FAQs
What items do you collect for recycling?
Please have a look at the ‘What can be Recycled’ tab on this site. It is a comprehensive list (with examples) of items we can take, as well as those we can’t. We update this information regularly. If you have any questions once you have looked through this list, please call or email us for more information.
Do you provide bins/bags?
We can supply bins, but do not do so as a matter of course. Bins can be expensive and are not necessary to be able to recycle at home; also, everyone has different requirements and one type or size of bin does not suit everybody. We can source almost anything you require, or you could have a look around the shops or the internet yourself (ask us for some ideas). There are some lovely (and expensive) recycling bins around but you can manage with a crate or even a cardboard box. Please have a look at Tips for Recycling at Home for some ideas.
Regular customers will receive a pack of marked bags for their recycling every 6 months. Extra Greencycle bags can also be purchased from us. Simply email us to order them.
Do I need to separate my recycling?
Preferably keep the paper/card separate so that it stays clean and dry; everything else (cans, bottles, plastics, e-waste) can go in together. We have to sort everything into the multifarious categories required by the end-users anyway.
The product I have says it’s recyclable, yet I do not find it on your list of items you can take?
Often products can be recycled in other parts of the country, or world, but not in Port Elizabeth. Sometimes the value of the recyclable item is not sufficient to cover the transport costs to get it to other areas, so no one is prepared to deal in it. Volumes may also be too small to make it financially viable for anyone to collect, transport and recycle a particular product. Greencycle is always looking for outlets for different products and will collect any items from our customers that we can pass on to recyclers (or others), whether or not we are paid for them.
We try to make use of, sell or pass on items in their original form where possible.
Can you take things which do not have a recycling sign on them?
If they appear on our list of things we can take, then, yes, we can. Many items do not have the recycling triangle on them although they are made from a recyclable material. There is some packaging which has the little ‘throw away in a bin’ sign, however, and this is usually something we cannot take (e.g. many snack wrappers). Please check our website regularly for an updated list of what we can and cannot take.
Also, not everything we take is sent for recycling. Some items are reused at Greencycle, or donated or sold in their existing form where this is possible. Some examples are glass jars, fabric, flower pots, printer cartridges, tools, usable appliances, containers, bags, boxes and all kinds of stationery.
If you are not sure whether to put something out for us to collect (especially if it is a large item), please call or email us to ask. We incur costs disposing of items which we are not able to find a home for. There are also items we are not supposed to handle or dispose of as they are classified as hazardous waste, for example fluorescent light bulbs.
Do you collect on public holidays?
We collect as normal on almost all public holidays (although the office may close early), the exception being the festive season when we are closed between Christmas and the New Year.
Do you collect in bad weather?
We will only cancel collections in exceptionally bad weather, and customers will be notified individually if there is a problem. When high winds are expected, we ask that customers try and weigh down light items/bags.
Why can’t I drop off my recycling at your site?
Generally, we discourage people from dropping off at our warehouse. It is situated in a busy industrial park and there is not the space for many visitors, or for collection bins outside. It is not a particularly safe environment either. We do have some people dropping off at our premises – mainly from out of town; but we are designed to be a collection service and not a drop-off centre.
From an environmental perspective it is also better for us to collect your recycling while we are collecting from other people in your neighbourhood, than for everyone to come to our site individually.
Why don’t you have drop-off sites/bins?
Greencycle is a collection service and our infrastructure does not allow for us to handle industrial-sized bins, which have to be lifted with special vehicles/equipment. Furthermore, bins out in the public domain are often used as general rubbish bins, regardless of what it says on the outside and thus the recycling becomes contaminated and may have to be discarded. There are some drop-off sites available and some people prefer to use these, but we offer a convenient and efficient alternative and also take the widest range of recyclables possible which is not always the case with drop-off centres.
There’s money to be made in waste – why do I have to pay for you to collect my recycling?
It is true that recycling can be sold, however, the costs of collecting relatively small quantities of many different types of recycling, which still require sorting, outweigh the income derived from selling the items. Greencycle strives to make it possible for our customers to recycle as many products as possible and therefore take everything we can send for recycling – even those items for which we receive little or no payment, such as polystyrene and Tetrapaks. We are an intermediary between you and the large, specialized recyclers of specific products, and are remunerated accordingly. We need to charge our customers in order to ensure we can provide an on-going, well run, financially viable service.
As a registered non-profit organisation, Greencycle has committed itself to submit annual financial statement and reports to the Registrar of Nonprofit Organisations. This information is made publically available through the NPO directorate and can be accessed through their website.
Why doesn’t the Municipality collect recycling?
As far as we are aware, at the moment there are not the funds available to pay for the infrastructure required to collect recycling along with regular refuse.
What happens to things you can’t recycle?
Despite all best efforts and intentions, both by us and our customers, we do still receive a percentage of waste that cannot be recycled. This, along with our own unrecyclable waste, goes to Arlington.
