Media Release: Garden Route DM collaborates with Oudtshoorn Municipality on a home composting model

For Immediate Release
17 November 2020

 Garden Route District Municipality (GRDM) has collaborated with the Greater Oudtshoorn Municipality in a home composting pilot project to motivate households in the municipal area to consider home composting to reduce the burden on the Grootkop Waste Disposal facility.

The project was launched on 4 November 2020 at the Oudtshoorn Municipality’s Banquet Hall, in an information session attended by the residents of the Greater Oudtshoorn who showed interest in participating in the initiative. The 30 residents of the Greater Oudtshoorn who committed to participate in this pilot project received home composting bins, guidelines, worm farms, datasheets and scales.

Johan Gie, the GRDM’s waste management officer said the reason that motivated the GRDM to initiate this project with municipalities throughout the district is because, “approximately 30% of all household waste being disposed of at landfill consists of organic waste that could potentially be diverted from landfill by means of household composting”.

“The organic waste stream in municipal areas is increasingly becoming a challenge to manage,” Gie said. “Growth in population densities, new environmental legislation, limitations in the sustained availability of disposal space and public pressure to accept a more environmentally friendly approach has led to an increased awareness on local government level of the role that organic waste materials play in waste management.”

The Oudtshoorn Municipality welcomed this initiative. “Although we are not in a dire situation like our neighbouring municipalities with regards to landfill space in the district, we eagerly welcome this initiative to make the best of our household and garden waste to the benefit of our communities,” said Rodwell Witbooi, Oudtshoorn’s manager for solid waste.

“The active participation of our community members is illustrating the eagerness to partake in sustainable development projects – addressing waste management; and this is exciting.”

During the information session, the officials showed residents how to do composting, introduced the participants to composting methods and the benefits of composting, among others. Each participant was required to sign a contract to abide by the requirements of the agreement with the GRDM, which include the weighing of the collected data, and submission of a monthly report of composting for a period a year.

“A successful implementation of the home composting project could result in more opportunities for residents,” Gie concluded.