Producer responsibility organisation Petco says two grassroots buyback centres have realised a 20% to 30% increase in productivity owing to critical infrastructure investments made to boost their collection and recycling efforts.

This support was provided by Petco on behalf of its member organisations that pay extended producer responsibility fees for the packaging they sell into the market.

Over the past year, Petco made strategic investments in infrastructure and equipment support for small businesses of nearly R9-million, up from the R4.5-million invested in 2024.

Despite a difficult 2025, Petco continues its long-standing support of small recycling collection businesses with the machinery, training and logistical support to turn post-consumer packaging into sorted, processed and baled material, it says.

During the past year, Petco supported two Gauteng-based buyback centres, namely Flink Pik, in Pretoria, and InWaste Green, in Johannesburg. Both buyback centres recently received in-feed conveyor systems that boosted their productivity.

“A conveyor system is one of the most valuable pieces of equipment in a recycling operation. Instead of workers moving recyclables one by one into a baler, the belt automates that process, which reduces manual labour and improves safety and efficiency,” says Petco collections and training manager Tlou Sebola.

“We want to empower these businesses to keep doing the work that makes our members’ sustainability commitments real. Every piece of equipment we put into a buyback centre is infrastructure that enables our members’ packaging to be collected, sorted and recycled,” she says.

The collected post-consumer packaging is sold to recycling companies and fed into the country’s circular economy, where the recycled content is reincorporated into new products and packaging.

FLINK PIK
Flink Pik has been processing paper and plastic since 2009, and engaged Petco in 2023 when it began collecting Tetra Pak liquid board packaging (LBP).

Petco provided funding for storage cages and branding, and, in 2024, it provided R80 000 for a 6 m branded trailer to extend the collection areas the company could serve.

The business saw its monthly polyethylene terephthalate (PET) collections grow from 46 t to 120 t, and now collects an average of 4 t of LBP a month.

Earlier this year, Petco added a horizontal baler and an infeed conveyor system to the buyback centre at a combined investment of almost R900 000. PET processing is expected to increase by a further 40% as a result, with LBP collections up by 10% to 15%, it notes.

“The conveyor and baling machine help with production capacity. We use less rope because of heavier bales and need less stacking space,” explains Flink Pik co-owner Henk du Preez.

INWASTE GREEN
InWaste Green has been receiving assistance from Petco since it first applied for sponsorship in 2017. To date, Petco has provided R600 000 for branded containers and trailers, and sponsored a truck modification that allowed the centre to accommodate roll-on/roll-off waste cages.

These investments helped the business to survive Covid-19, which sustained jobs and waste pickers' incomes.

InWaste Green has grown its workforce from 50 to 60 employees since the pandemic and now buys from 2 500 active waste pickers, which is a 40% increase from 2017.

Petco sponsored a R500 000 conveyor system at the centre in late 2025. This included site signage and 38 sets of personal protective equipment.

This conveyor system is expected to lift PET processing efficiency by 25% to 30% and will enable InWaste Green to introduce LBP collection for the first time, thereby opening a new revenue stream and diverting more material from landfill, Petco says.

“My team and I would like to express our gratitude to Petco for their unwavering support of our vision,” says InWaste Green co-owner Miriam Moses.