Eco-Friendly Waste Management Solutions
We offer innovative and sustainable waste management services
Why do we Recycle
Tackle the Landfill Crisis
Tackle the Landfill Crisis
Tackle the Landfill Crisis
At Inland Waste, our mission is to provide reliable waste management solutions that protect the environment and promote sustainability. We focus on reducing landfill waste through effective recycling programmes and responsible disposal methods.
Support Waste Pickers
Tackle the Landfill Crisis
Tackle the Landfill Crisis
Waste pickers play a vital role in environmental conservation and economic contribution by redirecting recyclable materials away from landfills, minimizing waste, and enhancing urban cleanliness. They also offer essential livelihoods for numerous individuals and their families, playing a key part in boosting recycling rates. Furthermore,
Waste pickers play a vital role in environmental conservation and economic contribution by redirecting recyclable materials away from landfills, minimizing waste, and enhancing urban cleanliness. They also offer essential livelihoods for numerous individuals and their families, playing a key part in boosting recycling rates. Furthermore, waste pickers aid in lowering landfill expenses for municipalities and promote a more sustainable urban ecosystem.
Reduce Carbon Footprint
Tackle the Landfill Crisis
Reduce Carbon Footprint
We minimize our environmental impact chiefly by redirecting materials away from landfills, thereby curbing the emission of methane, a powerful greenhouse gas. Additionally, we diminish the demand for raw materials and energy-heavy manufacturing processes by repurposing existing materials, which consumes far less energy compared to producing items from raw resources.
RECYCLABLE WASTE TYPES
Waste Paper and Cardboard
Recycling paper and cardboard is one of the simplest yet most effective steps we can take to reduce our environmental footprint. In South Africa alone, industry and commerce generate thousands of tonnes of paper and cardboard waste every year, much of which ends up in landfill. By diverting these materials into recycling streams instead of general waste bins, businesses and households alike help to conserve natural resources, cut down on greenhouse gas emissions from decomposing paper, and ease the pressure on overfilled landfill sites. Curbside recycling programs, dedicated drop-off points and cardboard baling at commercial premises are all proven ways to ensure that as much paper as possible is kept in circulation rather than buried underground.
The benefits of recycling are impressive in purely numerical terms. Every tonne of paper or cardboard sent for recycling can save up to 17 trees, preserving critical habitats and maintaining biodiversity. It also frees up roughly two cubic yards of landfill space that would otherwise be occupied for decades by bulky bales of waste paper. Perhaps less widely appreciated is the energy savings: producing paper from recycled stock uses up to 4,100 kilowatt-hours less electricity per tonne compared with manufacturing it from virgin wood pulp. Those energy savings translate into lower fossil-fuel consumption and fewer carbon emissions, contributing directly to broader climate-action goals.
Perhaps the most compelling argument in favour of recycling is its dramatic reduction in energy use. It has been calculated that manufacturing new paper from recycled fibres consumes about 70 percent less energy than starting from fresh timber pulp. Lower energy requirements mean reduced demand on power stations—many of which still rely on coal or gas—and help businesses cut operational costs. To maximise these environmental and economic gains, organisations can implement paper-reduction strategies (such as double-sided printing), segregate cardboard for balers, and partner with certified recycling processors. With consistent effort, every sheet of recycled paper contributes to healthier forests, cleaner air and a more sustainable future.
plastics
The world currently generates around 381 million tonnes of plastic waste each year—a staggering figure that is projected to double by 2034 if current consumption and disposal patterns continue. This rapid increase is driven by growing demand in packaging, single-use items, consumer electronics, and construction materials. As plastic production has soared over the past decades, so too has the burden on waste management systems and natural ecosystems. Landfill sites struggle to accommodate the influx, while incineration contributes to air pollution and greenhouse-gas emissions. Equally troubling is the mounting volume of discarded plastic making its way into rivers and oceans, where it endangers marine life and eventually fragments into microplastics that infiltrate food chains and drinking water.
Underlying this flood of waste is the sheer diversity of plastic materials: scientists and industry experts recognize roughly 50 distinct polymer families and hundreds of proprietary blends and additives. Despite this complexity, the vast majority of plastic items on the market today are theoretically recyclable. Effective recycling not only reduces the volume of material destined for landfill but also conserves the fossil-fuel resources required to make new plastics. However, successful recycling hinges on proper sorting, cleaning, and processing. Contamination from food residue, mixed polymers, or non-plastic components can lower the quality of recycled pellets and deter manufacturers from using reclaimed material, so public awareness and improved collection infrastructure are essential.
Consumers can play an immediate role in closing the loop by checking the resin identification code stamped on most plastic products. This symbol—a number from 1 to 7 encircled by three chasing arrows—reveals the plastic’s polymer type and indicates its recyclability in local programs. For instance, “1” denotes polyethylene terephthalate (PET), commonly accepted by curbside bins, while “6” stands for polystyrene (PS), which fewer facilities process. Beyond recycling labels, it’s crucial to remember that plastics are extraordinarily durable: scientific estimates suggest that common polymers can take more than 500 years to decompose fully. During this prolonged lifespan, they break down into ever-smaller fragments that persist in soils, waterways, and organisms. By choosing recyclable items, rinsing and sorting them correctly, and supporting policies that expand recycling capacity, each individual can help stem the tide of plastic waste and protect the planet for generations to come.
Glass Recycling
Glass is one of the most sustainable packaging materials available, because it is 100% recyclable and never loses any purity or quality no matter how many times it is reprocessed. Once collected, waste glass is crushed into “cullet,” which melts more readily than the original raw materials—sand, soda ash and limestone—and can be substituted for a portion of the virgin batch in new glass furnaces. This means that every bottle or jar returned to the recycling stream can become part of a new container without any degradation in clarity, strength or color. In fact, using cullet can reduce furnace energy requirements by as much as 20–30%, cut CO₂ emissions, and lower the demand for mining of sand and other raw feedstocks.
Despite these benefits, glass that ends up in landfill poses a long-term environmental challenge. Unlike organic matter or many types of plastics, glass does not biodegrade in any meaningful time frame—estimates suggest that it can take up to one million years to break down under natural conditions. As a result, discarded glass accumulates in landfills, taking up valuable space and contributing to soil and water contamination if landfills leak. To keep landfills from reaching capacity and to mitigate pollution, it is crucial that consumers, businesses and municipalities maximize their glass-collection programs, improve public awareness of sorting requirements, and invest in convenient drop-off or curbside pickup services.
For recycling to be effective, glass must be as clean and contaminant-free as possible before processing. Sorting facilities such as those run by ISM accept a wide array of glass grades—clear and colored bottles, jars, windows, laboratory glassware, drinking vessels, even items like computer screens—provided they are free of food residue, ceramics, mirrors or metal fittings. After carefully inspecting and further separating the material by color and composition, the glass is washed, crushed and sent on to specialized remelt plants. In addition to conserving energy and natural resources, this circular approach reduces the need for landfill space, cuts greenhouse-gas emissions, and supports a more resilient, low-carbon economy.
Oil Recycling
Recycling used oil plays a pivotal role in safeguarding both natural ecosystems and finite resources. When engine, transmission or hydraulic oils are discarded improperly—whether poured down drains, dumped on the ground or sent to landfills—they pose a grave threat to water bodies and soils. In fact, just one gallon of used oil can contaminate up to one million gallons of fresh water, rendering it unsafe for drinking or irrigation. By collecting and processing these spent oils, we not only prevent such contamination but also transform a hazardous waste into a valuable feedstock. This closed‐loop approach keeps pollutants out of the environment and diverts millions of barrels of oil-equivalent material from disposal sites every year.
Beyond pollution prevention, oil recycling delivers substantial gains in resource conservation and energy efficiency. Every gallon of re-refined base oil replaces roughly 1.3 gallons of crude oil, easing pressure on extraction operations and helping to extend the lifespan of global reserves. Re-refining used oil also consumes up to 85 percent less energy than refining virgin crude into lubricants, dramatically cutting greenhouse-gas emissions and fossil-fuel use. These energy savings translate into lower operating costs for refiners and downstream manufacturers, making recycled oil not only an environmentally responsible choice but an economically attractive one as well.
The market for recycled oil products is diverse and growing. Re-refined lubricants meet the same stringent performance standards as virgin products, while fuel oils derived from used oil power industrial furnaces, boilers and marine vessels. In the petrochemical industry, treated waste oils serve as feedstock for producing detergents, plastics and other specialty chemicals. Governments and industry bodies around the world are strengthening collection programs, offering incentives and tightening regulations to boost recycling rates. As technologies like solvent extraction and hydro-treatment advance, the quality and yield of recycled oils continue to improve, reinforcing a circular economy in which used oil is perpetually returned to productive use rather than lost to pollution.
Scrap Recycling
Scrap metal recycling plays a pivotal role in modern resource management and environmental stewardship. By collecting, sorting, and processing discarded metal items—ranging from old automobiles and appliances to industrial by-products—recyclers transform what was once considered waste into valuable raw material for new manufacturing. This closed-loop approach not only conserves finite mineral reserves but also underpins a circular economy in which materials circulate repeatedly, reducing our dependence on virgin ore. Moreover, recycling infrastructure supports local and global supply chains, ensuring that metals such as steel, aluminum, copper, and brass remain available at stable prices and with lower environmental cost than mining and smelting from scratch.
The environmental benefits of scrap metal recycling are profound and well documented. Each year, recycling diverts tens of millions of tons of metal away from landfills, freeing up space and preventing leachate and other pollution. In terms of greenhouse-gas reduction, recycling steel from scrap cuts CO₂ emissions by roughly 58 percent compared to producing new steel from iron ore. Aluminum recycling is even more dramatic, saving up to 95 percent of the energy and reducing emissions by as much as 92 percent compared to primary aluminum production. Across the board, producing metals from scrap requires 60–75 percent less energy than using virgin inputs, translating into significant reductions in air pollutants such as sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxides. On top of energy and emissions savings, less reliance on mining means fewer open-pit mines and underground excavations, helping to preserve biodiversity and reduce soil erosion and water contamination.
Beyond its environmental advantages, the scrap metal recycling industry generates considerable economic value. Globally, it is a multi-billion-dollar sector that supports tens of thousands of jobs in collection, processing, transportation, and remanufacturing. For manufacturers, using recycled metal often lowers material costs by 20–30 percent and hedges against price volatility in global raw-material markets. Communities benefit through tax revenues and reduced waste-management expenses, while consumers enjoy lower prices for goods containing recycled content. Governments reinforce these gains by offering incentives—such as tax credits, minimum recycled-content requirements, and materials-recovery mandates—that further stimulate investment in recycling technologies. In aggregate, these economic and policy drivers ensure that scrap metal recycling remains a cornerstone of sustainable development and an essential lever in the fight against climate change.
E-Waste
Electronic waste has emerged as one of the fastest-growing waste streams worldwide, posing serious environmental and public health threats. Discarded electronics contain a cocktail of hazardous substances—lead in cathode-ray tubes, mercury in fluorescent backlights, cadmium in rechargeable batteries, brominated flame retardants in circuit boards—that easily leach into soil and groundwater when devices are landfilled or incinerated. In many regions, informal recycling methods such as open burning or acid leaching remain common, exposing thousands of workers—often in developing countries—to toxic fumes and heavy-metal contamination. Despite international agreements like the Basel Convention aiming to curb the transboundary movement of hazardous waste, an estimated 50 million metric tons of e-waste are generated each year, and only a fraction of this volume is handled through formal, safe channels.
Global recycling rates tell a stark story. According to 2022 estimates, just 22.3 percent of the roughly 55 million metric tons of e-waste produced annually was documented as collected and processed for material recovery. The remainder typically ends up in landfills, informal dumpsites or is incinerated, creating persistent pollution hotspots. A key barrier to improving these figures is the very design of modern electronics: devices are often engineered for compactness and cost-efficiency rather than ease of disassembly. Complex assemblies of fused plastics, mixed metals and specialized components drive up labor and processing costs, making many materials—especially low-grade polymers and small printed-circuit-board fragments—uneconomical to reclaim. In addition, many regions lack the infrastructure and regulatory frameworks needed to support sophisticated recycling facilities, leading to fragmentation of collection, sorting and recovery processes.
Despite these challenges, effective e-waste recycling carries enormous economic and environmental benefits. Recovering precious metals such as gold, silver and palladium from end-of-life electronics reduces the need for energy-intensive mining operations and helps conserve finite mineral reserves. Studies indicate that recycling aluminum and copper from scrap uses up to 95 percent less energy than producing the same metals from virgin ore. Moreover, formal recycling facilities can create thousands of stable, skilled jobs in collection, materials sorting, chemical processing and downstream manufacturing. To realize these gains, stakeholders around the world—from manufacturers embracing “design for recycling” principles to governments enforcing extended producer-responsibility laws—must collaborate. Strengthening global supply chains, improving domestic collection schemes and investing in advanced technologies like automated sorting and urban mining will be essential to transform e-waste from an environmental liability into a valuable resource stream.