The Glass Recycling Company is South Africa's new national organisation responsible for facilitating the recovery of waste glass for recycling, endorsed by the Ministry for Environmental Affairs and Tourism with the aim of increasing the country's recycling rate from 20% to 50% over the next five years. The idea is to protect the environment and also create income generation opportunities for historically disadvantaged South Africans in particular. This non-profit organisation does not recycle glass itself, rather it promotes and educates about the importance of the recovery of waste glass for recycling, linked to the need to protect the environment. Glass only accounts for 4.7% of South Africa's total waste. Around 550,000/t waste glass finds its way into landfills annually.
