The City of Cape Town has invested over R23 million in two new waste drop-off facilities as part of a drive to prevent and minimise illegal dumping.

The sites will now provide residents from Blue Downs, Mfuleni, Hillcrest Heights, Khayelitsha and Mitchells Plain with a much-needed site to dispose of their waste in a responsible and sustainable manner.

According to the municipality it spent over R11 million on the Faure drop-off site while the Swartklip drop-off situated on Swartklip Road, at the old landfill site cost the city around R12 million. Both sites were opened to the public last week.

Anda Ntsodo, the City’s Mayoral Committee Member for Area East said the City has invested in drop-off facilities of this scale to assist its efforts to minimise waste and manage it responsibly across the metro.

“We believe these facilities will cater to the great need for an established drop-off site closer to these communities in order to prevent and minimise illegal dumping which has been a major problem in these regions. With the buy-in from residents, this facility will reduce illegal dumping and littering and improve the environmental health of their communities as a result,” she added.

Residential waste accepted

According to the City the drop-off sites will accept general waste from residential sources, with the common waste types accepted. Domestic kitchen waste, however, will not be accepted and should be disposed through the City’s residential waste removal service.

“I urge residents to make use of these conveniently located drop-off sites not only for their large volumes of waste such as building rubble and garden waste, but to make a great effort to collect as much recyclable material as possible and to drop this off at the Faure and Swartklip facilities,” councillor Ntsodo explained.

“Waste minimisation is so vital to a sustainable future city as the city’s landfills are running out of space and should only be used for waste that cannot be reused or recycled,” Ntsodo concluded.