{"id":653913,"date":"2026-06-13T09:58:51","date_gmt":"2026-06-13T07:58:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/?p=653913"},"modified":"2026-06-13T09:59:32","modified_gmt":"2026-06-13T07:59:32","slug":"makro-and-pick-n-pay-want-peoples-old-batteries-and-broken-gadgets","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/hardware\/653913-makro-and-pick-n-pay-want-peoples-old-batteries-and-broken-gadgets.html","title":{"rendered":"Makro and Pick n Pay want people’s old batteries and broken gadgets"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Large retailers in South Africa are engaged in large e-waste recycling drives, including Pick n Pay and Makro, which has the longest-running recycling initiative in the country.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In 2023, the E-Waste Recycling Authority (ERA) hosted an event where South Africans could receive R2,400 in Makro vouchers for bringing e-waste to be recycled.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

E-waste, or electronic waste, refers to discarded or unused electronic products, such as plugs, cords, batteries, and broken smartphones, appliances, or devices.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

These devices present significant environmental concerns. If they are not recycled properly, the toxic chemicals they contain can leach into the soil and water, causing pollution.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This is according to Viratha Hariram, senior environmental sustainability manager at Massmart, the parent company of Makro, Game and Walmart in South Africa.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cE-Waste contains toxic components such as lead and mercury, so the improper disposal of these products poses a significant environmental risk,\u201d said Hariram.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hariram recently revealed that Massmart\u2019s e-waste initiatives have collected more than 1,740 tonnes of e-waste since they began in 2008.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Unfortunately, Massmart told MyBroadband that it had no planned e-waste cashback initiatives in the coming months.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Massmart operated its e-waste recycling programme in partnership with the ERA, using custom-built six-metre-tall collection bins for unused electronics and appliances of all sizes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hariram said that customers should also recycle smaller e-waste items such as power banks, batteries, chargers, cellphones and headphones, which can clutter homes for long periods.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cGather these and drop them off at one of our 19 collection bins at Makro stores nationwide. You can have the peace of mind that they will be managed safely and responsibly,\u201d Hariram said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Retail giant Pick n Pay also recently partnered with E-Waste Africa and the ERA to build a nationwide e-waste collection network with the aim of making e-waste recycling more accessible.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dr Mark Williams-Wynn, chief technology officer at E-Waste Africa, said that the network would see more than 95 drop-off points at Pick n Pay stores across the country.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He said the partnership aimed to add a further 200 drop-off points by 2027 to meet the growing demand for convenient e-waste disposal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Cash for e-Waste<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\"\"
Bernice Swarts, Deputy Minister of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

There have been a few e-waste collection and recycling events in South Africa that offered cash rewards to participants.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In May, the Department of Forestry announced the final phase of its E-Waste Pilot Project, which will pay South Africans R4.50 per kilogram for e-waste dropped off.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The launch event for the project was scheduled for 20 May 2026, at the Rotary Stadium in Mthatha, Eastern Cape.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Bernice Swarts, deputy minister of Forestry, would lead the project launch at the stadium, with the department encouraging community members to take part.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cCommunity members are encouraged to bring electronic waste such as old phones, computers, cables, chargers, and other unwanted electronic items,\u201d the department said at the time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cTogether, we can keep harmful electronic waste out of the environment while creating awareness about recycling and responsible waste management.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to E-Waste Africa, South Africans produced 530,000 tonnes of electronic waste in 2022 alone, but only 10% of that amount was properly collected and recycled. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The South African government has banned e-waste from public landfills since 2021 due to the potential hazards posed by chemicals in discarded devices.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt has been established that despite a nationwide ban on the disposal of e-waste, between 90% and 95% of the material doesn\u2019t reach recycling facilities,\u201d it said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cInstead, obsolete electronics are stockpiled or dumped, trapped in the grey zone between ownership and disposal.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

E-Waste Africa said that any item that requires power from a plug, battery, or cable can be classified as e-waste and disposed of at a Pick n Pay collection point. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The company said that by placing collection points in everyday retail spaces, customers would be able to drop off their unwanted devices while running errands.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Massmart and Pick n Pay are engaged in country-wide e-waste recycling initiatives to address South Africa’s growing problem of hazardous electronic waste.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":341213,"featured_media":653921,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":true,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[15],"tags":[105337,70371,105891,105890,849,5514,5380,105892],"class_list":["post-653913","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-hardware","tag-bernice-swarts","tag-department-of-forestry","tag-e-waste-africa","tag-e-waste-recycling-authority","tag-makro","tag-massmart","tag-pick-n-pay","tag-viratha-hariram"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/653913"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/341213"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=653913"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/653913\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":654004,"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/653913\/revisions\/654004"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/653921"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=653913"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=653913"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=653913"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}