Case Study Diverting Organic Waste from Landfill in Shopping Centres V&A Waterfront Cape Town 2020

The V&A Waterfront in Cape Town has diverted over 11,000 tonnes of waste from landfills over five years, reducing disposal costs by up to 36%. The precinct focuses on organic waste due to its high volume—nearly 70% of landfill waste—and its impact on climate change. Key initiatives include source separation, a waste tariff structure to incentivise tenants, green leases, and the use of an 'eco-intelligence dashboard' for real-time data. The project has resulted in annual GHG emission savings of 4,147 tonnes and the creation of 86 permanent daily jobs. The long-term goal is zero waste to landfill by 2023, with plans for an on-site waste-to-energy plant.

• Over the past five years, the V&A Waterfront diverted more than 11,000 tonnes of waste from landfills, which lowered waste disposal costs by as much as 36%.
• Organic waste is a primary target for diversion because it represents nearly 70% of the waste sent to landfills and significantly affects climate change and the quality of dry recyclables.
• The precinct's waste diversion efforts have led to annual savings of 4,147 tonnes of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and the creation of 86 permanent daily jobs, supported by a green investment of R 17 million.
• To reach a goal of zero waste to landfill by 2023, the V&A Waterfront plans to increase separation-at-source for organic waste and build an on-site waste-to-energy plant to produce electricity from non-recyclable waste.

APA

Smout, S. (2020). Case Study Diverting Organic Waste from Landfill in Shopping Centres V&A Waterfront Cape Town 2020. GreenCape. https://greencape.co.za/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/20200330_GreenCape_Waste-Case-Study-v3-3.pdf

Chicago

Smout, Sam. Case Study Diverting Organic Waste from Landfill in Shopping Centres V&A Waterfront Cape Town 2020. GreenCape, 2020. https://greencape.co.za/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/20200330_GreenCape_Waste-Case-Study-v3-3.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Smout |first1=Sam |title=Case Study Diverting Organic Waste from Landfill in Shopping Centres V&A Waterfront Cape Town 2020 |publisher=GreenCape |date=2020 |url=https://greencape.co.za/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/20200330_GreenCape_Waste-Case-Study-v3-3.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{smout2020case, author = {Smout, Sam}, title = {{Case Study Diverting Organic Waste from Landfill in Shopping Centres V\&A Waterfront Cape Town 2020}}, institution = {GreenCape}, year = {2020}, url = {https://greencape.co.za/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/20200330_GreenCape_Waste-Case-Study-v3-3.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }