On better working conditions for waste pickers

In many cities across the Global South, waste pickers play a vital but often invisible role in managing urban waste. These individuals collect, sort, and sell discarded materials, contributing significantly to recycling and reducing landfill volumes. Despite their important environmental and economic contributions, waste pickers operate in informal and insecure conditions, lacking formal recognition or support.

In Makhanda, waste pickers sell and reuse waste materials as a source of income. This income is not secure and they are not formally employed by state or private enterprises.

One major challenge is the costs of travelling to the municipal landfill on the outskirts of town. Because of the distance of the landfill to the townships in Makhanda East, where many of the waste pickers reside, many pickers opt to stay on the landfill instead of travelling back to where they usually sleep. Management of the landfill at times may not allow entry for waste pickers to sleep there. Both working and living conditions are hazardous.

Water and Sanitation

There is little access to water and sanitation on the dumpsite where waste pickers work. This results in health problems which can, and has in many cases, been fatal. There are no facilities to wash hands, rinse off materials and clothes, and there are no toilets. Water infrastructure is available but access to water is dependant on the will of municipal managers who at times switch it off. This is compounded by the innate pollution in the area, both under the ground and above ground.

Competition for materials

Waste picking is a competitive venture and the pickers chase the cars and trucks that go into the dump often climbing onto trucks and bakkies, to get the best bounty. They can fall while chasing or climbing or be knocked over. Drivers can also get annoyed by this and make the situation worse.

Unsorted waste

Toxic materials also get dumped illegally which can lead to injury or death.

Basic Provisions

Waste pickers are not entitled to protections such as labour laws, safety equipment and clothing, tools for collecting and organising and transporting waste etc.

These problems are not reported on main the media or through official government channels - it seems that the plight of the pickers is not taken seriously. Nevertheless, the landfill is a public place under the responsibility of the municipality just like the streets, parking lots etc. South Africa's National Environment Management Act (NEMA) 59 of 2008 says:

Everyone has the right to an environment that is not harmful to his or her health or well-being. The State must respect, protect, promote and fulfil the social, economic and environmental rights of everyone and strive to meet the basic needs of previously disadvantaged communities; inequality in the distribution of wealth and resources, and the resultant poverty, are among the important causes as well as the results of environmentally harmful practices.

The municipality refuses to take responsibility and regards waste pickers at the dump as trespassers and in some cases vandals. Municipal officials distance themselves from the dirty and dangerous conditions that the pickers are exposed to. NEMA says:

Any person who undertakes an activity involving the reduction, re-use, recycling or recovery of waste must ensure that the reduction, re-use, recycling or recovery of the waste (a) uses less natural resources than disposal of such waste: and (b) to the extent that, is less harmful to the environment than the disposal of such waste.

The positive contribution of waste pickers is huge. The MEC of Economic Development in Gauteng Lebogang Maile, asserted that there are roughly 60 000 to 90 000 waste pickers sorting recyclables without remuneration from municipalities, saving them R750 million every year.

Although law and policies acknowledge the contributions of the working class and poor majority, this does not manifest in their every day experiences.