Seven roles, one circular network: inside South Africa’s glass recycling economy

The Glass Recycling Company (TGRC) plays a central role in holding this network together – supporting collectors with PPE and training, backing buy-back centres with resources, and strengthening the links in the value chain that keep South Africa’s glass moving.

This is the network’s story – seven roles, one circular network.

1. The members powering the cycle

TGRC’s members are the starting point of the glass recycling chain. They include some of South Africa’s most recognised brand owners, food and beverage manufacturers, glass manufacturers and retailers. By pooling resources and committing to shared responsibility, they make it possible to fund glass recycling infrastructure, support collectors, and sustain buy-back centres. Their investment ensures glass is not only recovered but reintegrated into new products, driving a true circular economy. 

2. The collectors

Collectors are an important link in the chain. Some push trolleys through streets and suburbs, recovering bottles and jars. For many, it is the difference between having food on the table and going without. Others work in more formal settings through NGOs or municipal partnerships. Whether informal or formal, all help divert glass from landfill and feed it back into the system. TGRC supports them with PPE, connections to buyers and payment of waste picker service fees.

Masite Festie Lerato – Entrepreneur
Based in Shatale, Bushbuckridge, Festie is part of the informal network of collectors who recover glass from households and businesses. She has since established her own buy-back centre, employing nine people.

"I started recycling in 2022. I love it because it keeps the environment clean, and at the same time it gave me an opportunity to earn an income when I was unemployed."

3. The buy-back centre operators

Across communities and industrial areas, buy-back centres hum with activity. Glass is weighed, recorded and aggregated into volumes ready for transport. These centres connect informal collectors to formal markets, offering a consistent outlet and keeping the system moving. TGRC supports operators with skips, PPE, digital payments and several incentives.

Calvin Sihongo – TK Recycling
From Roodepoort, Calvin runs TK Recycling, which buys glass from waste collectors and supplies it into the formal market. TGRC has supported his business with subsidies, bags and PPE.

"It’s fulfilling to run a business that not only cleans the environment and creates jobs but also brings economic dignity to underserved communities. Knowing that our efforts uplift people who were previously excluded from formal systems gives real meaning to the work."

4. The glass bank custodians

Scattered across suburbs, schools and shopping centres, glass banks are dark green drop-off points where the public can take bottles and jars. Custodians – often community groups, churches or schools – ensure banks are filled and notify TGRC when they need emptying. For many, this is the most accessible recycling channel.

At Kenridge Primary in Bellville, Cape Town, recycling is a vibrant tradition. A proud regional winner in TGRC’s School Recycling Competition, the school regularly fills its glass banks.

Heidi Rossouw – Teacher at Kenridge Primary

“Recycling at our school is a collaborative effort involving learners, dedicated teachers, and our wider community … The spirit of teamwork is what makes our recycling journey so successful. Our learners have gained a deep understanding of how small choices can have a big impact. They now think twice before using single-use items and they’re more mindful about sorting waste properly.”

One of TGRC’s 4 000 glass banks being used by a family to deposit their recycling. Find one here: The Glass Recycling Company.

One of TGRC’s 4 000 glass banks being used by a family to deposit their recycling. Find one here: The Glass Recycling Company.

5. The drivers and transporters

Drivers of skip trucks and crane-mounted vehicles shoulder the task of getting cullet from glass banks and collection points to buy-back centres and then on to manufacturing plants at Ardagh Glass Packaging and Isanti Glass. TGRC helps offset high transport costs through its transport subsidy. This subsidy is provided to cover part of the transport costs of moving collected glass from buy-back centres to recycling facilities, particularly in remote and rural areas. Without this support, many centres would simply not be able to shift their volumes.

Gershwin Kohler – Blue Sky Recycling
Gershwin founded Blue Sky Recycling in Belhar, Cape Town. Starting with one bakkie and a container, he now manages trucks, a warehouse, and buy-back operations. With TGRC’s backing through bags, PPE and subsidies, he has scaled collections and strengthened community livelihoods.

"The company has grown step by step. What started with one bakkie and a container now runs with three crane-mounted trucks and an established warehouse, and we’ve even added buy-back operations. Our turnover has tripled and is substantial now. The only limits on our business growth is self-regulated.”

6. The mobile buy-back units

Mobile collection units – trucks that double as buy-back centres – are a growing innovation. By combining collection and transport, they open new recovery channels and deliver directly to recycling facilities. TGRC views them as a vital way to expand reach and increase recovery.

Ramosedi Silas Phasha – Boki Trading
Ramosedi runs Boki Trading Enterprise, a buy-back centre network in Gauteng and the Northern Cape. With TGRC’s support, Boki has expanded its reach, added equipment and grown volumes of glass collected.

"I am proud and confident in running Boki because it has grown into a successful business that employs over 100 people and supports my family and relatives. TGRC has helped us with scales, bags and transport subsidies, which made it possible to expand and reach further distances. Recycling matters because it keeps our country clean and provides income for communities."

7. The manufacturers closing the loop

At the end of the chain, glassmakers melt cullet back into new bottles and jars. Every tonne of recovered glass reduces demand for virgin sand, saves energy and cuts carbon emissions. Both Isanti Glass and Ardagh Glass Packaging invest heavily in recycled content and advanced processing plants that can colour-separate and remove contaminants, allowing all glass colours to be collected together.

Supporting the network: linking livelihoods and impact

Transport remains one of the biggest barriers to recycling. Without support, many collectors and buy-back centres cannot afford to move volumes. TGRC eases this pressure by paying a transport subsidy through Money4Glass, ensuring glass is collected from across the country and the system keeps flowing.

A circular economy in action
South Africa’s glass recycling system is a community of people, each with a role to play. From members enabling the system, to collectors pushing trolleys at dawn, buy-back operators running the scales, custodians filling banks, drivers moving cullet, mobile units opening new channels, and manufacturers closing the loop – together they prevent glass from ending up in landfill. They create livelihoods, dignity and opportunity, while building a more sustainable future for all.

TGRC’s members complete the circle. By reinvesting in this network – enabling innovation and inclusion – they ensure the system is not only environmentally sound but socially inclusive. Their commitment ensures that glass, infinitely recyclable, is also endlessly valuable. DM

Thank you to TGRC’s members whose support makes this work possible: Heineken Beverages, The South African Breweries, Tiger Brands, Diageo South Africa, Halewood International, Ardagh Glass Packaging, Isanti Glass, KWV, Edward Snell & Co, Woolworths, Pernod Ricard, Signal Hill Products, DGB, Beiersdorf Consumer Products, Robertson Winery, Peninsula Beverage Company, Kingsley Beverage, Nestlé, Coca-Cola, Shoprite, PepsiCo, RFG Foods, Johnson & Johnson, The Grocery Company, Famous Brands, Unilever, Anthonij Rupert Wyne, Kanonkop Wine Estate, Adcock Ingram Healthcare, Amka Products, Aspen Pharmacare, Aquasky, Avon Justine, Boekenhoutskloof Winery, Brother Bees Honey, Boston Breweries, Cape Herb and Spice, Cecil Vinegar Works, Chill Beverages International, Crede Oils, Paul Cluver Wines, De Morgenzon, Eagles’ Nest Wines, Elizabeth Arden, Ferrero Ithemba RSA, Forrester Vineyards, Fruitlips, GlaxoSmithKline SA, Global Grinders, Groot Constantia Trust, Imbuko Wines, Indigo Brands, Iwayini Company, La Motte Wine Estate, L’Avenir Wine Estate, Le Bonheur Wine Estate, Lola Lee Beauty, L’Oréal, Malinco Foods, Miles Mossop Wines, Mont Rochelle Winery, Montagu Foods, Nando’s, Neil Ellis Wines, Clicks, Nomu, Overhex Wines International, Peppadew, Pick n Pay, Procter & Gamble, Reckitt Benckiser, Revlon, RG Cosmetics, Rialto, Liberty Foods, Roche, Rustenburg Wines, SkinChem, Spier Wines, Verve Water, Stafford Bros & Draeger, Stellenbosch Vineyards, Wilson Foods, Tokara, Truman and Orange, Tuscher’s Packaging, Wellness Warehouse, Zevenwacht.