To mark the occasion this year, the City of Cape Town held an event at the Wynberg Drop-off facility on Friday, 17 March to encourage small, medium and micro enterprises (SMMEs) that handle waste to register for accreditation as waste service providers. Businesses involved in the handling of waste must obtain accreditation from the City to operate legally in Cape Town. 

Similarly, residents are legally required to only make use of accredited waste management companies to remove recyclables and any non-household waste (builder’s rubble, garage waste, garden greens, etc.) from their properties. Remember – only the City or its appointed contractors are permitted to remove general household waste from residential properties. 

The event also involved an exhibition of household waste items that can be repurposed for other things, and distribution of educational material related to recycling. 

The waste service provider accreditation process involves ensuring that the business has viable plans for cleaning/treating, separating, storing, transporting, and disposing of materials they handle. If residents can ensure a company is accredited before asking them to remove waste, it helps ensure this waste is not simply dumped on nearby open land. 

Businesses that handle waste are also encouraged to apply for recycling tenders in coming years as recycling services are expanded throughout the City. Efforts to increase recycling are ramping up as landfill airspace becomes more of a challenge, and the City wants SMMEs to be ready to benefit from these opportunities as they arise. 

‘The City recognises the potential of recycling and other forms of waste beneficiation to empower residents and the intent is to bring SMMEs involved in this work along with us as we revolutionise waste management in Cape Town. Campaigning for these companies to apply for accreditation is part of this effort,’ said Mayoral Committee Member for Urban Waste Management, Alderman Grant Twigg.

‘There is already a thriving recycling sector in Cape Town that is making a notable contribution to waste diversion, but there is more potential that must still be realised. Accreditation gives residents a tool to distinguish between those who are doing good work minimising our society’s waste footprint from those who put the health of our communities at risk through irresponsible business practices like illegal dumping. It gives service providers working with recycling credibility that will allow them to access new markets in areas that do not currently receive a recycling collection service. 

‘Furthermore, it can give the City a much clearer picture of what types of waste are generated and allows us to more precisely target efforts to support and cultivate our partners in the private sector. Every way you look at it, accreditation is going to benefit our City,’ said Alderman Twigg.  

For more assistance on completing the waste management plans for accreditation applications, SMMEs can contact Alfonzo Noble (021 400 2478) and Yolokazi Bikwana (021 4001 760).