Project Description
Client:
Cape Winelands District Municipality, Western Cape, South Africa
Project Description:
This project entailed the proposal of a detailed Recycling Plan for the District. The final report covers the status quo of waste management throughout the District, recycling by the local Municipalities and recycling within the private sector. From this information a Recycling Plan consisting of recycling methods, infrastructure, transport and budget is proposed for the District. Each local Municipality is addressed separately to ensure that the proposed Plan is appropriate. Other methods that attribute to waste reduction are also discussed.
A detailed desk-top analysis of the District’s waste stream was conducted to identify waste generation rates and availability of materials in the waste stream. Investigations were also conducted to establish the extent of private recycling practised throughout the District.
The Recycling Plan itself is based on the status quo information, overseas practices and experience of recycling operations in South Africa. The Plan describes the different methods of recycling and explains the workings of e.g. Drop-off and Buy-back Centres and the various aspects of kerbside recycling.
In light of the Polokwane Declaration and the Waste Act, recycling targets for each Municipality, based on current practices and the estimated recycling extents, are set. In the Municipality-specific Plan recycling methods and the associated sites and facilities are proposed for the towns within each local Municipality. The proposed methods and facilities stem from consideration and analysis of waste figures as well as population distributions.
Estimated transport costs are given in a summarized table for applicable Municipalities where central locations to gather recyclables are required. The cost estimations are based on waste generation quantities, anticipated recovery rates, trip lengths and total number of containers to be transported at current private sector transport rates. The report then gives an estimated budget for every Municipality based on the proposed facilities that need to be constructed for successful implementation of the Recycling Plan.
The alternative methods towards waste reduction that are discussed include waste to energy options, the details of composting and builder’s rubble crushing sites.
Date Completed: July 2010