If South Africa had an official pastime beyond braaiing and sports, it might just be making plans, to make plans. This can be true of sustainability plans: they can find themselves caught between good intentions and actual implementation. But in this scenario, the plans are real, driven by an alliance of big brands and glass recycling.
EPR: Turning Responsibility Into Reality
Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) represents a significant shift in how businesses approach environmental responsibility, backed by government regulation. Under South Africa’s 2021 EPR regulations developed by the Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment (DFFE), producers of packaging materials must legally take both financial and operational accountability for the end-of-life management of their products.
Simply put, EPR shifts the onus of waste management onto producers. If you produce packaging, you’re responsible for ensuring it doesn’t end up in someone else’s backyard, or worse, in a landfill. This shift is critically shaping how South African companies manage their packaging waste.
From Intention to Infrastructure
The framework requires producers either to join an approved Producer Responsibility Organisation (PRO) and pay EPR fees based on the volume of packaging they put onto the market or manage this process themselves by establishing an EPR scheme for their products. Central to South Africa’s glass recycling framework is The Glass Recycling Company (TGRC).
Almost all major players in South Africa’s FMCG sector have joined TGRC, helping to ensure that intention translates into meaningful action in driving glass recycling. The organisation is now supported by an impressive network of more than 80 member companies. These companies fund TGRC through EPR fees based on the amount of glass packaging they place on the market, directly supporting glass collection and recycling initiatives.
One of TGRC’s 4 000 glass banks being used by a family to deposit their glass for recycling.
Glass Recycling that Pays it Forward
Funds collected by TGRC directly support nationwide glass collection, recycling programmes, and the development of infrastructure including the establishment of buy-back centres. This significantly reduces environmental impact and supports job creation within the formal and informal economies. Food, beverage, and even pharmaceutical companies in South Africa are demonstrating that sustainable practices are not merely corporate philanthropy, but integral to responsible business.
This comprehensive network ensures that glass bottles are efficiently collected, sorted and processed, significantly reducing the volume of glass waste that ends up in landfills. TGRC’s members provide substantial financial support to strengthen and expand the glass recycling value chain. This funding enables the growth of buy-back centres, supports local collectors and helps create meaningful income opportunities within the informal economy, advancing both environmental sustainability and social development.
Where Brands and Communities Meet
Take our alcohol beverage companies, for instance, companies that don’t only brew beer (and wine and spirits) but actively embed sustainability. Our beverage companies, including our South African stalwart legacy companies, pour significant financial resources into the collection of glass bottles, turning waste into economic lifelines for thousands in informal networks.
Under their EPR obligations, these brands don’t just tick compliance boxes – they set industry benchmarks. Our FMCG companies across both the food and beverage sectors are demonstrating that whisky and peanut butter have more in common than one might think – namely, glass packaging and a shared commitment to sustainability. With each bottle sold, these brands are invested in ensuring that glass bottles find its way back as recycled packaging.
Yet the real charm of South Africa’s glass recycling story lies not merely in boardrooms, but in the informal economy’s hustle. Every ton of glass collected and recycled by the two South African glass manufacturers who are also members of TGRC represents livelihoods and dreams – small businesses, reclaimers, and entrepreneurs working tirelessly, often invisibly, to transform waste into opportunity.
Partnerships between big corporations and small-scale operators are flourishing, driven largely by TGRC’s network. This isn’t just lip service – it’s visible in every township where buy-back centres convert bottles into bread on tables.
TGRC’s members contribute significantly to recovering over 400 000 tonnes of glass annually. This isn’t just impressive; it’s vital. Without these corporate commitments and informal-sector efforts, South Africa’s glass would likely join the mountains of waste choking the environment.
A skip ready to be dispatched for recycling.
A Toast to Collective Action
So, here’s a toast to our 80+ members who refuse to leave their environmental footprint unchecked. And, while the role of the ‘big players’ remains crucial, the collective participation of all these brand owners ensure a robust and financially stable recycling infrastructure. This cooperative effort epitomises the successful implementation of EPR principles.
In a country where cynicism often outweighs optimism, South Africa’s glass recycling story, propelled by corporate responsibility, entrepreneurial hustle, and genuine collaboration, offers a hopeful glimpse of the circular economy at work. It’s a reminder that sustainability is no longer just a nice-to-have marketing initiative, but fundamental to responsible business.
As we raise our glasses – responsibly recycled, of course – let’s salute the businesses bold enough to put their money (and their empty bottles) where their mouth is.
