from landfills by 2022, and 100% by 2027. In order to meet these obligations and promote general waste minimisation, the City requires all organic waste generators in the hospitality, and food manufacturing/processing industries to submit Integrated Waste Management Plans to the City for consideration and approval by 31 October 2022. This is an extension to the original deadline of 31 August.
The City’s Mayoral Committee Member for Urban Waste Management, Alderman Twigg visited some businesses recently to help raise awareness and explained the need to reduce the disposal of organic waste to landfills.
“Organic waste that ends up in landfills is a significant contributor to climate change. When this waste breaks down in the landfill mass, it creates landfill gas. This gas, made primarily of methane, has been shown to have a global warming potential approximately 25 times higher than carbon dioxide,’ said Alderman Twigg.
Integrated Waste Management Plans cover all waste produced on the premises, including organic waste, and should include:
- An assessment of the quantity and type of waste generated
- A description of the services required to store, collect, transport and dispose of the waste
- A plan to separate recyclable and non-recyclable material at the point of source
- A waste minimisation plan (including plans for achieving organic waste minimisation targets)
- A pollution prevention plan
- Details of potential environmental impact of the waste
- The type or characteristics of environmentally sensitive waste
- The amount of natural resources consumed in the manufacturing or production process that result in waste
- The targets for recovery of waste (minimisation, re-use, recycling)
- Programmes and targets to minimise the consumption of natural resources
“Governments throughout the world, are grappling with the extremely high volumes of waste that is generated by modern industrial economies. All over the world, we can see the unfortunate results of waste on our environment, and it is becoming clear that we need a new way of thinking about production and consumption.
“We are aware that the past few years have not been easy, especially for the business community, this is not a way to make their lives more difficult but just to alert them that the requirement for each business to develop and submit a waste management plan is part of our efforts to build consciousness around waste and ensure that waste is considered as part of business planning processes. Too often, this is treated like an afterthought,” said Alderman Twigg.
Cape Town has a very robust private organic waste processing sector offering many alternatives to landfilling. Organic waste processing solutions include animal feed, composting, protein recycling and energy generation.
To find out more about the private services offered to the organic waste generating sector (including hospitality, food manufacturing and processing industries), the City recommends that people should contact the following non-profit organisations who have a list of all its members offering the different processing solutions:
- ORASA (Organic Recycling Association of South Africa)
- SAMIRO (South African Mass Insect Rearing Association)
- SABIA (Southern African Biogas Industry Association)
Green Cape’s Waste: Market Intelligence report 2021 (https://www.greencape.co.za/assets/2021_DIGITAL_WASTE-MIR.pdf) gives great insight into the 2021 organic waste management status in Cape Town.
The city is planning an information session for the 3rd week of September inviting all relevant sectors to get clarity and more information on organic waste.
Please contact wastewise@capetown.gov.za if you would like to receive further details.
Online submission of Waste Management Plans
Go to the solid waste accreditation site to submit your waste management plan: http://web1.capetown.gov.za/web1/swma/
Application forms are available on the City’s website: https://www.capetown.gov.za/City-Connect/Register/Business-and-trade/Register-as-an-accredited-waste-services-provider
Alderman Grant Twigg (right) confers with with Park Inn Hotel manager Alfonso Van Vuuren
