Bellville's innovative recycling project earns national award for sustainability

The Greater Tygerberg Partnership (GTP), based in Bellville, has won a national award for its innovative project that sorts recyclable waste into separate streams.

The award was presented at the 2025 annual general meeting and awards ceremony of Petco Producer Responsibility Organisation NPC, held at the Radisson Red Hotel in Johannesburg on Thursday, June 26.

Petco is a non-profit company that manages Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) schemes on behalf of its members, covering a range of identified products in the packaging sector.

The GTP is a non-profit agency, founded in 2012, that focuses on helping Bellville become a more connected and inclusive town.

GTP won in the Kerbside Collection and Sorting Superhero category, which recognises long-running, efficient, and community-rooted separation-at-source projects.

The award was given for the Bellville Recycling and Trolley Project, launched in 2019, which offers waste pickers in Bellville a dignified way to earn a living.

The initiative is run in partnership with the Voortrekker Road Corridor Improvement District, MES Cape Town, and GreenCape, and supports homeless and unemployed individuals by providing a structured system for collecting and recycling waste.

Participants receive stipends, safety training, and upgraded trolleys to improve both their working conditions and the efficiency of the project.

According to Petco’s motivation for the award, “The opening of a buy-back centre in 2021 and the introduction of a free recycling pickup service have taken the project even further – offering ongoing support to waste pickers by linking them to formal recycling markets and enabling them to earn more from their collections.”

In the past year alone, the project processed over 113,000 kilograms of recyclables and generated more than R97,000 in sales. It has also created 23 jobs for homeless or unemployed individuals, with support from 75 local businesses, Petco added

"Our Kerbside recycling initiative is part of a deeper commitment to sustainable, inclusive placemaking - one where the informal sector is valued, circular thinking is embedded, and change is measured not just in tonnes, but in lives touched,” said Warren Hewitt, chief executive of GTP.