Polyco’s Packa-Ching tops R50 million in payouts
POLYCO has announced a major national recycling milestone, confirming that its flagship Packa-Ching community recycling initiative has paid more than R50 million to South African communities and diverted over 41 million kilograms of waste from landfills.
These achievements were celebrated at the Packa-Ching Gala Evening held in Cape Town in late November 2025, where Polyco also recognised the top-performing recycling enterprises that helped achieve this record milestone.
Packa-Ching’s programme delivers mobile and static buy-back centres into underserved communities where there is no recycling infrastructure. Communities, which are predominantly serviced by waste pickers, can hand in their sorted recyclable waste (plastics, paper, cans and glass) and receive cash vouchers to be used at various local stores. This empowers communities through income generation, supporting families and livelihoods.
Polyco has developed its WeighPay app to facilitate secure, transparent transactions while capturing real-time data to support South Africa’s Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) system. The platform enhances accountability across the Packa-Ching network and enables accurate tracking of the programme’s growing impact.
These milestones demonstrate the initiative’s success, with 48 Packa-Ching buy-back centres opening across South Africa with the support of key partners, including Sasol and Shoprite. In 2025, the programme introduced 10 new six-metre Packa-Ching units across various provinces, each operated by a trained local enterprise. This model creates jobs, builds local capability, and ensures long-term community ownership of recycling infrastructure.
The gala dinner celebrated five enterprises for their outstanding contributions last year, recognising their efforts in plastics recovery, community impact, enterprise leadership and developing partnerships with waste pickers, who are critical to the success of the Packa-Ching initiative.
All award nominees submitted their collection data through the WeighPay app, which determined the winners for each category. These are the award categories and winners:
Award winners
Top Plastics Collector Award: Mpilenhle Trading Enterprise
Mpilenhle achieved the highest volume of plastic collected in the Packa-Ching network, supported by efficient operations and consistent service to high-density communities.
Community Impact Award: Mpilenhle Trading Enterprise
Mpilenhle was also recognised as having the highest total amount of money paid to waste pickers, providing meaningful financial support to participants in the programme.
Largest Recycling Collection – Women-led Enterprise: The Waste Trade Company
The Waste Trade Company recorded the highest collection volumes among women-led enterprises. Its operational leadership, staff development and long-term community impact provide meaningful opportunities for women in the waste value chain.
Largest Recycling Collection – Youth-led Enterprise (18-35): KU Green Hands
KU Green Hands is celebrated for its work as a youth-led enterprise. Its efforts at driving innovation in the industry reflect the youth’s interest in green initiatives that impact their communities.
The Waste Picker Partnership Award: Mmula Group
Mmula Group received this award for its effective development of new partnerships with informal waste pickers, resulting in the largest number of new waste pickers signing up for the platform in 2024. By formalising working relationships and strengthening income-earning opportunities, Mmula has fostered economic empowerment and green best practices.
“It’s important that we celebrate the efforts of all our Packa-ching enterprises. They have been the heart of a movement to empower communities to champion waste management,” says Patricia Pillay, Polyco’s CEO. “We congratulate the winners for championing the creation of a green, inclusive circular economy and having a profound impact on their communities.”
