Woodstock and Hout Bay residents invited to help City test food-waste diversion service

11 September 2026

The City of Cape Town’s Urban Waste Management directorate is calling on residents and small businesses in Woodstock, Hout Bay and surrounding areas to participate in an organic food waste diversion trial at the Woodstock and Hout Bay Drop-off Facilities.

The trial is testing the potential for participants to separate food waste at home and deliver it to selected City drop-off facilities instead of sending it to landfill. It will continue until 30 March 2027, after which the City will assess the volumes successfully diverted and consider whether the service could be rolled out more widely.

Food waste disposed of in landfill contributes to the production of landfill gas. The City's trial therefore aims to explore a practical way for households to divert this material while contributing to efforts to reduce Cape Town's carbon footprint.

How residents can participate

• Sign up by visiting one of the two participating facilities and speaking to the team on site.
• Choose up to two: a sealable 5, 10 or 20 litre container for separating and storing organic food waste. Participants can select a size that works for their household or business and can exchange the container for another size at a participating facility if necessary.
• Once the container is full, return it to the same participating drop-off facility, empty the contents at the dedicated organic waste point and take the container home again.
• Containers can be stored in a refrigerator or another cool indoor area between visits.
• At the facility, containers will be cleaned using a waterless process in less than five minutes before being returned to participants.
• Participants may also be asked to complete occasional questionnaires during the trial to help the City assess how well the system works.

Organic Waste items

• Examples of suitable food waste types include cooked and raw food scraps, fruit and vegetable peels, eggshells, coffee grounds and tea bags, as well as certain biodegradable paper products.
• Please keep the organic waste free from contaminants such as plastic, glass and metal, and do not bring extremely rotten or foul-smelling food waste.

Participating facilities are:

• Woodstock Drop-off Facility: 25 Beach Road, Woodstock
• Hout Bay Drop-off Facility: Main Road, near Mandela Road, Hout Bay

Participants should note:

• Containers issued as part of the trial can ONLY be emptied at these participating facilities.

• Facilities will not accept food waste that exceeds the volume of the container(s) provided due to capacity limitations on site.

Residents can contact re.cycling@capetown.gov.za for more information about the project.

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