Petco: “Green entrepreneurship is the fulcrum on which the circular economy rests”

Exclusive interview with Petco CEO, Telly Chauke. Petco is an official sponsor of the upcoming Africa’s Green Economy Summit, taking place from 24 February in Cape Town.

Interview Summary:
Petco CEO Telly Chauke highlights Africa’s pivotal role in global sustainability and the circular economy. She explains that Petco, founded in 2004, facilitates extended producer responsibility for plastic packaging waste, now mandated by regulation.

Chauke stresses that Africa faces challenges such as service delivery backlogs, global protectionism and being a dumping ground for virgin materials, yet offers vast opportunities for waste conversion and manufacturing. She emphasises green entrepreneurship—especially among youth and marginalised groups—as central to innovation and cooperation across borders. At Africa’s Green Economy Summit, Petco will call for collaboration, small-scale action and enabling regulatory frameworks.

Thank you for joining us. Please can we start with some background on you, Petco, and your members.

Hello everyone, my name is Telly Chauke. I am the CEO of Petco, a not-for-profit company incorporated in 2004 to address the challenge of plastic waste and divert plastics from landfill sites. We were established at the behest of obliged industry—our producer members—who tasked us with facilitating the recovery of the packaging waste they place on the market and ensuring it enters the recycling value chain.

Initially, Petco operated on a voluntary, industry-driven basis, facilitating extended producer responsibility (EPR) until the advent of mandatory EPR regulations. Today, we are governed by these regulations, which prescribe how we roll out EPR responsibilities on behalf of our members.

 

How important is the continent for the future of sustainable waste management and conversion?

The African continent is pivotal to global sustainability and achieving outcomes under various international agreements on environmental governance. Waste management is a particularly important conversation here. Service delivery backlogs are widespread, but Africa also presents prime opportunities for fostering circularity.

Economic and social contexts often reflect inequality: formal economic activity thrives in higher-value chains, while informal participants operate in less regulated spaces with limited support. When we juxtapose Africa’s slower pace of development with progress elsewhere, we see both challenges and opportunities. The continent has significant manufacturing capacity and the potential to convert waste—often dumped here—into finished goods that add value to industry and communities alike.

You are working in a system that is constantly evolving and changing. What are the main challenges in your view?

The recycling economy and packaging sector are evolving rapidly. We see advances in waste treatment technologies and shifts in regulatory frameworks. Added to this are global commitments to climate change response, clean production and sustainable consumption, which Africa must keep pace with.

However, global protectionism—whether in the EU, US, Asia or the Middle East—creates barriers. African exports struggle to gain traction in these markets, while legislative and geopolitical changes mean Africa often becomes a dumping ground for virgin, lower-priced

materials. This undermines the recycling economy.

South Africa offers a case in point: we have a thriving recycling economy with strong participants, including Petco’s brand owners and downstream recycling companies. Yet recyclate must compete on price both locally and internationally, which is difficult given regulatory barriers and uncompetitive pricing. Our priority is to stimulate the reabsorption of recyclate into packaging and finished goods within South Africa and across the continent.

 

How important is green entrepreneurship for the continent in your view?

Green entrepreneurship is the fulcrum on which the circular economy rests. Without entrepreneurs—especially young people and those previously excluded from the formal economy—the circular economy risks remaining a concept rather than a reality.

Entrepreneurs are needed to innovate solutions that overcome technological and regulatory barriers. Small-scale solutions, when combined, can drive big changes. Green entrepreneurs are often more agile, creative and able to test ideas in smaller environments, sharing lessons quickly and effectively.

For this to succeed, green entrepreneurship must be built on cooperation: sharing knowledge, data, resources and pooling efforts across borders and jurisdictions. The Africa Free Trade Agreement presents a valuable opportunity to break down silos, cross-pollinate ideas and expand entrepreneurial energy across the continent.

Petco is an official sponsor at AGES. Can you give us a preview of your message at the summit?

Africa’s Green Economy Summit is an incredibly important platform for Petco. As an official sponsor, we see it as an opportunity to engage openly about the continent’s challenges and to share ideas for the future.
Our message rests on three key points:

1. Cooperation without borders is essential to driving a circular economy.
2. Small-scale actions matter. At Petco, our community-level work—raising awareness about recycling and reusing plastic packaging—creates a groundswell of action.
3. Industry cannot do it alone. We need enabling regulatory frameworks, supportive fiscal instruments, cohesive policies and scalable investments implemented through partnerships.

 

What made you decide to partner with the event?

We partnered with AGES because Petco believes wholeheartedly in collaboration and knowledge-sharing across borders. Open dialogue and platforms that foster one-on-one engagement with experts and practitioners strengthen our initiatives both on the ground and in policy spaces.
This summit provides exactly that opportunity. We look forward to participating in the panel on scaling up bankable projects for the circular economy and to showcasing initiatives Petco has implemented in South Africa that are ripe for replication across the continent.