Impact Report: Southfield Recycling Project
We want this project to be a model for an enhanced collaborative recycling system that could potentially be replicated across the City of Cape Town and other municipalities.
These are the goals we aimed for throughout this project:
- Support for SMMEs in the industry, so that they may continue to operate in a field dominated by large corporations.
- Reduce costs of collection and maximize the potential of the recycling ecosystem.
- Increase waste diversion rates, including plastics.
- Raise awareness of the importance of recycling.
- Offer regular recycling collection in areas that are not currently serviced.
- Create jobs and teach relevant skills.
This project was organised by The Recyclers Association, funded by the PRO Alliance, with facilitation from the Economic Development Partnership. We collected the following data from October 2024 to May 2025 in two specific areas of Southfield and a targeted total of 2200 houses serviced. This is what we achieved.
We collected the incredible amount of 53.3 tonnes of waste, 40.32 tonnes of which were recycled – including 8.8 tonnes of total plastic recycled. This means that 76% of all waste collected was successfully diverted from landfill.
We worked with a total of seven SMME Teams throughout the project. CurbCycle, Clearer Conscience Environmental Services, HLQ Recycle, Micro Waste Control, Mike’s Recycling Workshop, Recycle 1st and Trash Pirate. All collections were taken to CurbCycle’s facility in Retreat for sorting.
Each SMME had a team of three people per vehicle and administrative support from their respective management. At CurbCycle’s facility, Mike’s Recycling Workshop was operating with up to three sorters to work two to three times a week and up to two waste pickers to assist, depending on the volume of work. And we trained one sorter on the Lariat system to assist with capturing. On average, the impact on employment was 29 people per month who were given the opportunity to work for a minimum of 5 hours per week. We also worked with the Back to Work Program in an attempt to start an initiative with waste pickers to increase participation in the area.
We also held and participated in a total of six community presentations to promote this project, engage with the community, inform them on what is recyclable and the importance of recycling, who collects their recycling, what happens to their recycling, and the integration of waste pickers.
Now that you see the success, let’s dive deeper into the details that led to this greatness as a model for inspiration for projects alike to come.
Working in the Community
The project was divided into two phases corresponding with each of the areas in Southfield where our recycling collection services were offered.
Phase One (yellow) began on 17 October 2024 and Phase Two (blue) on 29 November 2024.
Preparatory activities included the distribution of flyers, delivery of two or more branded bags per participating household and one per non-participatory household. We introduced the collection teams to the area and their collection routes, and established bag collection points for Southfield and Elfindale.
The service incorporated the Bin It To Win It initiative on a trial basis from October to January, where participants could scan their recyclables to ensure they were recycling correctly and stand a chance to win R1000. This provided us with valuable information on the type of products that were checked and the number of active users. It was also a great incentive to start the project that our four winners will attest to.
We made a point of being active in these communities and providing information and platforms for our participants to engage – flyers, personal engagement, presentations, social media and a WhatsApp group – it was important for this project to be known within the community.
In a Southfield Civic Association Survey, we received a positive response of 91.8% of residents who think our recycling initiative is working in their area. Many were grateful for the service and opportunity to recycle in good conscience of where their waste is going. We also received welcome feedback on aspects that could be better and suggestions for further recycling solutions specific to their area.
We acknowledge that there will always be room for improvement, but that’s what this project was for. We achieved our goals while establishing new ones and further emphasizing the need for recycling solutions and our place, along with our SMME teams and service providers, in this industry.
“It is an awesome initiative which I fully support… We can get better at it as we move along and would love to get feedback from the organisation running with it on the response from the community… Together we can grow the partnership… Thank You for your service…”
Your Collection Statistics
40.32 tonnes of sorted and recycled material. Starting from next to zero, that’s an incredible achievement, and we commend all our participating residents.
With the data collected from our collaboration with the Bin It To Win It initiative and our door-to-door survey, we established at least 950 houses that fully participated in this project. We made sure information on what was recyclable was readily available through distribution of flyers, our presentations and communication via our community WhatsApp group.
The main categories are plastic, glass, paper and cardboard, metal and e-waste. This graph indicates the average percentage of recyclable waste by commodity for the duration of the Southfield Project.
Due to complications with waste pickers and the local buy-back centers, the true total of recycling completed has been affected. Our recorded statistics should be even greater.
Even so, your efforts have not gone to waste, and the impact you’ve made on your community stands firm. Consider our first monthly collection statistic was 2.2 tonnes recycled in November and our final was 7.6 tonnes recycled in May.
Looking to the Future
The Recyclers Association wants to thank every organization and individual who contributed to and participated in the success of this project. Through the data collected, we have identified gaps in the system and already have plans in place to rectify and further increase the responsibility of sustainable recyclability within the City of Cape Town.
One initiative that we are working on is launching a Mobile Buy-Back Center in collaboration with the Back to Work Program and waste picker engagement. This project is currently delayed, but still in the works and our hope is to provide a blueprint for SMMEs to start mobile buy-back centers across other parts of Cape Town.
In the meantime, the Back To Work representatives who are assisting us with this project have been keeping an active presence in the Elfindale and Southfield communities. They are meeting with waste pickers in the area and gathering information that will help us create a mutually beneficial employment environment for them and our recycling initiatives.
We hope that the success of our Southfield Recycling Project will grant us permission to expand our service area and continue our mission towards accessible recycling. It’s clear that we have achieved our goals, but it has only further fueled our drive to see this type of success (and more) throughout the whole of our city and, furthermore, our beautiful country.
If you are an SMME in the industry, a collector, a willing volunteer or a resident in our area who wants to find out more information on how to get involved, please contact us at info@therecyclersassociation.org.