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Last week, the City held the first of many engagements with community leaders from Cape Town to build partnerships to help keep our city clean. Read more below:

On Thursday, 28 September 2023, the City invited various community stakeholders from Wards 25, 26, 28, and 42 (Bishop Lavis, Elsies River, Clarke Estate, Uitsig, Ravensmead, Cravenby, Ruyterwacht and Leonsdale) to the Kraaifontein Integrated Waste Management site for a tour of the facility, and to participate in a capacity-building workshop on waste management within the City of Cape Town. 

The event was facilitated by the Urban Waste Management Public Awareness and Communication Education team. Over 40 stakeholders, including community leaders and neighbourhood watch members, attended.  

The workshop included a tour of the Materials Recovery Facility, where recycling is sorted before it is eventually sold, and the Transfer Station where waste is loaded for transport to landfills. Speakers highlighted that recycling was a growing imperative in Cape Town, and tried to build excitement for communities to participate in recycling systems where there are none yet. 

Community leaders also took the opportunity to highlight various challenges in their communities, and theft of bins was highlighted as having a significant impact on illegal dumping. In this regard, the City is building capacity in Urban Waste Management By-law Enforcement with the expansion of Auxiliary Law Enforcement Services. Attendees were also provided with information on where to report stolen bins and how to get them replaced as efficiently as possible. 

‘It is our belief that civil society/community leaders can be very useful partners in our war on waste and dumping. It is an unfortunate reality that the communities that suffer most with dumping are also much less likely to report this to the City. In these areas, community leaders and organisations such as neighbourhood watches, are often the first point of contact where there are issues, and as such they can be key partners in addressing these issues. 

‘If a community leader knows where and how to report issues to the City, and trusts that complaints will be given the necessary attention, they can help guide their communities on how to work better with the City, and we can create a cleaner Cape Town together,’ said Mayoral Committee Member for Urban Waste Management, Alderman Grant Twigg.  

Further engagements with community leaders from other wards are currently being planned, and stakeholders will be invited to attend via local Sub-councils. 

Issued by The City of Cape Town