Deputy Minister Bernice Swarts: Launch of the “Circular Economy Expanded Public Works Programme Cleaning, Greening and Recycling Project”

06 May 2026

Programme Director,

Honourable Executive Mayor of Lejweleputswa District Municipality,

Councillors and Municipal Leadership,

Representatives from Fibre Circle,

National and Provincial representatives

Distinguished Guests,

Community Members,

Ladies and Gentlemen,

I would like to commend Fibre circle, Lejweleputswa District Municipality and their partners for the incredible effort in bringing relevant stakeholders to find sustainable solutions to waste management issues in South Africa. It is indeed an honor for having received your invitation to participate in the Launch of the “Circular Economy Expanded Public Works Programme (EPWP) Cleaning, Greening and Recycling Project” today.

This event represents one of the good achievements in waste management, community empowerment through job creation, and the circular economy. This initiative has created about 550 EPWP work opportunities across the five local municipalities, Matjhabeng, Masilonyana, Tswelopele, Nala, and Tokologo, while simultaneously addressing critical waste management challenges such as illegal dumping, landfill pressure, and low recycling rates.

I commend municipal partnership and collaboration with Fibre Circle and other industry partners, which recognised the value of this initiative and has expanded it beyond the traditional EPWP cleaning and greening activities to include recycling, waste diversion, and enterprise development, thereby promoting sustainable livelihoods beyond the duration of the EPWP programme.

I am therefore glad to say that the Department supports this launch, calling for a common vision to address waste management whilst creating job opportunities for our society. We all want to see this municipality grow an economy where waste is much valued and beneficiated.

I view this gathering as an opportunity to catch up and update each other as stakeholders on the various interventions that we are all working on to address waste management challenges and unemployment within the municipality.

We all know that Waste management in the District is facing limited waste minimisation and recycling initiatives, with the majority of waste streams still being disposed of at landfill sites. A key challenge within the district is the lack of adequate recycling infrastructure, including material recovery facilities, buy-back centres, and separation-at-source systems. This limits the municipality’s ability to divert waste from landfill and hampers the development of local recycling value chains. As a result, recyclable materials that could otherwise contribute to the circular economy are lost to disposal.

The municipal reliance on landfill disposal continues to place significant pressure on existing infrastructure, much of which is already constrained in terms of capacity, operational efficiency, and compliance with licensing conditions. There is also an increasing level of illegal dumping, particularly in peri-urban and rural areas where waste collection services are inconsistent or limited. All this requires our collaboration to be effectively coordinated and managed.

The existing Expanded Public Works Programme (EPWP) programme plays an important supporting role in the district by supplementing municipal capacity. Through initiatives focused on cleaning, greening, and recycling, the EPWP programme helps to extend service reach, particularly in underserved areas. It also contributes to improving environmental cleanliness, addressing illegal dumping hotspots, and creating short-term employment opportunities for local communities.

The introduction of the Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) by the Department in South Africa is critical to ensure maximisation in the reduce, reuse and recovery and recycling of waste. The EPR aim is to encourage producers to take full responsibility of managing waste generated from their products at the post-consumer stage. This will enable opportunities to then increase the waste diversion from our environment whilst creating employment opportunities in the waste sectors.

Despite all these challenges, I am glad to say that, there are clear opportunities to improve the current system. These include strengthening collaboration with PROs to leverage EPR-funded initiatives, expanding recycling infrastructure, and formalising the role of informal waste pickers to enhance collection and recovery rates. In addition, scaling up circular economy initiatives can support job creation, reduce environmental impacts, and improve overall service delivery within the district.

A more integrated and collaborative approach, bringing together municipalities, industry, PROs, and communities, will be critical to transitioning Lejweleputswa towards a more sustainable and resource-efficient waste management system.

In conclusion, let me thank everyone of you here today for the commitment to achieve our common goal of addressing waste management whilst promoting the circular economy. I appreciate Fibre Circle's commitment to work with municipalities and the key stakeholders in addressing waste issues whilst empowering our community through job creation in the waste sector.

Thank you ke a leboga

#ServiceDeliveryZA