Recycle Now

Our Projects

The following projects have been implemented as part of the Sustainable Recycling Industries (SRI) programme and Circular Electronics Initaitive (CEI) with support from our partners. If you would like to partner with us, please reach out.

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Projects

Municipal WEEE Compass

South African local municipalities face significant challenges in managing waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE). As frontline entities in waste management, municipalities must navigate a

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Projects

National Norms & Standards

Normative Requirements & Performance Measures: Building Industry Standards A comprehensive Norms and Standards (N&S) framework for the WEEE sector has been developed, complete with detailed

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Projects

National WEEE Policy

The Sustainable Recycling Industries (SRI) team, with technical support from WRFA experts and in collaboration with the Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment (DFFE),

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Projects

Problematic WEEE Fractions

Knowledge Exchange Webinar Series: Advancing WEEE Solutions A comprehensive series of engagements were designed to facilitate knowledge exchange, research dissemination, and critical engagement across key

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Projects

WEEE Incentives Mapping

The WEEE Incentive Mapping project was undertaken in order to identify and share all available incentives, accelerators, incubators, and related support programmes that exist in

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Projects

By-Law Harmonisation

A study was done in 2022 to assess the policies and by-laws of the iLembe district and family of local municipalities, which found that e-waste is not sufficiently represented in local policies and by-laws.

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Projects

WEEE Awareness

A core focus of WEEE are SA is the creation of awareness around correct WEEE management. A campaign was launched in 2023 (when WEEE are SA began as a local initiative, WEEE are iLembe), which aimed to generate broad awareness about the types of WEEE, the negative impacts of incorrect management, and how and where to recycle.

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WEEE Value Chain in iLembe

EEE PRODUCERS

Producers of electronic and electrical equipment (EEE) comprise of those who either manufacture and/or assemble EEE, those who import EEE, dealers of EEE (e.g. between manufacturers and retailers), and the wholesalers and retailers that sell EEE to the end user.

  • Manufacturers
  • Assemblers
  • Importers
  • Dealers
  • Retailers
EEE PRODUCERS

Producers of electronic and electrical equipment (EEE) comprise of those who either manufacture and/or assemble EEE, those who import EEE, dealers of EEE (e.g. between manufacturers and retailers), and the wholesalers and retailers that sell EEE to the end user.

  • Manufacturers
  • Assemblers
  • Importers
  • Dealers
  • Retailers
WEEE GENERATORS

WEEE Generators comprise of those who consume EEE and once the lifespan of EEE has been reached discard the item. While many EEE items may be regifted or donated, many find their ways into refuse bags where it is either being collected by informal pickers or ends up in a landfill.

  • Industrial
  • Commercial
  • Residential
  • Institutional
WEEE GENERATORS

WEEE Generators comprise of those who consume EEE and once the lifespan of EEE has been reached discard the item. While many EEE items may be regifted or donated, many find their ways into refuse bags where it is either being collected by informal pickers or ends up in a landfill.

  • Industrial
  • Commercial
  • Residential
  • Institutional
FORMAL COLLECTORS

Formal WEEE collection is generally done by waste management companies or directly by WEEE recyclers. Waste management companies do not undertake any dismantling or recycling activities. Depending on the type of WEEE, they either collect WEEE as part of their general service to clients, which is passed on to WEEE recyclers, or refer clients directly to WEEE recyclers.

  • Municipal collection
  • Drop-off sites
  • Waste management companies
FORMAL COLLECTORS

Formal WEEE collection is generally done by waste management companies or directly by WEEE recyclers. Waste management companies do not undertake any dismantling or recycling activities. Depending on the type of WEEE, they either collect WEEE as part of their general service to clients, which is passed on to WEEE recyclers, or refer clients directly to WEEE recyclers.

  • Municipal collection
  • Drop-off sites
  • Waste management companies
FORMAL WEEE RECYCLERS

All recyclers do some form of refurbishment and dismantling. Items that still have some useful life are refurbished. Those that do not, are dismantled and materials are separated, consolidated, and sold into end markets such as plastic recyclers, scrap dealers, or exported to global markets. Some recyclers have the ability to pre-process WEEE further using specialised equipment.

  • Refurbish
  • Dismantle
  • Pre-process
  • Consolidate
FORMAL WEEE RECYCLERS

All recyclers do some form of refurbishment and dismantling. Items that still have some useful life are refurbished. Those that do not, are dismantled and materials are separated, consolidated, and sold into end markets such as plastic recyclers, scrap dealers, or exported to global markets. Some recyclers have the ability to pre-process WEEE further using specialised equipment.

  • Refurbish
  • Dismantle
  • Pre-process
  • Consolidate
INFORMAL COLLECTORS

Waste pickers are mainly active within urban residential, commercial and industrial nodes. During their usual collection of plastics, cardboard, paper, cans and metals, waste pickers will collect WEEE when they come across items that have value.

  • Waste pickers
  • Landfill site reclaimers
INFORMAL COLLECTORS

Waste pickers are mainly active within urban residential, commercial and industrial nodes. During their usual collection of plastics, cardboard, paper, cans and metals, waste pickers will collect WEEE when they come across items that have value.

  • Waste pickers
  • Landfill site reclaimers
INFORMAL RECOVERY

Waste pickers first attempt to repair items that can be repaired and sell these items into the informal economy markets. If items cannot be repaired, they manually extract valuable fractions (such as metals) from the WEEE, usually by physically breaking apart the WEEE, which would then be sold on to scrap dealers.

  • Informally repair
  • Crude dismantling
INFORMAL RECOVERY

Waste pickers first attempt to repair items that can be repaired and sell these items into the informal economy markets. If items cannot be repaired, they manually extract valuable fractions (such as metals) from the WEEE, usually by physically breaking apart the WEEE, which would then be sold on to scrap dealers.

  • Informally repair
  • Crude dismantling
FORMAL END MARKET

Refurbished products are generally sold back to consumers directly by WEEE recyclers or related NPOs, thus re-entering the formal market. Certain materials are sold to downstream recyclers and/or scrap metal dealers, and/or are exported to global markets. Remaining fractions are sent to either general or hazardous waste land.

  • Sale (refurbish)
  • Other downstream (value adding) processors
  • Scrap metal dealers
  • Export
  • Landfill
FORMAL END MARKET

Refurbished products are generally sold back to consumers directly by WEEE recyclers or related NPOs, thus re-entering the formal market. Certain materials are sold to downstream recyclers and/or scrap metal dealers, and/or are exported to global markets. Remaining fractions are sent to either general or hazardous waste land.

  • Sale (refurbish)
  • Other downstream (value adding) processors
  • Scrap metal dealers
  • Export
  • Landfill
INFORMAL END MARKET

Products that are informally repaired are often sold into the informal market. Materials with value, mainly metals, are sold to scrap dealers in iLembe. Other materials with no market or low value, such as plastics and glass, are often dumped on-site.

  • Sale (Repaired)
  • Dumping
  • Burning
INFORMAL END MARKET

Products that are informally repaired are often sold into the informal market. Materials with value, mainly metals, are sold to scrap dealers in iLembe. Other materials with no market or low value, such as plastics and glass, are often dumped on-site.

  • Sale (Repaired)
  • Dumping
  • Burning