Photo slot · Reverse vending machine
Reverse vending machines
Automated returns with an instant refund, hosted at supermarkets and shopping centres. We are exploring machine technology with TOMRA Collection.
Technology partner: proposed
Hero photo slot · Harare return point
Innovation • Environment • Impact
Zimbabwe recovers 7.1% of its plastic bottles. Norway recovers 98.2%.
GreenLoop Environmental Technologies (Private) Limited is building the infrastructure to close that gap, starting with Zimbabwe's first private-sector deposit return scheme for beverage containers.
0operational deposit return schemes in Zimbabwe today. We are building the first.
1.6bn
containers enter Zimbabwe's market every year
20,400t
of PET lost to the environment annually
0
operational deposit return schemes in Zimbabwe today
7.1%
container recovery rate in Zimbabwe today
Who we are
Not a waste company. An infrastructure company.
GreenLoop Environmental Technologies (GET) designs, finances and operates the collection systems that keep valuable materials, starting with beverage packaging, in productive use instead of the environment.
Zimbabwe already has recycling capacity sitting under-used, a dominant beverage producer under pressure to prove its sustainability credentials, and a government drafting the regulation to make container recovery mandatory. What's missing is the layer that connects them: an organised collection system that gives consumers a reason to return what they buy. That's what GET builds.
- Founding stage — incorporated in Zimbabwe, 2026
- First market — Harare, scaling nationally as regulation is gazetted
- Founder — Zimbabwean entrepreneur based in Germany, with first-hand experience of the Pfand deposit system
Photo slot · Collector with sorted PET
Photo slot · Litter in a Harare drainage channel
The problem
Three things are missing at once
None of them are missing because the technology doesn't exist. They are missing because no one has built the system that connects consumers, producers and recyclers.
No incentive
Consumers have no financial reason to return a container once they've finished with it, so most containers simply become litter.
No infrastructure
There are no reverse vending machines, no organised deposit scheme, and no national collection network to gather containers at scale.
No obligation
Extended Producer Responsibility regulation is drafted but not yet gazetted, so producer funding of recovery remains voluntary.
Harare's PET recycler, PetrecoZim, has processing capacity today. The gap isn't recycling. It's collection.
How it works
The GreenLoop: a loop that pays for itself
Every container that comes back through the system is simultaneously an environmental win and a commercial transaction.
Producer pays in
Delta Beverages pays GET a small per-container fee: their compliance pathway for recovery obligations.
Consumer pays a deposit
A refundable deposit is added at the point of sale and returned in full when the container comes back.
Container comes back
Returned via reverse vending machines, retail kiosks, or GET's certified collection partners.
GET sorts and sells
Materials are weighed, baled and sold to PetrecoZim and export recyclers as clean, quality-sorted PET.
Producer system fees
Charged per container placed on the market: a producer's ongoing EPR compliance cost.
Recovered material sales
Sorted PET sold to PetrecoZim and export recyclers at prevailing market rates.
Unredeemed deposit float
A share of deposits are never redeemed, retained under agreed scheme rules.
Compliance data services
Verified recovery data and reporting, sold to producers as an ongoing service.
Why now
The regulatory window is open
2012
SI 84 introduces producer-responsibility provisions into Zimbabwean law.
2024
Zimbabwe, EMA and UNEP launch a joint circular-economy EPR roadmap.
Jun 2026
Ministry of Environment confirms draft EPR regulations exist and are awaiting gazetting.
Aug 2026
GET is founded. No competing DRS operator exists in Zimbabwe.
2027
Target: Harare pilot live, shaping the standard EPR compliance will be measured against.
Solutions
Three ways to bring a container back
One scheme, several return routes, so that a corner shop, a supermarket and an informal collector can all take part.
Photo slot · Staffed return point
Staffed return points
Containers are counted, weighed and logged by a trained attendant at depots and retail sites, so the scheme works where machines don't yet make sense.
Hybrid routePhoto slot · Certified collectors
Certified collectors
Collectors log what they bring in through a mobile app and are paid for it, which brings the informal sector into a formal, auditable scheme.
Logged and paidTechnology
The GET Circular Intelligence Platform
One data layer, six different views into the same material flow, from the producer registering packaging to the regulator checking recovery data.
Producer portal
Register packaging, track obligations, access compliance reports.
Consumer wallet
View deposits, receive refunds, track personal impact.
Collector app
Log materials, record weights, view payments, find drop-off points.
Retailer dashboard
Track containers accepted, reconcile refunds, request collections.
Operations dashboard
Monitor collection points, optimise routes, forecast volumes.
Impact dashboard
Tonnes recovered, jobs created, emissions avoided: verified and public.
GET Circular Intelligence Platform · Impact
Recovery rate14.6%
Return points37
Tonnes recovered7.7t
PET (clear and opaque)2.8 t
Glass3.4 t
Aluminium0.6 t
Illustrative data for design purposes
Impact
What five years of operation looks like
Recovery rate, Harare60%→90%+Year 1 → Year 5
Containers recovered / year120–180M→500M+Year 1 → Year 5
PET tonnes diverted / year500–750t→5,000t+Year 1 → Year 5
Direct & collector jobs65–125→600+Year 1 → Year 5
Where recovery rates stand today
Zimbabwe (today)
7.1%
Rwanda (Kigali pilot)
early pilot
South Africa (modelled)
~90%
Norway
98.2%
Germany
98.5%
The technology and commercial model are already proven elsewhere. Zimbabwe needs the infrastructure, not a new invention.
Who we serve
One scheme, built for everyone in the loop
Producers
A compliance pathway for recovery obligations, a per-container system fee, and verified recovery data you can report from.
Talk to partnershipsRetailers & depots
Host a return point, reconcile refunds on a dashboard, and request collections when you need them.
Host a return pointConsumers
Pay a refundable deposit when you buy, and get it back in full when you return the container.
Stay informedRecyclers
Weighed, baled, quality-sorted PET delivered to you, so you can plan capacity around a reliable supply.
Discuss off-takeRegulators
Auditable recovery data to support Extended Producer Responsibility reporting once regulation is gazetted.
Get in touchInvestors & DFIs
A founding-stage venture with a structured, costed pilot and the first-mover position in a market with no operator.
Request the packBuilding this together
The collaborations we're building
A deposit return scheme only works when every link in the chain takes part. These are the kinds of collaboration we are looking for.
Technology partner
Reverse vending machines and the digital tools to run them, including installation, servicing and a data link into our platform.
Anchor producer
A leading beverage producer that funds recovery through a per-container system fee and receives verified recovery data for its compliance reporting.
Recycling off-take partner
A recycler that buys weighed, baled and sorted PET on a reliable schedule, so collection and processing grow together.
Retail and depot hosts
Supermarkets, shops and depots that host a return point and give consumers somewhere convenient to bring containers back.
Regulators and government
Ongoing engagement with environmental regulators, so the scheme is built to the standard that producer-responsibility rules will measure against.
Funders and development partners
Investors and development finance institutions that help build the Harare pilot and scale it nationally.
Beyond the pilot
Zimbabwe is where we start, not where we stop
Once the Harare pilot proves the model, GET is built to grow into three pillars.
01
Circular Packaging Recovery
The Zimbabwe deposit return scheme and its national and regional scale-up.
02
Resource Recovery & Circular Industries
Organic waste, e-waste and construction materials, once the core model is proven.
03
Environmental Technology & Impact Intelligence
The Circular Intelligence Platform, licensable independent of physical operations.
Circular by designReflects our commitment to a circular future.
Green at the coreSustainability and nature are central to who we are.
African rootedSolving local challenges with global standards.
Tech enabledSmart solutions driven by technology and innovation.
Impact drivenCreating measurable value for people and planet.
Get involved
Founding partners, investors and producers: let's talk
GET is at founding stage. The pilot is structured, costed, and ready for the right partners to help build it.