Case Study 007

This case study describes how the Western Cape Industrial Symbiosis Programme (WISP) helped The Fugard Theatre manage a stockpile of half-used batteries by creating partnerships with the City of Cape Town's Disaster Risk Management Department and various charities.

• The Fugard Theatre in Cape Town accumulated approximately 3,000 half-used AA or AAA batteries because they replaced batteries in up to 25 cordless microphones after every show to prevent performance failure, despite 50% of the capacity remaining.
• WISP established a system where the City of Cape Town’s Disaster Risk Management Department takes all current and future half-used batteries from the theatre for use in radios and torches, resulting in an annual saving of R21,000 for the City.
• Due to a lack of battery recycling operations in South Africa, spent batteries are sent to the Uniross battery collection programme. While some are exported for mineral extraction, the majority are encapsulated in concrete and sent to a hazardous landfill.
• The theatre cannot switch to rechargeable batteries because they do not meet the necessary specifications for the microphones used in theatre productions.

APA

GreenCape (n.d.). Case Study 007. https://greencape.co.za/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/20160705_WISP_Case-Studies_-The-Battery-Saga_FA2-3.pdf

Chicago

GreenCape. Case Study 007. n.d. https://greencape.co.za/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/20160705_WISP_Case-Studies_-The-Battery-Saga_FA2-3.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=GreenCape |title=Case Study 007 |url=https://greencape.co.za/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/20160705_WISP_Case-Studies_-The-Battery-Saga_FA2-3.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{greencapendcase, author = {{GreenCape}}, title = {{Case Study 007}}, institution = {GreenCape}, url = {https://greencape.co.za/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/20160705_WISP_Case-Studies_-The-Battery-Saga_FA2-3.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }