Cash for e-waste in South Africa
The Department of Forestry, Fisheries, and the Environment has announced the launch of its E-Waste Pilot Project, through which it will pay South Africans R4.50 per kilogram of electronic waste.
It said the launch event was scheduled for Wednesday, 20 May 2026, at the Rotary Stadium in Ngangelizwe, Mthatha.
“Bring your e-waste. Earn for recycling. Help protect the environment. The Deputy Minister, Bernice Swarts, will lead the E-Waste Recycling Pilot Project Launch and Imbizo,” it said.
“Community members are encouraged to bring electronic waste such as old phones, computers, cables, chargers, and other unwanted electronic items.”
The launch event will run from 08:00 until 15:30, and the department will pay participants R4.50 per kilogram of electronic waste.
“Please bring your ID document when selling e-waste. Together, we can keep harmful electronic waste out of the environment while creating awareness about recycling and responsible waste management.”
MyBroadband asked the Department of Forestry, Fisheries, and the Environment why an ID was required for participation, but it hadn’t responded to our query by the time of publication.
Sandile Ndlovu, assistant researcher at the Interdisciplinary Centre for Digital Futures at the University of the Free State, said South Africa was sitting on an e-waste time bomb.
In November 2025, Ndlovu cited data showing that just 7% to 12% of all electronic waste in the country was being processed through formal recycling channels.
“That is a very low recycling rate of e-waste, given that South Africa is the second largest producer of e-waste on the African continent. We are second behind Egypt,” he said.
Ndlovu said awareness about e-waste recycling and the risks associated with improper recycling was lacking.
“A recent study revealed that about 60% of Gen Zs and millennials do not know what e-waste is, and 50% do not know the threat posed by e-waste to the environment and human health,” he said.
Built-in obsolescence worsens the situation
According to Ndlovu, the e-waste recycling situation in South Africa has worsened, thanks to practices such as built-in obsolescence by tech manufacturers.
By this, he referred to manufacturers intentionally designing products with shorter lifespans. For example, a device may still be functional, but the manufacturer may offer only limited software upgrades.
“Sometimes it’s not even that the product is no longer functional, but it’s just that you cannot upgrade to the latest software, and you cannot get the most relevant features at the time,” Ndlovu said.
He highlighted that many devices considered e-waste still have value because they may contain precious metals such as gold, silver, and copper.
“If this type of waste is properly recycled, then it means that precious metals can be recovered and used as secondary raw materials,” Ndlovu said.
“There are a lot of statistics on the amount of value that has been recovered from the proper or formal recycling of e-waste. There’s definitely value.”
When studying at university, many students use electronic devices like laptops, which are often discarded informally when they upgrade or become unusable.
“What I’m suggesting is that there should be e-waste recycling facilities placed in university campuses so that the university community has a viable option to discard their e-waste,” Ndlovu said.
He added that, in some cases, discarded university laptops could be refurbished and given to those in need, such as learners at a rural secondary school.
Makro vouchers for e-waste
In October 2023, the E-Waste Recycling Authority (ERA) hosted an event at which South Africans could get up to R2,400 in Makro vouchers for recycling their electronic waste.
The ERA allowed participants to earn up to R600 in Makro vouchers per day, which made it possible to earn up to R2,400 over the two-weekend event.
It designed the event to raise awareness of the growing volumes of electronic waste in the country and listed numerous eligible products, including small, medium, and large appliances, and ICT equipment.
“A good rule of thumb is, if it is battery-powered or powered by electricity, it is likely to be considered e-waste,” the ERA said.
Makro owner Massmart previously told MyBroadband that it hadn’t held any similar e-waste collection drives since the October 2023 event.
“Our programme remains South Africa’s longest-running, retailer-led e-waste recycling initiative and has now collected over 1,550 tonnes of e-waste,” Massmart said.
“We also intend to pilot e-waste bins at selected Builders Warehouse stores and remain open to the prospect of collaborating with our partner to incentivise customers in the future.”
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