Feature
Recycling Awards
A bin-dustry first for the City of Cape Town
“Many people claim to hold sustainability and recycling as a priority, but too
often this is unfortunately not evident.” said the City of Cape Town’s Mayoral
Committee Member for Utility Services, Councillor Ernest Sonnenberg. “We
are happy to demonstrate that Cape Town walks the talk. There are waste
minimisation models from other cities that can be copied, but one cannot
successfully transplant a model without taking into account one’s own unique
constraints. The beauty here is that we looked at the resources available and
came up with a solution that works for us. This award is, of course, a great
honour, but the real reward is knowing that the city’s residents are served by
people dedicated to making real progress.”
“The City previously disposed of old, scrapped bins by selling them on tender
at about 52 cents per kilogram. The tender merely required that the goods be
removed with no requirement as to what would happen to them thereafter.
When that tender came to an end in 2013, we decided that a new, smarter and
innovative strategy needed to be put in place. The resulting “closed loop” system
is one we believe to be unique in the world, and we are hopeful that other cities
will follow this example,” explained Councillor Sonnenberg.
“The City is continually looking for ways to minimise waste and save the
ratepayer money. The new bins are kinder to the environment and utilising the
scrap material makes not just good common sense, but good business sense too.
It’s a win-win innovation and I would like to congratulate the team that made it
happen,” he said.
While a formal assessment of environmental benefits is yet to be carried out,
early indications are that using this method will have between 5-25% less impact
on the environment. “The City would like to extend its thanks to SAPRO for taking
the time to highlight innovations such as this. The Solid Waste Management
Department continues to explore how other waste streams can be exploited for
both the benefit of the ratepayer and the environment. Hopefully there will be
more exciting developments in this regard shortly,” said Councillor Sonnenberg.
of the markets for recycled materials. Whilst recyclate will never be able to fully
substitute virgin materials in many applications, but the innovative nature of the
South African plastics industry linked to product development and increasing quality
testing, many more markets will open for recycled materials in future. We look
forward to seeing what the next year’s entries will bring,” Breytenbach concluded. AD
Read about all the other winners here
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