Thirty-year old Western Cape recycling and waste management company CL Trading is set to double the amount of recyclables that it can process, with the installation of a new, imported, R3-million Enerpat horizontal baler. Until now, the company’s recycling capacity was 3 500 t a month. The acquisition of the baler was made possible by the financial support of producer responsibility organisation Petco.

“We’re still learning and configuring the new baler and conveyor system. But with it, we’re looking to double our processing volume in the coming months,” reported CL Trading MD Shaun Styger. “The high-volume machinery was imported and commissioned through a significant capital investment by CL Trading, complemented by financial assistance from Petco, which contributed a portion of the overall funding.”

The relationship between CL Trading and Petco began in 2023, when the former won the Petco Award for Best Community Recycling Initiative. On busy days, more than 700 waste pickers brought recyclables to the company’s Stellenbosch collection depot alone. It also had such depots in Strand and Parow. 

“Investing in infrastructure support for small, medium-sized and microenterprises like CL Trading is one of our strategic focus areas, because we believe that giving the right tools to the right people will help them build a solid operational foundation, and grow South Africa’s circular economy for the benefit of all,” affirmed Petco CEO Telly Chauke. “This day is testament to how partnerships really work to unlock not only collections but also more opportunities for waste pickers, as well as the opportunity to get a consistent supply of good quality recyclable material to the gate of the recycler. It’s about leveraging CL Trading’s capital investment to create environmental, economic and social justice.”

The new baler could process more than three times as much material as the standard balers used. While one of these smaller balers could produce a bale of recyclable materials in 25 minutes, the new baler had already produced a bale of about one ton in just over three minutes.

“The higher density of the bale allows us to get more payload onto our trucks and containers, making us more efficient in terms of logistics, and enabling us to pass some of the cost savings in terms of the processing fee on to our suppliers,” explained Styger.

Those suppliers were composed of small collection businesses and waste pickers. One of those small businesses was James Mpondo’s Thasompo Recycling. “CL Trading has taken me from zero to hero,” he said. “They see if you need something, they help you and pick you up. This company has supported me, even with equipment, like a trailer. I’m staying in Khayelitsha – it was so terrible. I heard someone say Khayelitsha is now clean. It’s clean because of me – and CL Trading!”

With the new baler, CL Trading would be able to buy more waste material from its suppliers, and so divert more material away from landfill sites. The company directly employed more than 200 people and operated a fleet of more than 50 collection vehicles.

Petco is the oldest producer responsibility organisation in the country, having been founded some 20 years ago, before extended producer responsibility was made mandatory.