Managing Waste Smarter: The City’s 2025 Plan

The City of Cape Town (CCT) officially launched its new Waste Strategy 2025 during an event on 17 July. The event took place at the Civic Centre, bringing together representatives from government, the private sector, and non-governmental organisations. This marked a significant step towards a cleaner and a more sustainable city.

As Cape Town faces growing challenges in waste management, the strategy demonstrates the CCT’s commitment to tackling rapid urbanisation, population growth, and increasing consumption patterns. The strategy is based on three commitment pillars: 1) enhancing existing services, 2) reducing waste to landfill, and 3) maximising the basket of service offerings.

At the launch, CCT Manager, Lungelo Mbandazayo, stressed the importance of collaboration, stating, “No strategy can succeed in isolation.” There is a need for a multi-sector approach to dealing with waste management. The CCT understands that success will need collaborative effort, which is essential to achieving these ambitious goals.

The Director of Integrated Planning and Waste Strategy, Velaphi Mabiletsa, gave a summary of the strategy. Sharing insights into the conception and development of the strategy and the obstacles faced in completing the final document.

Key Insights from the Waste Strategy launch:

• The informal sector is rapidly growing, and waste infrastructure is inadequate to meet rising demands.
• It is expected that Coastal Park Landfill is set to reach capacity by 2027 if diversion efforts don’t improve.
• The CCT is shifting to a circular economy approach, reducing waste generation, and encouraging reuse and recycling of materials for economic value and reducing overall waste generation.
• The private sector, government, and non-governmental institutions are called to partner and actively participate in achieving the strategy’s goals by 2030.
• The strategy prioritises technology and data analytics to enhance service delivery, improve interventions, and monitor and evaluate progress effectively

The CCT plans to make significant progress over the next five years. The strategy launch highlights the CCT’s commitment to managing waste efficiently and effectively, allowing for the transition to a zero-waste and landfill-free environment. To access the document, click here: 2025 Waste Strategy.