Petco Awards 2026: Meet this year’s award winners
THE Petco Awards, which took place during the Petco Annual General Meeting in Johannesburg on 7 May, recognise excellence across the collection and recycling value chain and celebrate the individuals, businesses and organisations leading the sector through innovation, education and their commitment to diverting packaging from landfill and building a circular economy.
Winners are recognised for embracing Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR), contributing to driving collection and recycling, and reflecting the principles of sustainability, the circular economy, design for recycling, SMME development and integrating the informal sector into the value chain.
ENVIRONMENTAL EDUCATION AND AWARENESS INITIATIVE AWARD
JOINT WINNER: DADA WASTE MANAGEMENT
This waste management company co-operative educates over 30,000 learners on recycling through eco-clubs across 45 schools and by integrating recycling into feeding schemes. It also implements separation at source at bars, a stadium and a guest house, resulting in the collection of 60 tonnes of recyclable packaging in 2025
JOINT WINNER: INDALOYAMI TRADING
A buy-back centre that collects recyclable packaging through contracts with 26 schools, as well as prisons, communities, shopping centres, hospitals and mines. In 2025, they collected 78 tonnes of material. Regular cleanup campaigns and educational workshops are conducted in communities, reaching over 34,000 people and counting
COMMUNITY RECYCLING CHANGEMAKER AWARD
BONTLE KE TLHAGO
A community-based buy-back centre with a strong focus on youth and women, employing 11 staff members and supporting 97 waste pickers. In 2025, they collected 213.16 tonnes of recyclable packaging. They rebuilt trust with waste pickers by providing PPE and infrastructure support, creating a more stable and dignified working environment
ENTREPRENEUR OF THE YEAR AWARD
TUMELO MOROLO
This micro buy-back centre strategically invested in equipment and expanded its operation, opening a second branch and purchasing a H15 baler, enabling it to service 1,500 customers and employ 13 staff. This resulted in an increase in monthly collection from 7 to 19 tonnes of recyclable packaging. In 2025, they collected 600 tonnes of recyclable packaging
KERBSIDE COLLECTION AND SORTING SUPERHERO AWARD
SHOMANG SEBENZANI DEVELOPMENT INITIATIVE
Operating since 2013, this co-operative is one of South Africa’s longest-running and most established kerbside collection programmes. They service 1,800 homes and work with 21 schools and 18,900 learners through swap-shop programmes. In 2025, they collected 115 tonnes of recyclable packaging
AWAY-FROM-HOME COLLECTION AND RECYCLING AWARD
MKWANAZI MANAGEMENT SERVICES
The owners have designed a business model that collects recyclable packaging at scale across public spaces in rural areas, with 12 households formally signed up. They also run a “roadside recycling” initiative, collecting an average of 250 kg of recyclable packaging each week along a 72-kilometre stretch of the R23
RESPONSIBLE PACKAGING DESIGN AWARD
MPACT AND HIGHVELD HONEY
Mpact has redesigned its client, Highveld Honey Farm’s honey bottle, from PVC to recyclable PET. This creates a lighter packaging option that maximises usability, recyclability and compatibility with South Africa’s collection systems and recycling infrastructure. In future, the bottles will include 25% recycled PET, further strengthening their role within the circular economy
CIRCULAR ECONOMY FACILITATION AWARD
GREEN YOUTH NETWORK
A national, youth-led platform focused on building the circular economy by connecting organisations to improve collection and recycling systems. Using a hub-and-spoke model, it has mobilised and educated more than 3,000 youth. In 2025, through large-scale clean-ups, they diverted 180 tonnes of waste from landfill
PETCO’S LEVEL UP AWARD
JOINT WINNER: WESTWORLD RECYCLING
With prior machinery support from Petco, the buy-back centre has scaled its operations to service a larger network of collectors. In 3 years, it has increased collection volumes from 1,700 to 2,100 tonnes, employing 44 people and supporting a network of waste pickers
JOINT WINNER: JOLA FAMILY SOLUTIONS
With prior machinery support from Petco, the operation has developed into a formal business with 2 collection sites working across schools, businesses and the community, employing 14 youth and supporting 70 individuals. In 2025, they collected 120 tonnes of recyclables
