Waste Management and Recycling

Mossel Bay’s current waste model is unsustainable

Waste management is a core municipal function, yet the status quo in Mossel Bay has reached a critical junction. The landfill — which serves multiple district municipalities — is approaching capacity limits, organic waste is being dumped with high levels of plastic contamination, and opportunities for local recycling, composting and revenue generation remain underdeveloped. Residents, ratepayers and local businesses are calling for a system that protects the environment, creates jobs, and sustains service delivery without burdening future generations.

Current Waste Management Pressures

The municipal landfill site currently accepts waste from Mossel Bay and neighbouring district municipalities. While this shared use spreads costs, it also accelerates landfill depletion and complicates long-term planning. Landfill space is finite, and without decisive action to reduce volumes through recycling and diversion, the site’s lifespan is at risk of premature closure, which would create major logistical and financial burdens for local government and users.

Moreover, significant volumes of organic waste (food waste, green waste, garden refuse) are entering the landfill mixed with plastics and other contaminants. This mixture severely limits the viability of composting or organic recovery, because plastic and inorganic contamination makes the organic material unsuitable for clean processing into compost or soil inputs.

The Opportunity: Recycling, Composting, and Local Jobs

Properly separating and processing waste streams is not just an environmental best practice — it is an economic opportunity:

Organic Waste Diversion:
Organic waste, if separated at source and managed through a composting facility, can become a valuable input for:

Soil conditioners for agriculture and landscaping
Mulch for parks, gardens, and community greening projects
Biomass feedstock with potential energy recovery

However, because organic streams are currently mixed with plastics and litter, this potential remains unrealised.

Recycling and Scrap Revenue:
Recyclable materials (plastic, glass, paper, metal) have market value. Effective sorting and brokering can:

Create local employment in sorting, baling, processing, transportation, and sales
Generate revenue for the municipality or community-based enterprises
Reduce landfill volumes and extend site lifespan

By contrast, the existing model essentially treats all waste as low-value refuse — missing opportunities for community employment and circular economy gains.

Community and Ratepayer Inputs

Community and ratepayer feedback highlights several consistent themes:

Affordability concerns: Households are already paying for waste collection, yet see limited return in environmental outcomes or local economic benefits.
Demand for recycling infrastructure: Residents express a willingness to separate waste if facilities and collection options support it.
Job creation: Young people and unemployed community members are seeking meaningful work; waste diversion presents an entry point for skills development, enterprise formation, and income generation.
Environmental stewardship: There is strong local interest in cleaner rivers, reduced litter, and reduced pollution — all of which are intensified by landfill overflow and windblown plastics.

Ratepayers are prepared to support cost-effective reforms, but require transparency on where funds are directed and how waste revenues are reinvested into community benefit.

Governance and Financial Sustainability Risks

Under current practice:

Landfill life is being consumed faster than necessary
Tipping fees do not incentivise separation
High contamination rates undermine diversion options
Revenue from scrap and recyclables is unrealised
No clear business model exists for composting or waste-based enterprises

These conditions increase costs per household over time, reduce municipal flexibility, and expose the community to service disruption if landfill capacity becomes critically constrained.

Without transparent waste reporting, independent oversight and strategic planning, the municipality risks:

Forced future expenditure on new disposal sites at high cost
Higher tariffs for waste services
Environmental non-compliance with waste and water quality standards

Be part of the solution. Advocate for waste diversion, recycling, local job creation, and a transparent, sustainable waste management model that works for the whole community.

A Strategic Pivot for Waste and Value Creation

Mossel Bay stands at a crossroads:

Continue with a linear, disposal-only waste model
→ Accelerating landfill depletion
→ Higher long-term costs
→ Missed jobs and revenue

Or shift to a circular, value-creating approach
→ Separate organic waste for composting and reuse
→ Expand recycling and scrap value chains
→ Create local employment and enterprise
→ Extend landfill lifespan and reduce long-term costs

This pivot requires:

Clear waste stream separation policies
Community participation and education
Transparent reporting on costs, volumes, and revenues
Investment in sorting, composting and recycling facilities
Partnerships with local entrepreneurs and job creation programs

A sustainable waste strategy benefits ratepayers, protects the environment, and strengthens economic resilience.