Recyclable materials can be reprocessed or re-used.
Waste is legally defined as property you own but with no recoverable or beneficial value, i.e., a municipality and their waste contractor's responsibility, and not recyclable.

Here’s a list of commonly recyclable items in South Africa, categorised for easy reference: 
Constitutionally protected ownership.

Paper Products 

• Newspapers
• Magazines
• Cardboard boxes (e.g., cereal boxes, shoe boxes)
• Office paper (e.g., printer paper, photocopies)
• Books (remove hardcovers)
• Envelopes (no plastic windows)
• Paper bags
• Paper egg cartons

 Plastics 

• PET bottles (e.g., water, cool drink bottles)
• HDPE containers (e.g., milk and juice bottles, detergent containers)
• Plastic lids and caps (sorted separately)
• Plastic bags and wraps (clean and dry, often #2 or #4)
• Yogurt tubs and margarine tubs (rinsed, typically #5)
• Detergent and cleaning bottles (rinsed)
• Shrink wrap and pallet wrap

Metals 

• Aluminum cans (e.g., soft drink and beer cans)
• Tin cans (e.g., canned food containers)
• Aerosol cans (empty, not punctured)
• Scrap metal (e.g., wires, pipes, old tools)
• Bottle tops

Glass 

• Beverage bottles (clear, green, and brown glass)
• Food jars (e.g., jam, pickle jars, cleaned)
• Wine bottles (remove corks or caps)

E-Waste 

• Old computers, laptops, and peripherals
• Batteries (rechargeable / non-rechargeable)
• Printers and ink cartridges
• Cables and wires

Organic "Waste" 

• Food scraps (for composting)
• Garden waste (grass clippings, branches, leaves)

Community Donations:
Unwanted but not broken bric a brac.