Shabeer Jhetam, CEO for The Glass Recycling Company
South Africa’s latest Quarterly Labour Force Survey from Statistics South Africa shows an improvement in employment, with unemployment easing to 31.4%. However, the figures also reflect continued strain on the labour market and the limited capacity of formal jobs to absorb those seeking sustainable income.
This challenge was also underscored in the recent State of the Nation Address, where President Cyril Ramaphosa highlighted unemployment as one of the country’s most urgent priorities. The message is clear; South Africa cannot rely on formal job creation alone to resolve a deeply structural problem. New and alternative pathways to economic participation must form part of the national response.
One such pathway already exists in communities across the country: the glass recycling economy.
As formal employment struggles to absorb job seekers, buy-back centres assisted by The Glass Recycling Company (TGRC), play a critical role in supporting livelihoods by purchasing glass from collectors and turning used glass into direct earnings. In doing so, the recycling system sustains livelihoods and expands opportunities for economic participation. It provides an accessible entry point into earning opportunities for many individuals and helps local communities turn waste into measurable economic value.
Waste pickers and buy-back centres are entrepreneurs within South Africa’s circular economy. They contribute to supply chains, create local economic activity and support environmental sustainability at the same time. Strengthening this ecosystem means strengthening a community-based economy that already exists and making it more visible and viable.
Investing in recycling systems is therefore not only an environmental intervention, but an economic one. When the industry in partnership with organisations such as TGRC invests in these systems, it supports people to earn a living through recycling and help build a sector that can expand to include more participants with the right support. When glass recycling is positioned as an economic opportunity rather than a survival activity, it helps shift the national narrative from crisis to contribution.
South Africa’s unemployment challenge demands solutions that combine innovation, inclusion and impact. While policy reform and formal job creation remain essential, they must be complemented by practical models that expand access to income at community level. Glass recycling offers one such model, one that links environmental responsibility with livelihoods and local enterprise development.
To tackle unemployment, we must look beyond traditional definitions of work, and recognise opportunities people to earn through participation in everyday economic activity. Glass recycling is already doing this quietly across South Africa.
The path to inclusive growth will not be built by one sector alone. However, by strengthening participation in glass recycling, South Africa can move closer to an economy that works for more people, creating value not only from materials, but from human potential.
Whether you are a business looking to integrate recycling into your operations, or an individual looking to participate as a glass collector, now is the time to get involved. By working with companies such as TGRC , South Africans can help build a system that creates economic opportunities, reduces waste and unlocks opportunity. The potential is there; scaling participation will ensure that more communities benefit from the economic opportunities within the recycling value chain.