Cape Town upgrades waste exchange platform

© Vichaya Kiatying-Angsulee – 123RF.com

The new-look system, which features options such as uploading photos, encourages entities like schools, communities and businesses to exchange waste, allowing them to save on costs and reduce their waste footprint.

While users can elect to make direct contact with each other independently by browsing listed contact details, there is also the option of doing so through the IWEX system. This has the added benefit of allowing the city to monitor the rate, number, and type of transactions, which provides valuable data.

Successful examples

Some companies have already successfully used the service to develop happy symbioses, such as international law firm Cliffe Dekker Hofmeyer, who linked up with local plastics recycler Westek for a fortnightly collection of plastic milk bottles from their canteen.

Another example is Clover Mama Africa, a community project that creates useful items from fabric off-cuts, who connected with CapeStorm, an adventure clothing brand, for the ongoing supply of some of their raw materials.

"These days people find all kinds of reasons to connect over the Internet. It has proven itself to be the fastest and most efficient platform for bringing people and services together. It makes perfect sense to provide a convenient bridge to allow one person’s garbage to become another’s gold," said the city’s Mayoral Committee member for Utility Services, Ernest Sonnenberg.

Win-win scenario

"The city is constantly looking for ways to reduce volumes of waste sent to landfill sites, and if there is the added benefit of an economic leg up to another party then all the more reason to facilitate those opportunities. It is a true example of a win-win scenario."

The city encourages anyone who is interested to join up with IWEX by following these easy steps:

• Register at www.capetown.gov.za/iwex. It’s free and only requires a name, email address and contact number.
  
• Verify your IWEX registration via your email address (a security feature).
  
• Browse the latest listings and/or post a listing of waste you want or have to offer.
  
• Connect with other waste suppliers/requesters. IWEX will assist by sending reminder emails.
  
• Exchange your waste on your own terms.

The city and IWEX also support the Western Cape Industrial Symbiosis Programme (WISP), a larger waste exchange programme facilitated by full-time staff at GreenCape, a special purpose vehicle for the Western Cape government. Everyone registered on IWEX will thus be invited from time to time to WISP workshops, where they have the opportunity to join the WISP programme and be connected with users on the WISP database.

"Ultimately what we are striving for is a zero-waste society. Waste material is often actually an unused resource, and the City is proud to once again be leading the charge in waste minimisation and its associated opportunities," said Sonnenberg.