Push to unlock Kwaggasrand recycling facility’s potential
The facility’s challenges were assessed and ways explored to unlock its full potential as part of efforts to boost the circular economy.
Gauteng MEC for Environment, Ewan Botha, and Tshwane Mayor, Dr Nasiphi Moya, conducted an oversight visit to the Kwaggasrand Multi-Material Recovery Facility (MRF) in Atteridgeville recently to assess how the facility could be improved.
The visit forms part of the Provincial Environment Department’s aim of advancing the circular economy through intergovernmental collaboration.
The engagement began with a briefing on the facility, including its intended role in the city’s waste management ecosystem, current operational challenges, and opportunities to unlock its full potential.
The MEC and mayor then did a walkabout of the multi-purpose recycling facility, engaging with officials on infrastructure, operations, environmental management, and opportunities to strengthen waste recovery and resource regeneration.
The facility was built in 2019, and was intended to provide an economic solution within the city’s waste management system.
Stakeholders say that oversight engagements such as these are important in assessing how infrastructure can be better used to support environmental sustainability and economic development.
“Obviously there was over R300-million spent on this facility, and I think that the main issue comes down to feedstock,” Botha said.
Feedstock refers to raw, unprocessed or pre-sorted waste materials, such as mixed plastics, paper, glass or metal scrap, which are fed into a facility to be converted into secondary raw materials or new products.
“Unlocking the full potential of waste recovery infrastructure remains essential to reducing pressure on landfill airspace, advancing the circular economy, and building a cleaner, more sustainable, and economically resilient Gauteng,” Botha said.
Moya said since the facility’s inception, it has not realised its full potential, emphasising the need for its optimisation as the city’s landfills are unsustainable.
“The city and the provincial Department of Environment are working on a plan to ensure that this facility is used to its full potential. The circular economy is a strategic sector that we have identified for growth as part of Tshwane’s Economic Revitalisation Strategy,” Moya said.
“Our landfills are filling up at an unsustainable pace. Multi-material recovery centres ensure that waste is regenerated for continued economic use for the benefit of the environment,” she said.
Watch here: https://x.com/nasiphim/status/2084697974777479168/video/1
♻️This afternoon, we joined Gauteng MEC for Environment, Ewan Botha, for an oversight visit to the Kwaggasrand Multi-Material Recovery Facility(MRF) in Atteridgeville.
This multi-purpose recycling hub was built in 2019. It was meant to provide an economic solution to the City’s… pic.twitter.com/d6hCQv4kNW
— Dr Nasiphi Moya (@nasiphim) August 4, 2026
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