Collect-a-Can is can recovery and recycling organisation. They recover scrap tinplate generated in the tinplate and can-making processes, including sludge, cut-offs (skeletons), misprints, and sub-standard fills, and most importantly they recover all types of used metal cans. The organisation runs a "Cash for Cans" initiative, which encourages people to collect cans and sell them to Collect-a-Can for cash. Collect-a-Can creates enthusiasm among the youth and creates awareness of the importance of recycling and protecting our environment by not littering.

Collect-a-Can (Pty) Ltd, a South African based company, with a branch in the capital of Botswana, is a can recovery and recycling organisation. The company's ‘Cash for Cans’ initiative encourages cans to be collected and sold to Collect-a-Can for cash. The company's focus is the recovery of, primarily, all scrap aluminium beverage cans, but also steel beverage cans. Recovery and recycling aids job creation in many communities and creates an additional source of income for schools, non-governmental organisations, and other community groups. This initiative safeguards the livelihood of thousands of unemployed South Africans and Batswana, and allows community development across these countries.

The company after receiving these cans crashes them into bales and export all of it to South Africa for complete material recycling. The company has future plans to improve their collection performance through three main initiatives. They plan to introduce drop off machines for the cans in the main cities, buy back centres in the remote areas and also a transfer station for the collected waste in Gaborone to be sorted.

This case study has been created as part of Footprints Africa's work to build a comprehensive open-source database of circular economy initiatives in Africa. We are doing this in collaboration with the African Circular Economy Network (ACEN), as part of our programme to support the circular economy transition in Africa.

image Photo by Matt Paish on Flickr.