The Struggles of Waste-Pickers: A Closer Look at South Africa’s Recycling Industry

The tough life of Waste-Pickers

In South Africa, almost 90 percent of packaging waste is recycled, thanks to the efforts of waste-pickers who rummage through other people’s trash bins in search of valuable materials. One organization aims to improve their working conditions.

When Siphelele Ndlovu pulls his self-built cart laden with bags full of recyclable materials through Johannesburg, he has already put in several hours of work. He starts early in the morning when the trash bins are rolled out onto the street. To ensure that nobody gets ahead of him, the 39-year-old father of a family sleeps in a bus depot nearby.

His friend Mzambiya says, “You have to wake up early or sleep right there because there is a lot of competition. Sometimes we fight among ourselves. Suddenly, someone claims that this is their street. Luckily, I have a street.”

5,500 waste-pickers have joined forces

Siphelele Ndlovu actually studied marketing, but for the past eight years, his family has been relying on him to extract recyclable materials from trash bins in the middle-class neighborhood of Parkhurst. He doesn’t wear gloves. When the garbage trucks arrive, he has to be ready to sort the recyclables. “I have to put everything into different bags,” explains Ndlovu. He has to separate plastic boxes and containers because they are different.

There are an estimated 40,000 to 50,000 waste-pickers in Johannesburg, says Luyanda Hlatshwayo of the African Reclaimers Organization, a self-help organization that sorts recyclables in a rented hall downtown. “Since 2017, we have been providing waste-pickers, as we call them, with green overalls so that they are recognizable, as well as gloves and everything they need for the job.”

Currently, 5,500 waste-pickers are affiliated with the organization. “We encourage waste-pickers to organize themselves and their work areas because in the value chain, we are very invisible, but in reality, we are the ones who make it work.”

Approximately 60 tons of sorted recyclables per month

Hlatshwayo himself dug through trash bins for years. Now, he proudly demonstrates how cans, cardboard, Tetra Paks, and plastic films are sorted and then compressed in the hall. “This is our first hall; we are expanding it,” he says. They produce around 60 tons of sorted recyclables per month. 20 people work here. “By giving them the opportunity, their work becomes dignified.”

The organization collaborates with neighborhood administrations and community groups. They provide information on waste separation, distribute reusable waste bags, and collect them with trucks. As a result, no one needs to open trash bins anymore or pay criminal gangs for access to a landfill, says Hlatshwayo.

Proceeds from recyclables go to employees

He blames the government for the inadequate recycling system in South Africa. “Not creating a proper procedure to collect recyclables was a huge mistake by the government.” It made it easy for criminal syndicates to take advantage of the situation since they realized there was money to be made.

“We don’t want to fight them. We are seeking solutions, programs like this one. We bring reclaimers from the landfills here, to cleaner and safer working conditions.” The proceeds from recyclables go to the employees. They are also provided with unemployment insurance and are no longer considered informal or illegal. The African Reclaimers Organization aims to achieve this for all reclaimers in the long run.

Several kilometers to the collection point

However, like most waste-pickers in Johannesburg, Ndlovu continues to work on the streets. He has to transport the sorted recyclables for kilometers to a collection point. And he can only hope to be paid fairly.

“You have no chance to check the prices and what goes on here. What they give me after weighing is not much. It’s not right for a week’s work.” In a good week, the 39-year-old earns the equivalent of 50 euros, while in a bad week, only 10 euros. He can only afford to drive the 600 kilometers to his wife and children during Christmas.