Refill store to reduce single-use plastic

A new refill retail model piloted in Diepsloot, Johannesburg, is helping reduce single-use plastic packaging, while offering cost savings on essential goods. Skubu, developed by Sonke in collaboration with the CSIR and the Department of Science, Technology, and Innovation (DSTI), allows shoppers to refill items like cooking oil, maize meal, and cleaning products using their own containers.

The initiative, supported through the Circular Economy Demonstration Fund, is aimed at addressing both environmental sustainability and affordability for lower-income communities.

Sonke is a technology start-up that designs, manufactures and manages internet of things-enabled automated refill stations. Sonke’s exclusive back-end software provides full traceability of stock movement through the supply chain from receipt through dispatch, machine restocking and sale to the shopper.

The launch of Skubu represents a step in integrating circular economy principles into retail, demonstrating how innovation and sustainable business practices can benefit communities. The demonstrator tackles food security by allowing lower-income citizens to access quality products in smaller quantities at more affordable prices.

_{Programme Impact Area Manager, Bongani Memela, Sonke (Pty) Ltd Founder and Managing Director Eben de Jongh and DSTI Deputy Director-General (DDG) for Socio-Economic Innovation Partnership Dr Mmboneni Muofhe. Photo supplied.}

“Skubu is a great demonstration initiative to show how circular economy principles can be implemented through collaboration,” said professor Linda Godfrey, CSIR principal researcher who leads Circular Innovation SA, a DSTI initiative hosted by the CSIR.

“The intention is to focus on the national system of innovation, which looks at how a country creates and applies new ideas to improve technology and grow its economy. This includes bringing universities and science councils closer to the private sector to help de-risk and scale circular interventions.”

She said collaboration is essential to addressing plastic pollution and improving quality of life in disadvantaged communities.

Dr Mmboneni Muofhe, DSTI deputy director-general of socio-economic innovation partnerships, said the initiative leverages science and economic innovation to advance the circular economy. The DSTI initiated the Circular Economy Demonstration Fund under the administration of the CSIR. This provided technical support to Sonke by identifying optimal locations for the Skubu machines and analysing IoT-generated data to assess market feasibility.

Muofhe said: “As a government, we are taking a dual approach through the Circular Economy Demonstration Fund initiative, protecting the environment while using science, technology and innovation to foster enterprise development and create employment.”

The refill stations are designed to eliminate single-use plastic packaging and allow consumers to save up to 50% by standardising the price per litre across various refill sizes.