NEWS RELEASE                                                                                          12 September 2002

NEW R6 MILLION TREATMENT PLANT AT VISSERSHOK TO SAVE CITY R 25 MILLION PER YEAR

The City of Cape Town has approved a R6 million leachate treatment plant at the Vissershok landfill site, the largest in the city. The project has also received the full support of the Department of Water Affairs and Forestry and construction is planned to commence in October.The City of Cape town has consulted British experts in the design of the treatment process.

The new plant will be to treat leachate, which is the hazardous liquid produced by the disposed waste, to an environmentally acceptable standard, on site.

The Vissershok landfill site consists of a series of large disposal cells, approximately five hectares in extent. Each cell is sealed with a complex system of clay and synthetic liners to prevent the leachate seeping into underground water. Waste is disposed in the cells and the leachate generated seeps to the bottom of the cell. This liquid flows in a filter drain and is collected in a lined central pond.

The leachate is currently transported by road tanker to the Potsdam Wastewater Treatment Works. Due to the high costs involved and the limited capacity at Potsdam, it is economically viable to build the new treatment plant on site at Vissershok. This will save the City of Cape Town a quarter of a million rand per annum.

Councillor David Erleigh, the City of Cape Town's Executive Councillor for Trading Services, has given his full support to the initiative. "We have approached this very holistically," he said. "Vissershok handles approximately 1 000 tons of waste per day. There are a number of issues to be considered when dealing with a large amount of waste. One must consider and maintain our environment and also be mindful of our scarce resources."

"The effective disposal of waste remains one of the City of Cape Town's main priorities. We must ensure that our environment is protected. This is just another step forward in ensuring sustainable development," said Erleigh.

The new plant will treat the leachate to a standard suitable for the irrigation of the rehabilitated areas of the site and will also be used for dust suppression and the maintenance of the access roads.

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