In September, Petco’s stakeholder engagement team joined the South Africa-Norway Seminar on the Minimisation of Waste and Plastic Pollution, where the two countries shared their experiences in an effort to strengthen local, national and global efforts.

The Cape Town seminar explored a range of pressing issues – from waste minimisation to plastic consumption and leakage, as well as opportunities to include waste pickers and create jobs.

Bringing the producer responsibility organisation (PRO) perspective to the table, Petco CEO Telly Chauke delivered a presentation on the implementation of extended producer responsibility to a gathering that included representatives of the Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment (DFFE), Norwegian Environment Agency, Royal Norwegian Embassy, City of Cape Town, African Reclaimers Organisation (ARO), PROs, recyclers, NGOs and other sector partners.

While providing a platform to learn from Norway’s experience, the programme importantly created space for unique perspectives from SA’s informal sector, highlighting the need to consider the realities of waste pickers and communities in the development and implementation of waste management systems.