Building livelihoods from waste: Informal waste recycling in Vrygrond

This case study examines a community-led buyback centre in the Vrygrond informal settlement of Cape Town, detailing its role in diverting waste from landfills and providing essential income to local waste reclaimers.

• A community-run buyback centre in Vrygrond diverts approximately 1,500 tonnes of waste from landfills annually, which equates to roughly 130 tonnes per month. This activity saves an estimated R875,000 per annum in landfill costs, based on the City of Cape Town 2019-20 tariff of R583.90 per tonne.
• The buyback centre supports local livelihoods by employing 20 people (approximately 60% female and 40% male) and providing income opportunities for 300 waste reclaimers. The facility generates an annual community income between R950,000 and R1.9 million, with daily distributions to reclaimers ranging from R3,500 to R7,000.
• The facility demonstrates high operational efficiency, disposing of less than two tonnes of material per month, which represents less than 1.5% of incoming material. Monthly diversion totals include 60 tonnes of plastic, 30 tonnes of paper, 28 tonnes of glass, and 12 tonnes of metal.
• The buyback centre faces several operational hurdles, including limited access to land, a lack of business development support, and a shortage of resources for expansion, such as vehicles, balers, and fixed infrastructure.
• The document recommends formalising the relationship between the municipality and the informal recycling sector. It suggests a three-way collaboration between municipalities, Producer Responsibility Organisations (PROs), and buyback centres to improve resource efficiency and service delivery in areas where the municipality has limited access.

APA

Sango, T. (2020). Building livelihoods from waste: Informal waste recycling in Vrygrond. GreenCape. https://greencape.co.za/assets/INFORMAL_SECTOR_CASE_STUDY_6_8_20.pdf

Chicago

Sango, Tawanda. Building livelihoods from waste: Informal waste recycling in Vrygrond. GreenCape, 2020. https://greencape.co.za/assets/INFORMAL_SECTOR_CASE_STUDY_6_8_20.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Sango |first1=Tawanda |title=Building livelihoods from waste: Informal waste recycling in Vrygrond |publisher=GreenCape |date=2020 |url=https://greencape.co.za/assets/INFORMAL_SECTOR_CASE_STUDY_6_8_20.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{sango2020building, author = {Sango, Tawanda}, title = {{Building livelihoods from waste: Informal waste recycling in Vrygrond}}, institution = {GreenCape}, year = {2020}, url = {https://greencape.co.za/assets/INFORMAL_SECTOR_CASE_STUDY_6_8_20.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }