Home Composting Programme an ongoing success
29 March 2019
The City’s Mayoral Committee Member for Water and Waste, Councillor Xanthea Limberg, assisted with the handing over 200 home composting containers to residents of Protea Village, Scottsdene and Ruwari at the Northpine Hall in Brackenfell.
This was the latest handout event as part of the City’s schedule to distribute containers to residents across Cape Town in its drive to encourage society to harness the benefits of organic waste, while diverting volumes sent to the City’s landfill sites.
The City is working to shift how it views waste and is shining a light on how many materials that are lost to the waste stream are actually valuable resources.
Organic waste is the biggest source of methane gas emissions when it is in a landfill. This gas is a huge contributor to carbon emissions that damage our environment. By implementing the simple intervention of placing fruit, vegetable and soft garden waste into a composting space instead of into the bin, the damaging effects of methane from the landfills are reduced. Residents will also soon be able to see the positive impact of rich compost on their private green spaces.
The City’s Home Composting Programme was initiated in 2016 and the response by members of the public was immediately enthusiastic. The number of residents keen to embrace the initiative was so staggering that it became necessary to revise the rollout programme and implement a scheduled, systematic approach to distributing the containers.
Although budgetary constraints mean that only 200 units are available per area per distribution day, residents who are keen to start their own home composting can employ a number of alternatives to benefit from the practise of composting without one of these containers.
Guidelines for how to set up a composting system without a container, as well as how to use it, are available on the City’s website:
/family-and-home/greener-living/green-gardening-and-eating/start-composting-at-home
Residents can check the City’s website to see if a rollout is scheduled for your area in the coming months, and the criteria for applying for one by visiting the following link: /city-connect/activities-and-programmes/cleaning-and-recycling/home-composting-programme/home-composting-programme
Containers are only available to residents with gardens/yards as this is necessary for successful composting.
‘In terms of the home composters already distributed, this programme currently has the potential to result in the diversion of approximately 3 200 tons of organic kitchen and garden waste per year, with an average of 17 kg per household per month. This figure will increase as more composters are rolled out.
‘The City aims to be a world-class, clean and resource efficient city that protects its natural environment. A number of interventions are in place to reduce illegally dumped waste and divert as much waste as possible from landfill. Our waste minimisation initiatives have resulted in a steady increase in the percentage of waste diverted, with the average standing at 11% in 2012 and growing to approximately 20% in the 2017/2018 financial year.
‘Beyond such programmes, the City encourages residents to make use of any of the 27 waste drop-off sites it manages to dispose of garden waste, recyclables, garage waste and builders’ rubble free of charge. A significant proportion of this is recycled or chipped for composting. Over 5 000 tons of recyclables per annum and between 130 000 and 155 000 tons of organic garden waste per annum are diverted via the drop-off sites,’ said Cllr Limberg.
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