Women have long played a vital role in South Africa’s economy, yet their contributions are not always recognised, protected or fairly rewarded. This is especially evident in the waste and recycling sector, where women waste reclaimers help recover an estimated 60%–80% of South Africa’s post-consumer recyclables.
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Every day, they collect, sort and recover materials that might otherwise end up in landfill, be dumped or be burnt.
Their work helps keep communities clean, supports recycling businesses and contributes to a more circular economy.
Yet many continue to operate informally, with limited access to equipment, finance, safe working conditions and reliable access to formal markets.
Empowering women
As South Africa marks Women’s Month under the theme “empowered women empower the nation,” it’s worth asking what real economic empowerment looks like.
It isn’t about celebrating individual success stories.
It is about creating systems that remove barriers, expand opportunities and allow more women to participate, lead and grow sustainable businesses within South Africa’s economy.
The circular economy presents exactly that opportunity.
South Africa’s recycling system has the potential to tackle plastic pollution, reduce pressure on landfill, create jobs, support small businesses and generate new sources of income.
To realise that potential, women must be recognised not simply as beneficiaries of environmental programmes, but as collectors, entrepreneurs, employers and leaders across the recycling value chain.
Enter EPR
Extended producer responsibility, or EPR, provides a framework for this by linking producer funding to more inclusive recycling outcomes.
By requiring producers to fund the collection and recycling of the packaging they place on the market, EPR creates opportunities to invest in infrastructure, enterprises, community collection systems and the formal recognition of waste reclaimers.
Producer responsibility organisations (PRO) working in this system should transcend compliance, collaborating with government, municipalities, recyclers, collectors and communities to build an inclusive recycling system that delivers measurable environmental, social and economic impact.
The success of EPR should not be measured only by tonnes collected or recycled. Its true value lies in whether investment reaches those historically excluded from economic opportunity and enables sustainable livelihoods.
In 2025, Polyco invested more than R22m across its enterprise-development portfolio, supporting 23 small and medium-sized recycling businesses.
At least 14 of those businesses were women-owned.
Together, the supported enterprises created 51 jobs and paid more than R1.3m directly to waste reclaimers for the material they collected.
That is what the shift from beneficiary to industry leader looks like in practice: equipment, infrastructure and business support that let entrepreneurs increase volumes, employ others and become established participants in the value chain, rather than depend on a single grant or programme cycle.
These are meaningful steps, but they also show how much more remains possible.
Collective action
Building an inclusive circular economy will require more than isolated projects.
Women-owned enterprises need sustained access to finance, equipment, training and markets.
Waste reclaimers need fair, transparent payment, protective equipment and greater recognition within municipal and producer-funded collection systems.
The goal should not be temporary inclusion but long-term participation in formal, resilient recycling value chains.
Government, municipalities, producer responsibility organisations and the private sector all have a role to play.
Their task is not simply to invite women into an existing system, but to ensure the system is designed so women can participate, lead and grow within it.
Empowered women do more than strengthen individual households.
They build businesses, create jobs, improve communities and contribute to a recycling economy that is more resilient because it draws on everyone’s skills and participation.
That is how Women’s Month becomes more than a celebration.
It becomes a reminder that building a truly circular economy also means building an economy where every person has the opportunity to participate, contribute and prosper.
