Waste pickers do a very important job in South Africa’s collection and recycling value chain – picking up recyclable packaging, and trading it in at their local buy-back centres, which then sort and bale the various packaging materials and sell them on to the relevant recyclers.
Last month, the South African Waste Pickers Association (SAWPA) marked 17 years of justice for waste pickers, and Petco was invited to join the celebration in Midrand, which brought together members from across the country.
As part of their 8th Biennial General Meeting programme, our project manager for value chain projects, Nandipha Sibiya, outlined Petco’s current support to SAWPA and reinforced our commitment to meaningful integration initiatives.
The team also used the Q&A session that followed to discuss access to resources from producer responsibility organisations (PROs) and hear waste pickers’ concerns.
As one of only two PROs that attended the event, it was a great opportunity to have open dialogue and show that Petco is still committed to supporting a more inclusive and collaborative recycling sector.
