PRO Alliance
South Africa
The PRO Alliance is a coalition of several Producer Responsibility Organizations (PROs) in South Africa — specifically those active in paper & packaging, including plastics, metals, glass and other packaging materials.
It was established in 2022 out of the need for PROs to coordinate and cooperate on national‑scale infrastructure, collection and recycling programmes, and public awareness and education campaigns — rather than have each PRO operate entirely separately.
The Alliance aims to pool resources and expertise across its members to build a more effective, efficient, and equitable recycling system in South Africa, covering multiple materials (paper, plastic, metal, glass, etc.) under EPR requirements.
As of 1 April 2023, the Alliance is led by an Executive Officer, reflecting its ambition to operate as a strong, coordinated actor bridging industry, government and informal waste‑collection/recycling sectors.
System Description
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PRO Alliance’s Role Under EPR
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The Alliance serves as a platform for PROs to coordinate compliance with EPR regulations adopted under National Environmental Management: Waste Act (NEMWA) — especially for packaging materials.
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Through the Alliance, PROs can join forces to implement national‑scale projects: setting up buy-back and collection centres; building recycling infrastructure; running consumer awareness and education campaigns (e.g. in schools); launching waste separation and collection interventions; and coordinating with municipalities, local authorities, and informal waste pickers/reclaimers.
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The Alliance also manages cross‑cutting tasks like integrating informal waste pickers into the formal recycling economy. For example, it took over the development and management of the national South African Waste Picker Registration System (SAWPRS) used to register waste pickers formally and enable them to be paid service fees for collection and recycling services.
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Through shared governance, the PRO Alliance offers a more unified interface between industry (producers/importers), waste collectors (formal & informal), recyclers, municipalities, and the government — helping to meet EPR obligations, avoid duplication, and improve efficiency.
In 2025, PRO Alliance was restructured into five strategic pillars — waste picker integration, compliance and governance, infrastructure development, public relations, and legislative reform — reflecting its growth into a more coordinated and professional organization. Under this structure, the South African Waste Picker Registration System (SAWPRS) was relaunched to better integrate informal waste pickers, aiming to digitize around 200 buy-back centres by the end of 2026 and provide service fees to an estimated 80,000 waste pickers. The first milestone targets 50 centres and 20,000 registered waste pickers by the end of 2025. By coordinating projects across collection, recycling infrastructure, awareness campaigns, and waste picker inclusion, PRO Alliance enables member PROs to maximize efficiency, reduce costs, and achieve greater impact than fragmented efforts, while supporting compliance with Extended Producer Responsibility regulations and promoting a more circular economy.
Communication activities
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Communication is a core focus of PRO Alliance, with coordinated campaigns aimed at raising public awareness about recycling, proper waste separation, and the role of EPR in building a circular economy. The Alliance and its members work with municipalities, schools, businesses, and communities to educate consumers and stakeholders, foster behavioural change, and ensure that waste collection systems operate efficiently, while highlighting the contributions of informal waste pickers and promoting social inclusion.
Prevention
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PRO Alliance places a strong emphasis on waste prevention by encouraging producers to design products and packaging that are reusable, recyclable, and less resource-intensive. Through its members, the Alliance supports initiatives that reduce single-use materials, promote lightweighting of packaging, and integrate circular design principles, helping to minimize the volume of waste generated and ensuring that materials remain in productive use for as long as possible.