Stellenbosch Community Recycling
Description of Project
The project developer of the Stellenbosch Community Recycling project, CL Trading / CL Waste Scrap Metal, assists local communities and local governments in realising the virtuous cycles between human and ecological wellbeing. One of the ways in which they do this is by enabling the establishment of local recycling operations, focused on community-based waste collectors or “waste–preneurs”, schools and local businesses in the Western Cape. These waste collectors, schools and businesses collect recycling, sells it to CL Waste Scrap Metal who then further process and trades this recycling material that would otherwise end up in a municipal landfill and water bodies. Stellenbosch Community Recycling is one such project.
The project is currently operational across three primary sites in Stellenbosch, Strand and Parow. These sites purchase recyclable material from formal and informal waste collectors, sort and process that material, and sell it to downstream recycling companies, thereby diverting waste that would otherwise end up in landfill.
The word “wastepreneurs” was coined by the Wastepreneurs intiative, however, the Stellenbosch Community Recycling project is independent of Wastepreneurs and its projects.
A brand-new trailer, purchased with the proceeds from Carbon Credits, will aid in the collection of materials in outlying areas.
The Stellenbosch Community Recycling Project aims to generate carbon credits through their innovative waste management interventions. These carbon credits will be sold through the Credible Carbon registry, either on the open market or to partner businesses wishing to offset the emissions resulting from their operations, to generate funds for their commitment towards a low-carbon future and economic community development.
The Stellenbosch Community Recycling Project is committed to the supply of credits that align with internationally approved methodologies. All traded credits should relate to greenhouse gas savings that are measurable, permanent, and additional to business as usual, and attributable to deliberate project interventions on the project sites operated by CL Waste and Scrap Metal. The way that the Stellenbosch Community Recycling Project recycles solid waste is distinctly different to the norm within South Africa in relation to waste management, and the basis for ‘additionality’ in this project.
A local waste-preneur drops off recycled material at the buy-back center and receives immediate payment at market-related recycling rates.
How Your Carbon Credit Purchases Make a Difference
When you purchase carbon credits from the Stellenbosch Community Recycling Project, you are directly funding the continuation and expansion of the project’s key impact areas:
- CO₂e Avoidance
- Landfill Diversion
- Job Creation
- Waste Reclaimer Integration
Over a nine-month reporting period, more than R12,000,000 was paid to waste reclaimers and collectors, equating to approximately R60,000 per business day, demonstrating the project’s direct livelihood impact alongside its environmental benefits.
Funding received from carbon credit buyers has enabled the launch of the following key initiatives:
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Enhanced Sorting and Baling Infrastructure
Carbon credit revenue has supported expanded processing capacity through the installation of two Akura conveyors and an H25 baler. These assets have improved material flow, reduced manual handling, and increased processing efficiency.
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Expanded Reach with New Trailers and Recycling Bins
Carbon credit revenue has supported the expansion of the project fleet through the addition of three light delivery vehicles, six light trailers, four heavy commercial vehicles and two heavy commercial trailers. These assets have increased collection capacity, improved route coverage, and strengthened service delivery across the operational area.
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Strengthening Operations with New Permanent Employees
The project currently supports approximately 145 permanent jobs, and since the previous audit period has created 62 new permanent employment positions across collection, sorting, logistics and administration.
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Supplying Bulk Bags to Waste-preneurs
Bulk bags supplied to waste reclaimers improve storage and transport efficiency, enable larger collections per trip, reduce material losses, and increase delivery reliability and income potential for participating collectors.
Trading Period
Accounting period:
- Start date: 1 June 2019
- End date: The project will run for an initial period of 10 years after which the baseline will be reassessed.
Issuance periods:
- First issuance period: 1 June 2019 – 31 May 2022 (completed)
- Second issuance period: 1 June 2022 – 31 May 2025
Trading period:
- Starting date (first vintage): June 2022
- End date: June 2032
The Stellenbosch drop off site with the iconic Stellenbosch Mountain featuring in the background.
Project Benefits
During the 2022–2025 reporting period, the project processed 76,810 tonnes of recyclable material, helping reduce landfill pressure while creating measurable climate and livelihood benefits.
The project sees local households, schools, restaurants, and commercial ventures reducing their quantity of waste to landfill. This shift is responsible for a suite of local benefits:
- An increase in recycling (including e-waste and other low value recycling materials)
- An increase in the reuse of materials (rather than to landfill or recycling)
- Money saving and value creation
- Sustainable job and enterprise creation through waste and recycling management i.e. transport, collection, & processing
- Income and job-creation through the on-sale of recycling
- A reduction in greenhouse gas emissions
- Reduction in freshwater contamination and ocean pollution
- Reduction in biodiversity loss as a result from landfill creation and expansion
- Setting a replicable precedent for community-scale dry and wet waste recycling and management solutions
Poverty Alleviation Impacts:
The project provides approximately 145 permanent jobs and creates an accessible income opportunity in impoverished areas through the purchase of recyclable material from informal waste collectors. It therefore has a discernible impact on poverty alleviation.
Since the first audit, the project has created 62 new permanent positions and continues to support waste reclaimers through regular payments averaging approximately R60,000 per business day.
Project Locations
The project currently operates across three primary sites in the Western Cape:
- Stellenbosch: 5 Planken Street, Plankenbrug, Kayamandi, Stellenbosch, 7600
- Strand: 223 Broadlands Rd, Strand, 7140
- Parow: 50 Assegaai St, Parow Industrial, Cape Town, 7493
Locations of CL Waste and Scrap Metal’s waste collection sites which includes Stellenbosch, Strand & Killarney, Western Cape, South Africa
Sustainable Development Goals
 | The project creates direct income opportunities for informal waste reclaimers through its buy-back centres. Over a nine-month reporting period, more than R12,000,000 was paid to waste reclaimers and collectors, equating to approximately R60,000 per business day, supporting household income, school fees and local informal enterprise activity. |
 | Less disease cause by open dumping and burning at landfills and micro-plastics that end up in human bodies through contaminated freshwater systems. |
 | Micro-plastics are tiny plastic particles that result from the breakdown of larger plastics. When plastic waste is not properly disposed of micro-plastics end up in freshwater sources where they act as a pollutant, which can be harmful to the environment and human health. |
 | CL Waste Scrap Metal promotes sustained, inclusive and sustainable economic growth through recycling operations that currently support approximately 145 permanent employees, including 62 new permanent positions created since the previous audit period, while also expanding income opportunities for informal waste reclaimers. |
 | CL Waste and Scrap Metal uses some of the collected scrap metal to retrofit their own transport fleet with the necessary pulleys and steel cages to transport their recycled material. They also provide retrofits to the bicycles of some of their long-time waste–preneurs to enable them to easily convey more recyclable material in one go. |
 | To ensure sustainable waste services, CL Waste and Scrap Metal values their waste workers by offering good employment rates and by providing the necessary personal protective equipment to ensure safe working conditions. CL Waste and Scrap Metal also provides market related rates to waste-preneurs making their waste collection efforts economically feasible. Whenever urban waste services and management systems are poor or fail, inhabitants suffer bad living conditions. |
 | CL Waste and Scrap Metal substantially reduces waste generation through the recycling and reusing of solid waste. |
 | Within ten years dumpsites could be responsible for up to a 10% of manmade greenhouse gases. CL Waste and Scrap Metal diverts waste from dumpsites by recycling this waste |
 | The ocean drives global systems that make the Earth habitable for humankind. The oceans, seas and marine resources are under constant threat from pollution, warming and acidification that are disrupting marine ecosystems and the communities they support. Much of the waste that we produce on land ends up in the ocean, chemicals seep from immense quantities of dumped waste, poisoning groundwater, streams, and rivers. CL Waste and Scrap Metal plays a vital role in reducing waste generation and keeping waste from ending up in freshwater systems and the ocean. |
 | Life on land can only be healthy when waste is properly managed. Waste is polluting the air we breathe, and the creation and expansion of landfill sites cause habitat and ecosystem loss. |
 | CL Waste and Scrap Metal provides ideal opportunities to collaborate and work in partnership through sustainable waste management – the wealthy and the poor, the formal and informal, communities, business, governments, and the international donor community. |
Local waste–preneurs making their way to CL Waste and Scrap Metal’s Stellenbosch buy-back centre.
Project Idea Note
A Project Idea Note (PIN) was updated for the project’s second issuance period (1 June 2022 – 31 May 2025).
Additionality
Regulatory
In South Africa 87% of all recyclable waste either ends up in landfill or is dumped illegally. Even though the National Waste Management Strategy of South Africa aspires to reduce the amount of waste disposed of, the reality is that most local government authorities are struggling to simply maintain basic service levels and has relatively little technical or financial capacity to support the beneficiation of waste. Currently no laws in South Africa requires the diversion of recyclable waste from landfill.
Financial viability
Proceeds from Carbon Credits will improve the financial viability of establishing additional waste collection drop-offs across the Western Cape to afford more “waste-preneurs” the opportunity to collect and on-sell waste.
Proceeds from Carbon Credits will also change the financial attractiveness for low-value recyclable materials (polypropylene, LDPE) to promote the collection thereof.
Carbon revenue supports the project’s scale and stability by helping fund infrastructure expansion, expanded logistics, improved service coverage, and more reliable income opportunities for waste reclaimers.
The project does unfortunately not receive any government funding, subsidies, or incentives.
“Business as usual”
Most operating recycling companies across South Africa fear for armed robbery and do not provide informal “waste-preneurs” with monetary incentives. Out of the fear of vandalism and arson most companies electrify their premises and do not even allow non-employees (let alone informal “wastepreneurs”) to enter their premises.
This project seeks to address this default position by making recycling easier (through the provision of safe and inclusive drop-off sites) and by creating monetary incentives for currently unemployed people to be active in waste collection and waste sorting.
Methodologies
The Stellenbosch Community Recycling Project accounts for greenhouse-gas emissions avoided through the recovery and recycling of solid waste that would otherwise have been landfilled.
GHG emissions avoided for the reporting period were estimated using the closed loop approximation method presented in the Greenhouse Gas Product Life Cycle Accounting and Reporting Standard, adhering to CDM Small-scale Methodology AMS-III.AJ, and using DEFRA 2025 conversion factors.
During the reporting period 1 June 2022 – 31 May 2025, the project processed 76,810 tonnes of recyclable material.
CL Waste and Scrap Metal’s employees sorting collected waste in different categories.
Audited CO₂e sequestration and reduction
Total avoided emissions: 146,836 tCO2e
This total reflects the gross avoided emissions verified across both audit periods for the Stellenbosch Community Recycling Project:
- First audit: 1 June 2019 – 31 May 2022: 40,267 tCO2e
- Second audit: 1 June 2022 – 31 May 2025: 106,569 tCO2e
Verified second-audit reporting-period breakdown:
- 1 June 2022 – 31 May 2023: 13,007 tonnes recycled
- 1 June 2023 – 31 May 2024: 24,667 tonnes recycled
- 1 June 2024 – 31 May 2025: 39,136 tonnes recycled
- Total recycled (second audit): 76,810 tonnes
Employees of CL Waste and Scrap Metal collecting waste from the beach at Bloubergstrand, South Africa in an effort to combat plastic pollution in the ocean.
Audits
The project’s first audit was for the period 1 June 2019 to 31 May 2022 (both inclusive), completed on 15 August 2022. The project’s second audit was for the period 1 June 2022 to 31 May 2025 (both inclusive), completed on 17 March 2026. Click on the links below to download the documents: