Recycling and Health Awareness Project supports informal recyclers

03 April 2023

In recognition of the valuable work they do in reducing the volume of waste that ends up in landfills, the Community Development Workers Programme (CDWP), which is a collaboration between the City’s Urban Waste Management Directorate and the Western Cape Government’s Department of Local Government, is donating various supplies to informal recyclers throughout Cape Town as part of the Recycling and Health Awareness Project

On Tuesday, 28 March, the CDWP handed out donations of various supplies to 20 informal recyclers in the Bonteheuwel and Langa areas as part of the Recycling and Health Awareness Project.

Alderman Grant Twigg, Mayoral Committee Member for Urban Waste Management, attended the event to hand over the donations.

Each of the informal recyclers that benefits from this project receives a one-tonne bag to store and transport recyclables, heavy duty gloves, a box of latex gloves and a supply of hand sanitiser. Items were included based on conversations with informal recyclers around the type of assistance they required. The value of support to each informal recycler is R399. 

This is the third such handover event since the project's inception. Previously, informal recyclers in Dunoon and Belhar received similar donations. Various other communities throughout the Metro 2 region (Northern Suburbs and West Coast) are also intended to benefit in coming weeks and months. Eventually 200 of these support packages will be distributed, with a total value of almost R80 000.

'There is a lot of unrealised potential in the informal recycling sector that can be unlocked with the right support. The donation of bags and health and safety equipment will allow informal recyclers to process more recyclables without putting their health at risk. This project also assists with getting the informal recyclers registered and accredited as formal recyclers on the City database. It will also give them more credibility in communities where they are looked at as a nuisance or safety risk. 

'Going forward, the City has been directed by the National Waste Management Strategy to strengthen and expand the role of waste pickers in the waste management system and recycling economy. The Strategy recognises the valuable contribution waste pickers make to society, and calls for more positive collaboration between waste pickers, the private sector and local municipalities, to maximise the potential of this sector and reduce wasted resources. This donation is the first small step of many towards giving effect to this directive,' said Alderman Twigg. 

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Published by:
City of Cape Town, Media Office