In celebration of June’s Youth Month, our better. bellville. together. City-funded place-making initiative, proudly announced an exciting, new partnership with the Cape Peninsula University of Technology (CPUT) to champion a cleaner, greener Bellville. This collaboration was officially inaugurated during the CPUT Waste Education Week, held from Monday, June 10 to Friday, June 15, 2024.
The Waste Education Week which began at CPUT’s Bellville Campus, signifies the university’s commitment to becoming a zero-waste institution. During the week, CPUT conducted waste education sessions and waste-to-art activities across its four other campuses in District Six, Granger Bay, Mowbray and Wellington, to help instil sustainable practices amongst students, teaching staff and the local community.
The event also marked the launch of the university’s new colour-coded bin system, introduced by Mr. Marius Hull, Director of Property Services at CPUT and members of the Student Representative Council (SRC). The system features blue bins for recycling, green bins for organic waste, and black bins for general waste. By encouraging waste separation, the university aims to reduce the cost of black bin disposal by private companies, allowing the financial savings to be redirected to benefit students.
Speaking at the event, CPUT Executive Management Member, Professor Driekie Hay-Swemmer, expressed her enthusiasm, saying that currently, the university only recycles 2.8% of our waste. With limited landfill space and an urgent need to care for Mother Earth, it is essential that they encourage all their students to be passionate about their recycling efforts.
CPUT, with its 37,000 students and 5,000 staff, shares the vision of a cleaner Western Cape and our Department of Textiles already transforms recycled materials into beautiful handbags, showcasing the potential of waste-to-art initiative.
She added that they need more of these efforts to achieve their goal of zero waste which is why the partnership with our better. bellville. together. is so important.
Our better. bellville. together. initiative, is managed by the Greater Tygerberg Partnership (GTP) and is dedicated to revitalising the Bellville area through community engagement, business investment, and sustainable practices. The initiative not only creates job opportunities but also fosters economic growth and environmental sustainability in Bellville and its surroundings.
Guest speaker Alderman Grant Twigg, Mayoral Committee Member for Urban Waste Management, highlighted the broader impact of the partnership. He said that waste management is a critical issue affecting us all.
By reducing our waste, the land currently used for waste disposable could be better repurposed for housing and industrial development, but that the City of Cape Town cannot it alone. Collaborative efforts between local municipalities and thought leaders like CPUT are crucial to tackling waste management challenges. He also added that he is incredibly proud of CPUT for leading by example.
Candice Mostert, project lead for waste education at better. bellville. together. emphasised the initiative’s core mission and that our programme focuses on transforming waste into valuable resources, driving job creation, cost efficiency, and environmental sustainability. Our important partnership with CPUT is a testament to what can be achieved through community collaboration. She added that by working together, we are making Bellville a model for urban sustainability.
Since its launch in February 2023, the better. bellville. together. initiative has significantly contributed to economic growth and employment by creating job opportunities for unemployed individuals. It has also successfully diverted an estimated 81 tonnes of food waste annually from landfills, with the potential to increase this to 243 tonnes.
The successful partnership between better. bellville. together. and CPUT serves as a model for other communities facing similar challenges, showcasing the power of local action and collaboration in achieving broader environmental and economic goals.
For more information about better. bellville. together. and how to get involved, send your email to [email protected] and follow @betterbellvilletogether for regular updates.
