Petco’s 2026 recycling education programme is well underway with young sustainability champions from more than 80 schools participating in an exciting competition that will see Gauteng schools going head to head to collect the most recyclable packaging.

The Petco team has joined forces with the City of Johannesburg’s waste management entity, Pikitup, and fellow producer responsibility organisation MetPac-SA for a schools environmental adventure programme titled ‘My City, My Planet, Let’s Save It’. The aim is to inspire the next generation, and teach them the value of collecting and separating their recyclable packaging waste.

In March, Petco and the Tirisanong-Moogo Cooperative rolled out the latest interactive awareness session at Observatory East Primary School in Johannesburg, where the enthusiastic pupils discovered just how easy it is to separate at source correctly.

The learners will be driving  the inter-schools recycling competition and aiming to bring home the trophy. But the ultimate goal is to entrench positive behavioural change in their schools, homes and wider community.

To keep the motivation high, the Petco team and partners will be visiting every one of the participating schools in the region. The competition wraps up in October, with the grand prize handover to the winning schools in November. The race is on and the future of recycling looks bright in the hands of these young eco-champions.