Polyco invests in SA’s only post-consumer polystyrene recycler
POLYCO has invested R1,89 million in waste service provider New Earth Recycling, strengthening one of South Africa’s only dedicated recyclers of post-consumer and agricultural polystyrene and expanding the country’s limited domestic processing capacity for this type of plastic.
This is Polyco’s third year supporting this Cape Town facility, highlighting the need to build viable recycling solutions for plastics that are technically recyclable but have struggled to attract commercial investment.
New Earth Recycling, a 100% black-owned enterprise founded in 2013, has grown from a small social-impact initiative into a specialist polystyrene recycler with full-service processing capability. The facility has developed a consistent track record of producing high-quality, contamination-free recycled material for local manufacturers.
Polystyrene recycling has historically lagged behind other plastic streams as, a viable investment opportunity in the circular economy. Virgin polystyrene is inexpensive, end markets remain limited, and expanded polystyrene is 95 to 98% air, making it costly to transport and difficult for municipalities and small collectors to handle without specialised equipment.
Despite this, New Earth is one of few national facilities that specialises in recovering these difficult streams at scale, demonstrating that even low-value and highly contaminated PS materials can be diverted from landfills.
Polyco’s continued funding has helped the company to modernise and expand its ability to process both expanded and high-impact polystyrene. Investments made in 2023 and 2024 enabled the facility to complete its full-service offering, increase automation, and more than double its processing capacity for postconsumer material.
This latest investment will boost New Earth Recycling’s operational capacity with a new bale opener, a conveyor-driven sorting line and three hot-melt densifiers, improving feedstock preparation and densification. Now, the company can collect, prepare, and process far higher volumes of polystyrene, especially the lower-value, harder-to handle grades.
Importantly, close to 99% of the recycled material produced at the facility is used in South African applications that remain fully recyclable, contributing directly to a circular plastics economy. Their growing operations are also generating meaningful socio-economic impact, creating local jobs, particularly for youth and women, and supplying domestic manufacturers with high-quality recycled feedstock.
‘Shown resilience and innovation’
Polyco Project Manager Adriaan van Wyk said the three-year partnership demonstrates how targeted investment through Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) regulations can unlock impact where commercial incentives fall short.
“New Earth Recycling has shown the kind of resilience and innovation that South Africa needs and proven that even the most difficult polystyrene streams can be recovered at scale. Supporting them again in 2026 is an investment in capacity, in jobs, and in long-term circular growth,” Van Wyk adds. New Earth Recycling’s managing director Noel Ehrenreich expressed gratitude: “Polyco’s investment has enabled us to strengthen our processing capability, double our capacity for post-consumer material, and take on the difficult, moisture-rich and contaminated streams that others cannot.”
New Earth plans to expand its catchment area, continue improving processing efficiency, and grow domestic end markets over the next three to five years. With Polyco’s support, the company aims to play a larger role in diverting polystyrene away from landfill and into high-value manufacturing.
