Municipality and eWASA officially give waste pickers upgraded wheels
The municipality and eWASA take a leap of faith in waste pickers by officially handing them trolleys and bulk bags.
Seeing waste pickers or informal waste reclaimers (as they are called) around town is nothing new and the municipality has come up with a solution to formalise and integrate them into its recycling programme.
Mogale City and the EPR Waste Association of South Africa (eWASA) have taken an official leap of faith after 25 registered local waste reclaimers received trolleys and bulk bags. The trolleys are fitted with a trailer, brakes and reflectors, replacing their rickety makeshift inventions.
In the spirit of reducing waste to landfill sites and creating waste-preneurs, the municipality’s Integrated Environmental Management (IEM) together with eWASA provided reclaimers training in recycling. They are also in the process of assessing requirements for infrastructure and resources to manage waste effectively to drive recycling projects.
IEM executive manager Madikana Thenga said the ground-breaking partnership advocates for collaboration to drive waste management and recycling programmes that will bring forth entrepreneurship, and create new jobs and opportunities that will uplift the youth, women and people living with disabilities.
eWASA’s regional brand ambassador and Municipal Projects manager Dumisani Siziba equally expressed gratification with the partnership.
“Our goal is to extend relationships that will protect our environment and create opportunities out of waste. We also want to capacitate waste pickers as they are an important thread in the waste industry; seeing them being recognised within the country’s economic space delights us,” said Dumisani.
Thus far, eWASA has contributed over R1.1 million to recycling containers, personal protective equipment, trolleys, and bulk bags. Additionally, 36 permanent jobs were created at the Luipaardsvlei Landfill Site through this initiative, according to the municipality.
