Since early last year, Petco has administered an Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) scheme for liquid board packaging (LBP) – liquid board cartons are used to package products such as juice, custard and milk.

It’s part of our mission to facilitate the separation of recyclables at their source, and also to support the collection and sorting initiatives for LBP cartons around SA.

We recently visited the Inhle Indaloyakhe buy-back centre in Benoni. Our education and awareness drive – one of many we do nationwide – was also to thank and reward the waste pickers who collect these cartons.

Here's the scoop:

• Eight waste pickers brought in a whopping 311 kilograms of LBP cartons on the day of Petco’s awareness drive – that's a lot of collections!
• Zakhele "Cheeseboy" Banda was the superstar, bringing in an impressive 113 kilograms of cartons. He was rewarded by Petco with a new cellphone, a bulk bag, a safety vest, a Petco cap, and some delicious custard.
• We also ensured the other collectors didn’t leave empty-handed, handing them rewards such as milk, custard, juice, caps, reflector vests and bulk bags for collection.

Why are these waste pickers so important? They are learning the value of LBP as a recyclable material, and helping to increase its collection for recycling, while keeping our environment clean and saving valuable resources.

You too can make a difference - simply by adding YOUR cartons to your recycling bin!