Practical growth in South Africa’s circular economy comes from helping small enterprises get access to the tools they need to work more efficiently and expand their reach.

Recently, two recycling businesses received targeted equipment support from Petco aimed at improving day-to-day operations and long-term capacity.

In Lydenburg, a buy-back centre received a 6m trailer to assist with one of the most common challenges facing smaller recyclers – having the right equipment to move material efficiently and reliably. With this additional collection capacity, the centre is now better equipped to grow its efforts and serve a wider network.

In another intervention within the Madibeng Local Municipality, a small recycling business run by two young entrepreneurs received a 4m trailer to help scale their operations further. This builds on earlier support provided in 2022, which included trolleys and an industrial scale. Since then, the business has steadily grown, and the latest support was based on the progress they’ve shown on the ground.

These kinds of interventions may seem simple on the surface, but they play an important role in strengthening the base of the recycling value chain. For many small businesses, having the right equipment at the right time can be the difference between staying small and being able to scale sustainably to keep up with demand.