Key Takeaways

• Pick n Pay introduces bigger e-waste bins across Cape Town for environmental sustainability and job creation.
• The initiative focuses on creating jobs for differently abled individuals through training in e-waste repair, refurbishment and recycling.
• It is a partnership with EWaste Africa, ERA and NEED to collect and repurpose 1,000 tonnes of e-waste per annum.

New bigger e-waste bins have been introduced in selected Pick n Pay stores across Cape Town to create real jobs for differently abled people.

These jobs involve repairing, refurbishing and recycling electronic waste through training programmes.

This is an enterprise development programme by the National Economic Empowerment for the Disabled (NEED). As Pick n Pay rolls out 210 e-waste bins across the country, these bins which can hold items like cables, kettles, mobile phones and even big appliances like washing machines, are an extension of Pick n Pay’s e-waste programme which started over 15 years ago and initially focused on light bulbs and batteries.

With EWaste Africa and the E-Waste Recycling Authority (ERA), Pick n Pay has already placed 33 e-waste bins in stores, with 90 more to be added by the end of the year and all to be rolled out by mid 2025.

These bins will collect around 1,000 tonnes of e-waste per annum which is the equivalent of a large cargo ship.

EWaste Africa manages the collection and delivery of e-waste to licensed recycling facilities. Here the waste is processed and repurposed into new products like housing blocks. For items that can’t be repaired, waste is sent to ERA-affiliated service providers where valuable materials are extracted.

Both ERA and EWaste Africa focus on manual dismantling to create jobs. The pilot project with NEED, ERA’s Enterprise Development Programme, is based at the Cape Town Association for the Physically Disabled in Bridgetown. It shows how the e-waste value chain can create jobs while reducing landfill waste. Funded by ERA, the programme becomes more self-sustaining as repaired items are sold and no e-waste processed here goes to landfills.

So far 65 people have participated, and trained to dismantle, repair and refurbish e-waste.

One of the participants, Faneezwa Kapa who uses a wheelchair said, “Before this programme I was housebound. Now I’m learning new skills I never knew before.” Another participant, Wayne Jansen said, “I was 57 when I became disabled due to diabetes. Many companies ignore people like me because of age and disability. Here we’ve learned that a broken appliance doesn’t mean it’s useless; it can be fixed and given a longer life.”

With 7% of South Africa’s population living with physical diversity, jobs are scarce. ERA plans to roll out this programme as more e-waste bins are introduced in Pick n Pay stores.

E-waste contains hazardous materials like lead and lithium. Improper disposal is risky and low recycling rates mean valuable resources are going to waste. Recycling electronics conserves natural resources, reduces environmental impact and creates much-needed jobs in a country with high unemployment.

"These new e-waste bins make it easier than ever for our customers to do the right thing by offering a simple and convenient way to dispose of their old electronics. Together, we're reducing environmental impact, bolstering local recycling infrastructure, and supporting job creation for people with disabilities. It's a small action with a big impact - for our communities and the planet," says Steffen Burrows, Sustainability Manager at Pick n Pay.

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Source: Pick n Pay