Pick n Pay marks significant achievement in environmental efforts

To celebrate World Environment Day 2025 on Thursday, 5 June, and this year’s theme of ‘Ending Plastic Pollution,’ Pick n Pay is highlighting a major environmental achievement.

Through its Reverse Vending Machines (RVM) customer recycling initiative, the retailer has diverted more than 1.1 million plastic and packaging recyclables from landfill.

This milestone reflects a major step forward in Pick n Pay’s ongoing commitment to supporting circular economies and encouraging everyday shoppers to actively reduce plastic waste.

Rewards customers with Smart Shopper loyalty points

Since launching the pilot in 2018, Pick n Pay has expanded its RVM initiative into a national network of 39 machines across stores in Gauteng, KwaZulu-Natal, the Western Cape, and the Eastern Cape.

Over the past 12 months, the retailer added 12 new RVM machines.

Each machine accepts recyclable items like plastic bottles, aluminium cans, and glass containers, and rewards customers with Smart Shopper loyalty points that they can use for everyday purchases.

“What started as a small test has evolved into a movement. This programme has shown that people are willing to recycle when it’s made convenient, accessible, and rewarding,” says Riley van Rooyen, Sustainability Lead at Pick n Pay, reflecting on the success of the programme.

By May 2025, the initiative had collected and diverted more than 1.1 million recyclable items from landfill, recycling over 80,000kg of waste and preventing an estimated 1,200 tonnes of CO₂e emissions.

Since the pilot launched, customers have earned over R135,000 in recycling rewards, including more than R56,000 in Smart Shopper points since the programme’s integration in August last year.

Each machine holds up to 750 items and uses barcode recognition technology to accurately sort recyclables.

Customers scan their items and immediately receive Smart Shopper points, which they often use for groceries, airtime, and data.

Environmental goals

Prior to the integration with Smart Shopper, customers received recycling rewards through Imagined Earth.

“Ending plastic pollution isn’t a one-day project. But this initiative proves that scalable, community-led environmental solutions work. And on this World Environment Day, we’re proud to celebrate our plastic reduction initiatives wins with our customers and our partners in the project, who’ve helped us take over a million small steps toward a cleaner, more sustainable future,” says Van Rooyen.

Despite focusing on a broader business turnaround strategy in FY25, Pick n Pay’s sustainability team continued making meaningful progress. By prioritising high-impact, customer-focused initiatives—such as Reverse Vending Machines (RVMs) and packaging innovations—the retailer sustained momentum toward key environmental goals.

Pick n Pay surpassed its Plastic Pact 2025 target for packaging weight by achieving a 38% reduction in average packaging weight.

This progress supports the retailer’s wider efforts to reduce environmental waste. Last year alone, Pick n Pay diverted nearly 13,000 tonnes of waste from its stores—equivalent to the weight of around 2,100 average adult male elephants. Through regular beach clean-ups, the retailer has also removed nearly 2,000kg of plastic waste from local beaches over the past five years.

Reverse Vending Machines can be found at the following Pick n Pay stores:

1. Fourways Mall

2. Fourways Crossing

3. New Redruth

4. Waterkloof Rand

5. Benmore

6. Southgate

7. Key West

8. Dainfern Square

9. Lenasia

10. Kensington

11. Bedfordview

12. Randburg Square

13. Montana

14. Southdowns

15. Plantland

16. Hazeldean Square

17. Irene Village Mall

18. Boksburg

19. Hyper Centurion

20. Greenstone Hyper

21. Sasolburg

22. Vaal Mall

23. Three Rivers

24. The Glen

25. Mall Of Africa

26. Rosebank

27. The Falls

28. Carnival Mall

29. Kyalami on Main

30. Sunward Park

31. Primrose

32. Kenilworth Centre

33. Constantia

34. V&A Waterfront

35. Gardens

36. Umhlanga Crescent

37. Hilton Family

38. Summerstrand

39. Blue Hills