In an effort to keep the beauty of the Cape winelands pristine, the Drakenstein Municipality is proposing a bylaw that will ban single-use plastic.

This new Integrated Waste Management bylaw could make Drakenstein the first municipality in South Africa to enforce a ban on single-use plastic, which will set a benchmark for others to follow. The proposed bylaw is strengthened by the recent comments from the Ministry of the Department of Forestry, Fisheries, and Environment. The former minister, in an open letter in the Daily Maverick, suggested a plan to ban single-use plastics nationwide

Drakenstein Municipality’s draft bylaw is open for public comment until 30 November 2025, allowing residents, organisations and businesses to give their input and share their thoughts. Once all comments have been carefully reviewed and considered, the final version will go to Council for approval and will be tabled in February 2026.

Councillor Stephen Korabie, Executive Mayor of the Municipality, says, “Drakenstein Municipality is taking a bold step towards a more sustainable future for everyone who calls this valley home. By reducing our reliance on single-use plastics such as straws, polystyrene items and plastic stirrers, we are protecting our environment and securing a cleaner future for future generations.”

Meeting national goals

Across the country, local governments are stepping up to reduce plastic waste. While national regulations are still being developed, many municipalities have launched awareness drives, pilot programmes and plastic-free zones.

Drakenstein Municipality’s proposed new bylaw aligns with the National Environmental Management: Waste Act (Act 58 of 2009), which promotes waste reduction, recycling and environmental protection. By leading the charge against single-use plastics, the Municipality will assist the country in moving toward a circular economy where resources are reused and waste is minimised.

“We want to encourage our residents and businesses to embrace a re-use (multi-use) or re-purpose lifestyle and culture, moving away from the current ‘buy-and-throw-away’ mindset. We want to build a community that values sustainability and shared responsibility,” says Councillor Korabie.

The benefits go far beyond cleaner streets. Environmentally, it protects wildlife and reduces pollution. Socially, it encourages sustainable habits. Economically, it can spark new opportunities for reusable and eco-friendly products. Together, these changes build stronger, more responsible communities.

Stakeholder engagement

Officials of the Drakenstein Municipality briefed councillors and members of the Drakenstein Business Chamber during two separate workshops to discuss the main objectives and intended outcomes of the proposed new bylaw. Most of those in attendance strongly supported the initiative.

Beyond plastics

In addition, Drakenstein Municipality is already promoting waste minimisation through projects such as:

• Diversion of organic food waste from the waste stream: Phase 1, which enables the Drakenstein Municipality to divert organic food waste and recyclable material from wheelie bins at Paarl Transfer Station (RTS), has been completed at an estimated cost of R8 million. Phase 2 entails the upgrade of Paarl RTS to accommodate refuse trucks to dispose of collected waste from residential and business properties in Paarl. Subject to the availability of finance, Phase II will include an organic biological treatment machine, known as the Food 2050 machine, which will enable Drakenstein Municipality to extract organic food waste from the waste stream and convert food waste into a dry, odourless soil enhancer product within a 24-hour cycle. The soil enhancer product could be added to composting projects to complete the composting process.
• Recycling: Residents are encouraged to place recyclables on the pavement on municipal refuse collection days for collection by the Municipality. The Municipality channels a large quantity of the recyclable waste to informal waste collectors (or “wastepreneurs”) at the Paarl Refuse Transfer Station, who sort, process and sell it for income.

A phased approach

Rather than immediately enforcing penalties, Drakenstein Municipality is taking a collaborative, phased approach with this bylaw. The focus will be on education, partnership and shared responsibility.

The Municipality’s approach aims to increase stakeholder buy-in rather than impose immediate enforcement once the bylaw is gazetted. However, punitive measures will be applied should stakeholders fail to comply.

To ensure the effective enforcement of the bylaw once implemented, the Municipality is currently appointing dedicated Bylaw Enforcement Officers.

Rationale

While the reasons for banning single-use plastics may seem obvious from an environmental perspective, it is no small task, and will require serious effort on the part of the municipality.

In a statement addressed to ReSource, Louis Pienaar, executive director, Engineering Services, Drakenstein Municipality, says:

“Illegal dumping plaguing Drakenstein Municipality consists mostly of single-use plastic products (i.e. plastic shopping bags, polystyrene material, plastic straws and stirrers), which hurt the cleanliness of our area.

The Municipality’s vision is to protect our environment and secure a cleaner future for future generations. One of our aims is to reduce plastic waste and move toward a circular economy where resources are reused and waste is minimised.

We support the shift from a culture of constantly buying new products to embracing a lifestyle of reuse. One of the objectives of Drakenstein Municipality’s proposed new Integrated Waste Management Bylaw is to facilitate such a change in culture by prohibiting single-use shopping bags, plastic straws, stirrers, and polystyrene products.

The Municipality may also, in the future, request households and businesses (such as restaurants) to divert organic food waste from the municipal waste stream.

The proposed bylaw will require all businesses and households to divert recyclable waste from their waste stream and may not dispose of it into the 240L wheelie bins.

Single-use items already in use in the area include plastic shopping bags, straws, stirrers, polystyrene cups and food holders.

Grocery stores that still sell single-use plastic bags to customers will have to replace such bags with either multi-use plastic bags that are thicker than 30 microns or a biodegradable product.

Restaurants will have to replace plastic straws with biodegradable, glass or stainless-steel straws.

The Drakenstein community is free to object to the proposed bylaw, but so far, feedback received during the Municipality’s stakeholder engagement sessions has been positive. The Municipality will review all comments on the proposed bylaw after the comments submission deadline of 30 November 2025.”

Have your say

Members of the public can help shape the future of Drakenstein by reviewing the draft Integrated Waste Management Bylaw and sending their comments to the Municipality by 30 November 2025.

When you share your views, consider:

• What do you support in the current draft bylaw?
• What should be added to the draft bylaw?
• What should be removed or reconsidered?

The proposed bylaw can be viewed online or at the following locations:

• Paarl Civic Centre
• Wellington Civic Centre
• Paarl East Engineering Services Office
• Gouda Municipal Office
• Saron Municipal Office
• Any Drakenstein library

Written comments can be submitted to wasteby-law@drakenstein.gov.za or hand-delivered to one of the offices or libraries listed above.

Residents who are unable to read or write can give their comments verbally at Paarl Library, 1 Market Street, Paarl, where staff will assist.